New EVP of Strategy & Operations for MTV, VH1

NEW YORK, December 18: Richard
Gay will take on the newly created role of executive VP of strategy and
operations for MTV and VH1, working to manage business functions, drive
planning and strategic initiatives and execute a broad range of operational
activities.

He will report to Stephen
Friedman, the general manager of MTV, on MTV affairs, and to and Tom Calderone,
the president of VH1, for VH1-related activities. Gay will continue to be based
in New York.

Gay will team with
Friedman and Calderone to work with various internal business and strategic
departments for the two brands. He will help spearhead budget and long-range
planning at the brand level. Gay will also work closely with the MTV Networks
Program Enterprises Group, as well as the digital groups, in extending MTV and
VH1 into new businesses. Another part of his remit includes identifying
potential external partnerships, alignments and acquisitions, working in tandem
with Viacom and MTVN on broader opportunities.

"Richard has been an
integral member of my team at VH1 and I'm looking forward to continuing working
with him to drive our core business forward and to extend the VH1 brand in bold
new ways," said Calderone. "He not only coordinates several of our
internal functions with extreme finesse, but has been instrumental in
identifying and executing several partnerships and deals that have truly
benefited VH1's strategic goals."

"As I step into my
new role as head of MTV, I am excited about working closely with Richard to
break new ground across the board," added Friedman. "He is
collaborative, strategic and extremely entrepreneurial, all traits you would
want to have for an executive in this role as we work to position MTV moving
forward."

—By Kristin Brzoznowski