Yahoo adds another television exec to its ranks

Source: - CNET News.com

Yahoo has added another television executive to its ranks, the latest move in the Internet media giant's years-old courtship with Hollywood and TV networks.

The company said Wednesday it hired David Katz to run the sports and entertainment divisions of Yahoo's Media Group.

Katz comes to Yahoo after eight years at CBS Television Network, where he was most recently charged with strategic planning and interactive ventures, Yahoo said.

Yahoo has been seeking to woo more traditional media companies such as the networks to move more of their content online. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company has now hired executives from all four of the biggest television networks.

"The media landscape is undergoing fundamental change, with consumers and advertisers demanding more compelling interactive experiences," Katz, 33, said in a statement.

Last November, Yahoo hired Lloyd Braun, former head of Walt Disney's ABC Entertainment Television Group, to head Yahoo's Media Group, which was new at the time.

Previous Next Both Braun, to whom Katz will report, and Katz are based at the company's Santa Monica, Calif., offices, which is close to Hollywood, and where Yahoo's Media Group is based. The Media Group includes games, sports, news, finance, movies, music and other services.

As more video moves online, Internet media companies such as Yahoo, its rival search engine company Google and others, are angling for a strong position when more consumers have high-speed Internet connections and can download content to both their PCs and televisions.

Yahoo said that Katz built CBS.com into the most popular Web site among broadcast networks and ran a team that produced Web sites for more than 200 shows a year, including "Survivor," "Late Show with David Letterman," "The Grammy's" and "CSI."