Viacom International Media Networks Announces Key Appointments

Viacom International Media Networks Announces Key Appointments

Alex Okosi To Lead BET International In Addition To VIMN Africa

Jill Offman Promoted To Executive Vice President And Head Of The Paramount Channel

Johannesburg: Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a division of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), recently announced key appointments for two of Viacom’s flagship brands: The Paramount Channel and BET International.

Alex Okosi, Executive Vice President (EVP) and Managing Director (MD) of VIMN Africa, will expand his role to include oversight of BET in all markets outside of the US. Okosi takes over from Michael D. Armstrong, who was recently appointed General Manager (GM) of BET Network.

Alex Okosi

Jill Offman has been promoted to Executive Vice President, and will add oversight of The Paramount Channel to her current role as head of Comedy Central International and Managing Director of MTV UK and Comedy Central UK. Both will report to David Lynn, President and CEO of VIMN.

Jill Offman

Additionally, Jill Offman will continue to report to James Currell, President and MD, VIMN UKNEE; and Alex Okosi will continue to report to Raffaele Annecchino, President and MD of VIMN SWEMEA with respect to their existing cluster specific roles.

President and CEO of VIMN, David Lynn said; “Alex expertly spearheaded the growth and expansion of Viacom in Africa and has overseen the creation of an incredible variety of content and experiences that spotlight the best of African-American and African culture and creativity. I look forward to seeing him bring that same passion and strategic approach to the BET brand in markets around the world.”

“Jill is a creative, strategic leader whose vision continues to drive share and distribution growth for Comedy Central internationally. In this new role, she will lead the international development of one of the most iconic entertainment brands in the world,” added Lynn.

Alex Okosi:
In his expanded role, Okosi will manage the development and overall strategy for BET International. The driving force behind VIMN Africa, he will continue to oversee entertainment brands MTV Base, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., NickToons, VH1 Classic‎ and BET on the African continent. Under Okosi’s leadership, VIMN Africa has become one of Viacom’s fastest growing international operations driven by the expansion of its portfolio of brands on multiple platforms including pay- TV, FTA, internet, SVOD and mobile. Now in its thirteenth year, VIMN Africa delivers more channels to Africa than any other international network with a collective footprint that reaches 48 territories and more than 100 million viewers.

Appointed Executive Vice President and Managing Director of VIMN Africa in early 2017, Okosi joined Viacom in 1998 as part of the Trade Marketing team in New York, prior to joining MTV Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing division in Los Angeles in 2000. By mid-2003, Okosi transferred to MTV Networks International’s Strategy and Business Development team in London where he created the business plan that led to Viacom’s expansion into Africa.

Jill Offman:
In her new role, Offman will direct the international brand strategy and development of The Paramount Channel, which debuted outside of the US in 2012 and has since grown to 12 channels available in 115 countries. She will continue to lead Comedy Central outside the US, where she oversees the creative vision and business strategy. Under her leadership, Comedy Central International has grown its share of viewing 7 percent year-over-year, and expanded its international footprint to nearly 200 million households in 145 countries. Offman is also Managing Director for Comedy Central UK and MTV UK. In this position, she leads the programming teams for both brands in this market, with responsibility for all the original commissions and acquisitions, as well as research, marketing, communications and creative.

Offman joined Comedy Central UK in 2008 and oversaw a highly successful rebrand from Paramount Comedy to Comedy Central the following year. Offman began her career as a journalist and award-winning filmmaker for the CBC in Canada. She was later hired as head of programming for Discovery Canada’s factual channels portfolio and was subsequently recruited to head up Discovery in the UK, being promoted to run programming for all 11 channels in the Discovery portfolio.

About Viacom International Media Networks

Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN), a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), is comprised of many of the world's most popular multimedia entertainment brands, including Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Paramount Channel, and Spike. Viacom brands reach more than 3.9 billion cumulative subscribers in 180+ countries and territories via more than 200 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 550 digital media and mobile TV properties, in more than 40 languages. Keep up with VIMN news by visiting the VIMN PR Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/VIMN_PR. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit www.viacom.com, blog.viacom.com and the Viacom Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/Viacom.

Sources: Screen Africa, media update, Facebook.com/ViacomAfrica, Pulse, Broadband TV News.

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