Former Bell Media, GM of Crave and Starz Jeff Hersh appointed Chief Operating Officer
Renowned comedy executive Bill Lundy joins as Senior Vice President, Comedy
Toronto, ON (March 8, 2022) – New Metric Media, the award-winning producer behind the hit Crave/Hulu original comedy series Letterkenny, has announced a strategic company-wide reorganization as it expands from an indie production company to a comedy-focused entertainment studio, that aggregates and amplifies premiere global comedy brands through a vertically integrated, franchise- building eco-system across Content Creation, Talent Development & IP, Distribution, Live Entertainment and Merchandise and Licensing. As part of the expansion, former Bell Media executive Jeff Hersh has been appointed as New Metric Media’s first Chief Operating Officer, renowned comedy executive Bill Lundy (Run the Burbs), formerly of Pier 21 Films and Bell Media, has been hired as Senior Vice President, Comedy, announced today by Mark Montefiore, Founder & CEO, New Metric Media.
With a growing global demand for comedy on and off screen, New Metric Media will continue to focus on partnering with top tier talent across all mediums to build comedy brands to a scale that rivals major entertainment franchises. The high-profile additions to the company’s executive team will significantly bolster the breadth of corporate experience to drive the next stage of New Metric Media’s expansion.
As Chief Operating Officer, Hersh will focus on corporate strategy and driving significant strategic growth at New Metric Media via acquisitions, partnerships and raising capital as well as further monetization across all lines of business along with building out the operations to support growth.
As Senior Vice President of Comedy, Lundy will focus on broadening and strengthening the company’s slate of comedy brands and roster of comedy talent across scripted, sketch and stand up for multiple platforms including television, live entertainment, merchandise and licensing.
Both Hersh and Lundy will report to Montefiore.
In addition, veteran industry executive and WildBrain co-founder, Steven DeNure continues to serve as Strategic Advisor. DeNure’s vast experience in building content companies parlays well into New Metric Media’s overall strategy to building franchises in the comedy space.
“We’re moving into a new and exciting phase of evolution at New Metric Media. This symbiotic approach will offer a rare opportunity for comedy brands to extend farther beyond the original medium they were created for,” said Montefiore. “The appointments of Jeff and Bill, and collaboration with Steve will provide us with the skills and experience to become a beacon for the best global comedy brands.”
“I am excited to join Mark and the talented New Metric team at this exciting point in the company’s development to help drive its expansion globally, both organically and through acquisitions,” added Hersh. “New Metric is poised for significant growth given the skyrocketing demand for amazing content and its unique position as a multi-platform, multi-monetization, digital-first comedy brand builder.”
New Metric Media is a recognized leader in brand marketing for its success with Letterkenny off-screen extensions. In addition to securing partnerships with Bell Media and Hulu on Letterkenny as well as the new spinoff series Shoresy, New Metric Media collaborated with Labatt Breweries on Puppers Golden Lager, the show’s fictional beer; secured merchandise licensing deals with Funko, Ripple Junction and High Roller Games; and also produces Letterkenny LIVE!, the North American 90-minute comedy experience featuring stars from the series which is set to return starting March 10th. In addition, the series also produces the new comedy series Children Ruin Everything from Schitt’s Creek’s Kurt Smeaton which received an early renewal for a second season doubling the episode order to 16 half-hours. The series airs on CTV in Canada and Roku in the U.S.
These new hires further round out the executive team including Kara Haflidson, Production Supervisor and Producer, Letterkenny, Beth Iley, Director of Development and Producer, Children Ruin Everything, Marc Feifer, Vice President, Finance; and Ryan Keller, Vice President, Legal and Business Affairs.
NOTE TO EDITOR:
Jeff Hersh
Prior to joining New Metric Media, Jeff Hersh was Vice President, Strategy, OTT Distribution and Premium SVOD, Bell Media. He was responsible for formulating and executing the strategy and business development for Bell Media. In addition, he is responsible for Crave and STARZ and the strategy and expansion of Bell Media’s OTT and direct-to-consumer opportunities.
Formerly Vice-President, Strategy & Insights, Hersh led the strategy and business development for Bell Media in addition to the revenue management and research functions for the company. He joined Bell Media in 2013 from BCE where he was Director, Corporate Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions where he focused on acquiring both CTV GlobeMedia and Astral Media which formed the core of what is now Bell Media
Prior to Bell/Bell Media, Jeff was in Strategy & Corporate Development at Fairfax Media (now Nine Entertainment) in Australia and prior to that, Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisition.
Bill Lundy
Most recently, Bill Lundy was SVP for Pier 21 Films leading the company’s Comedy and Drama scripted slates including serving as Executive Producer on the new CBC series Run the Burbs. Prior to joining Pier 21 in 2018, Lundy was Production Executive, Comedy at Bell Media, developing and producing shows such as Letterkenny (scripted), The Beaverton (sketch), and Just For Laughs: All Access (stand-up).
Lundy got his start in programming at Alliance Atlantis before moving over to CTV in 2007. Bill was named in The Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen Canada: 15 Hottest Talents Under 35 in 2014.
Steven DeNure
Steven DeNure is a media executive and entrepreneur, and co-founder and a key builder of WildBrain (formerly DHX Media), where he served for many years as President and Chief Operating Officer. At WildBrain he was part of the leadership team that oversaw the acquisition and integration of more than a dozen companies
He also was President and co-founder of DECODE Entertainment, and prior to that President of Alliance Productions, President Alliance Multi-Media and Co-Chairman of TMP, the music publisher.
DeNure has served as Executive Producer or Producer on numerous film and TV productions.
ABOUT NEW METRIC MEDIA
Based in Toronto and led by President Mark Montefiore, New Metric Media is an award-winning independent production company that develops, finances, and produces premium scripted content for an international audience. Recipient of the Banff World Media Festival’s 2018 Innovative Producer Award, the company’s slate of programming includes hit Crave/Hulu original comedy Letterkenny, CTV’s new half-hour comedy series Children Ruin Everything, the upcoming Letterkenny spinoff series Shoresy for Crave, the Netflix/CityTV premium drama series Bad Blood and the half-hour comedy What Would Sal Do?
Most recently, New Metric Media announced a strategic company-wide reorganization to expand the company to a comedy-focused studio, that aggregates and amplifies premiere global brands through a vertically integrated, franchise-building eco-system across Live Entertainment, Merchandise and Licensing, Gaming, Socials, Digital, Talent Development & IP, Distribution and Content Creation.
For more information:
Ink Media PR
Pam Wilson
pam@inkmediapr.co.uk
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