The CW has a new business affairs boss.
The network has hired former Masterclass, Quibi and Fox exec Tom Martin as Head of Business Affairs and General Counsel.
The hire is the latest at The CW, which recently brought in Brad Schwartz as President of Entertainment, Heather Olander as unscripted boss and Chris Spadaccini as Chief Marketing Officer, following its purchase by Nexstar.
Martin has experience structuring and negotiating business models and deals for scripted, unscripted and documentary programming for broadcast television, cable television and streaming platforms, which will be useful given The CW’s new focus.
Martin most recently served as the Head of Business Affairs at educational platform MasterClass. Before that, Martin was the BA Lead for Quibi, where he worked to create the business model and deal structure for Jeffrey Katzenberg’s short-form streaming platform. Prior to Quibi, Martin served as the SVP, Business Affairs at Fox Broadcasting Company, where he was the lead negotiator for all of Fox’s unscripted programming, negotiating deals for The Masked Singer and I Can See Your Voice. He also spent 15 years at Comcast and NBCUniversal, where he did deals for The Kardashians as part of their E! show Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
“As The CW Network evolves at a rapid pace, we are excited to have Tom come on board,” commented Dennis Miller, President of The CW Network. “With his vast experience and insights with talent, production and media platforms, I’m confident Tom will deftly manage the wide range of projects we are bringing to the network.”
“I’m honored and thrilled to be joining Dennis, Brad and the rest of the team at this inflection point for the network,” added Martin. “I’m looking forward to playing my part to help The CW achieve new heights.”