New Roku Media president Charlie Collier has reportedly initiated his first major executive move, upping former ITV executive David Eilenberg to head of content with six-year veteran Rob Holmes set to depart in March.
“David is terrific, proven, and well-known across the industry and has been leading the charge at Roku, with his terrific team, to establish The Roku Channel as a destination for both scripted and unscripted original content,” Collier reportedly wrote in a company memo.
Collier, former CEO of Fox Entertainment, has been looking to consolidate senior content management while focusing on The Roku Channel’s ongoing push into original content, including the movie Weird: The Al Yankovic Story and upcoming sci-fi comedy, “We Are Not Alone” on Jan. 27.
“David and his team are coming off weeks of recognition, including WGA, DGA and PGA nominations and Roku’s first Critics Choice Awards for Weird. I look forward to working with him in this new capacity,” Collier wrote.
The executive said Roku is also establishing a new, yet unfilled position of “VP, head of content delivery and optimization” going forward.
Collier lauded Holmes for his contributions to Roku, which included launch of The Roku Channel, original programming and driving user growth to the platform.
“Rob will be working closely with me, focusing on ongoing strategic projects that deserve dedicated care,” Collier wrote.
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Separately, Collier said Dan Suratt, who joined Roku in 2021 as VP following the streamer’s acquisition of the “This Old House” franchise, is leaving the company on Jan. 27 for a new opportunity. Suratt was key to Roku acquiring “The Rich Eisen Show,” in addition to partnerships with Martha Stewart and chef Emeril Lagasse, in addition to expanding the production of the Roku Studios team.
Collier added that Roku is working with production companies Fulwell 73 (“The Late Late Show with James Corden,” “The Kardashians”) and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine (HBO Max’s “Big Little Lies,” Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show,” and Roku’s “Meet Me in Paris”) to create original programming.