The NFL hired JORDAN LEVIN from Microsoft to be the league’s new Chief Content Officer, a move that NFL Exec VP/Media & NFL Network CEO BRIAN ROLAPP outlined in an e-mail sent to league employees this morning. “As you all know, the media landscape continues to undergo enormous change and our fans are consuming more NFL content in more places than ever before,” Rolapp wrote. “In order to align our content and programming strategy across all our platforms, I am happy to announce that Jordan Levin has joined the NFL family.” Levin, who starts today and will be based in Culver City, Calif., has a background in entertainment television. He spent around a decade in senior positions at The WB network, including as the network’s CEO for a year in '03. He previously worked for Walt Disney and Touchstone Television. Most recently, he was Exec VP & GM of Xbox Entertainment Studios with Microsoft, where he helped launch a VOD programming service for Xbox. In his new role, he will oversee the development and distribution of NFL content, including linear TV, digital media and NFL Films "and our external content partnerships with numerous television networks, digital distributors, film and TV development studios and other media partners,” Rolapp wrote in the memo. MARK QUENZEL will continue to oversee NFL Network as Senior VP/Programming & Production and will report to Levin. NFL Films Exec Producers PAT KELLEHER and ROSS KETOVER also will report to Levin (John Ourand, Staff Writer). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Joe Flint notes Levin will "oversee the Super Bowl Halftime Show," though that will still be produced by Quenzel. The hire is a "telling move for the NFL" in that Levin has "spent his entire career in Hollywood working mostly in scripted television and has no sports experience" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/15). Rolapp said that Levin "has been given a broad focus on the type of content he'll be tasked to develop, ranging from game shows to possibly scripted shows" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 6/14).
