Jordan Levin

Jordan Levin
Nationality American
Occupation Media executive

Jordan Levin is an American media executive and entrepreneur. He is currently the Chief Content Officer for The NFL.[1][2] He was previously the CEO at The WB and the founder and CEO of Generate, a production studio and talent management company.[3]

Early life

Levin's father worked in advertising. As a child, Levin states that he would “take the old TV Guide Fall Preview issue and, just based on the descriptions, write whether I thought the shows would stick or not. So I always sort of fantasized about running a network.”[4] Levin attended the College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in Radio-Television-Film with a concentration in film and television theory and criticism.[4]

He wrote his college thesis about how increasing the number of channels through cable would force networks to target niches.[1] This caught the eye of executives at the Walt Disney Company, who hired him as a production intern, which was Levin’s first job in the entertainment industry.[1]

Career

Levin spent five years at Walt Disney Television where he worked on the creative team that developed and managed shows like Home Improvement, Ellen, and Boy Meets World.[1]

In 1994, Levin joined The WB as part of its founding executive team.[5] He oversaw the development of shows like Dawson’s Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Felicity, One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, and Smallville.[1][2] While at the WB, Levin worked with writers like J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, and Greg Berlanti who wrote and executive produced their first television series.[5][6] Levin became The WB's president & CEO at the age of 35, making him the youngest CEO in broadcast television history.[7]

In 2005, Levin became the CEO and founder of Generate, a production studio and talent management company.[5][8] Generate focused on producing fictional and factual entertainment, branded content, and connecting advertising, technology and entertainment companies.[9] In 2008, Levin secured $6 million in venture financing from MK Capital and Velocity Interactive Group. Three years later in 2011, Levin sold Generate to Alloy Digital, continuing on as Alloy Digital's President.[3]In 2013, Alloy Digital merged with Break Media to form DEFY Media.[10]

In 2014, Levin joined Microsoft's Xbox Entertainment Studios as executive vice president, general manager to produce original programming.[3][11]

In 2015, Levin became the Chief Content Officer at the NFL.[12] He oversees the development, production, and distribution of video and editorial content for the NFL’s media networks, including the NFL Network, NFL Digital Media, and NFL Films.[2][13] He also manages the NFL’s event programming franchises, like the Super Bowl Halftime Show and NFL Honors.[14]

In addition to his roles as a media executive, Levin is also a speaker, author, producer, and television director. In 2004, Levin directed an episode of Everwood.[15] He was an adjunct professor at USC, where he taught a class on the entertainment industry in the convergence age. He is also a board member or advisor to several non-profit organizations, academic institutions, political advocacy groups, and early-stage media companies.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Jim Rutenberg (July 14, 2003). "A Must for a TV Chief: Think Like a Teenager". The New York Times.
  2. 1 2 3 Joe Flint (June 15, 2015). "NFL Hires a Chief Content Officer". Wall Street Journal.
  3. 1 2 3 Marc Graser (February 18, 2014). "Jordan Levin Joins Microsoft’s Xbox Entertainment Studios". Variety.
  4. 1 2 Eric Estrin (May 11, 2009). "Thank Betamax, Chaplin for ‘Dawson’s Creek’". The Wrap.
  5. 1 2 3 Marc Graser (May 23, 2011). "Interview with Jordan Levin".
  6. ↑ Sam Thielman (February 26, 2006). "Can a Career TV Exec Bring Ambitious Xbox Shows to Life?". Adweek.
  7. ↑ Claire Atkinson (June 15, 2004). "Janollari In, Levin Out as the WB Reorganizes". The Futon Critic.
  8. ↑ Josef Adalian, Michael Schneider (February 26, 2006). "Team looks to Generate heat".
  9. ↑ "Generate secures financial backing". Los Angeles Times. March 5, 2008.
  10. ↑ Todd Spangler (October 8, 2013). "Alloy Digital, Break Media Will Merge to Form Internet Video Studio ‘Defy Media’". Variety.
  11. ↑ Nellie Andreeva (October 29, 2014). "XES Toppers Nancy Tellem & Jordan Levin Out In Microsoft’s Last Wave Of Layoffs".
  12. ↑ Michael Malone (August 23, 2016). "‘Bonus' Round: Jordan Levin's Top TV Shows, Favorite Books and Best Brisket". The Business of Television.
  13. ↑ "NFL Hires Former WB Network Chief Jordan Levin as Head of Content". The Hollywood Reporter. June 14, 2015.
  14. ↑ Richard Deitsch (September 14, 2016). "No. 42: Jordan Levin". Sports Illustrated.
  15. ↑ Jordan Levin on IMDB.
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