Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment has tapped Phil Oppenheim, a veteran in the streaming industry, for the newly created role of chief content officer – effective November 1.
Reporting to Chicken Soup for the Soul’s president Jonathan Katz, Oppenheim is tasked with spearheading content strategy across the company’s physical and streaming brands, including AVOD service Crackle and video rental company Redbox.
“Phil is a true unicorn. He’s an executive with wide-ranging experience across multiple streaming brands and business models, along with vast experience leading some of TV’s most successful linear networks,” Katz said in a statement. “Phil has helped grow audience and revenue at every point in his career, and we’re incredibly lucky to have him as part of the team.”
Oppenheim was previously SVP of program scheduling at MGM’s Epix Networks, where he managed Epix’s linear and SVOD premium linear services as well as their streaming extensions under the Epix banner.
He also oversaw content for Epix’s digital streaming platforms, including the ad-free service Epix Now.
Prior to working at Epix, Oppenheim was chief curator and pop culture officer at Lionsgate. There, he notably led the content launch of Comic-Con HQ, a multi-platform SVOD service focused on fandom and contemporary culture.
Additionally, Oppenheim spent nearly two decades in various roles at Turner Broadcasting – now defunct with its assets owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. His most recent title at Turner was SVP of programming for the TNT and TBS cable networks.
Oppenheim joins Chicken Soup for the Soul as the company continues to enhance its content portfolio. In May, Chicken Soup for the Soul acquired Redbox for $375 million, aiming to shift Redbox’s movie rental business to a more digital focused direct-to-consumer platform.
The company also operates a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel and VOD service, both dubbed Chicken Soup for the Soul.
As for Crackle, this summer it reached 85 distribution touchpoints across the U.S. The service expects to have over 90 touchpoints by the end of this year. Crackle also recently expanded its FAST distribution to FuboTV.