New COO at Saban Brands

LOS ANGELES: Janet Scardino has become the COO of Saban Brands, overseeing the company’s media operations across TV, digital and games.

Scardino was formerly the managing director of Disney Channel in Italy and also previously held a number of posts at MTV in programming, production and marketing. She also served as the CEO of Viggle, an early entrant in Social TV. Scardino was the president of branded entertainment for 19 Entertainment and was the executive VP and managing director of Reuters’ consumer digital media business in the U.S. and Europe. In this new role, Scardino will be working closely with Elie Dekel, the president of Saban Brands, and William Kehoe, the CFO.

“Janet’s impressive achievements in television, digital media and technology make her a strong addition to our team as we continue our expansion globally,” said Dekel, to whom Scardino reports. “Janet brings proven experience and results in developing successful media brands and forging strategic relationships with our distribution, advertising and retail partners. We are thrilled to have her on board and look forward to her contributions and leadership.”

“I am honored to join Saban Brands and this world-class team,” added Scardino. “Haim Saban’s track-record is truly remarkable, both creatively and commercially. At Saban Brands, the vision is to build iconic global brands that engage fans across TV, digital, games and consumer products in a fully integrated approach. In three years, the company has already achieved impressive growth in scaling its core properties, especially with Power Rangers and Paul Frank. I look forward to working with Elie and the team to build on this momentum worldwide.”