The CW has tapped Roku Senior Director Ashley Hovey as its first chief digital officer, the network announced Tuesday.
Hovey, who will begin responsibilities for the newly created role April 17, will oversee business strategy and day-to-day operations of the network’s digital operations and streaming platforms. She will report to The CW Network president Dennis Miller.
After serving in roles across the entertainment industry at Comcast, where she served as senior director of advertising strategy and development, as well as British Telecom and Nielsen, Hovey joins the network from Roku, where she spent five years overseeing ad-supported business for The Roku Channel, encompassing both on-demand and FAST channel content as well as audience engagement and growth.
In her role as a senior director at Roku, Hovey is credited with building and managing the Kids and Family, FAST, Music and Espacio Latino businesses, as well as driving overall partner strategy and monetization.
“We are thrilled to have an all-star digital business strategist like Ashley Hovey join our senior leadership team,” Miller said in a statement. “Ashley is a trailblazer who knows what it takes to build a successful entertainment brand from the ground up and we look forward to having her play a vital role in helping us expand and monetize The CW Network’s digital footprint.”
The CW App, which has logged over 92 million downloads to date, features the network’s primetime programming, livestream of sports content and other on-demand TV and film content. The app is free to consumers across major platforms, including Roku, Fire TV, LG Smart TVs, iOS, tvOS for Apple TV, Google Play, Android TV, VIZIO, UWP and Xbox One, among others.
“I’m excited to join the Network at a crucial time when anything and everything is possible in TV and streaming,” Hovey said. “The CW has an amazing audience and history, and I look forward to bringing my experience of building one of the largest Ad Supported streaming businesses to the Network. Together with the great team Dennis has put in place, I cannot wait to grow the Network to new heights.”
