Time Inc. has named RICH BATTISTA President & CEO, succeeding JOE RIPP. Battista previously had been President of Time Inc.’s Entertainment & Sports Group and Video, a portfolio that included SI, and he was a key principal in the recent digital content and sales partnership struck between SI and Fox Sports. Ripp will shift to a new role as Exec Chair leading Time Inc.’s BOD. The move continues a rapid ascendancy within Time Inc. for Battista, who joined the company in March ’15 as President of People and Entertainment Weekly after previously serving as CEO of Mandalay Sports Media. Time Inc., spun off in ’14 from Time Warner, has sought to reposition itself from a print-focused entity into a broader multimedia enterprise, a sometimes rocky process that has generated multiple rounds of layoffs and executive restructuring. “As we look to the next phase of our strategy, Rich is the right choice to execute our plans and deliver shareholder value,” Ripp said in a statement. According to SEC filings, Battista has signed a three-year employment contract with the promotion that provides a base salary of $1.2M per year and a series of incentive bonuses and stock options, including a one-time grant of restricted stock units with a grant date value of $750,000 (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Georg Szalai notes Wall Street "has been expecting Battista to rise to the top day-to-day job sooner or later as the company continues to look to rebuild its business for the digital age." Battista oversaw Time Inc.'s "acquisition of Hello Giggles and announced the launch of the 'People/Entertainment Weekly' streaming service, with the company looking for more of these types of digital initiatives" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 9/13).
COSTS OF DOING BUSINESS: In N.Y., Keith Kelly reports the move comes as "activist investor BARRY ROSENSTEIN's Jana Partners has been putting pressure on the board to either accelerate its digital transformation or 'consolidate' with another media company to slash costs" (NYPOST.com, 9/13). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Anne Steele notes Time Inc. faces "continued print advertising declines and increasing competition from such digital upstarts as Vice Media, BuzzFeed and Vox Media" (WSJ.com, 9/13).
