Emmy Award-Winning Car Care Expert and Internet Video Sensation Scotty Kilmer Joining Digital Media Network TheMaven
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Scotty Kilmer, the Emmy Award-winning car care expert so facile with
both the wrench and spoken word that he turned The Scotty Kilmer Channel
into a YouTube phenomenon, is bringing his wildly successful show to the
new digital media network TheMaven (symbol MVEN).
“I joined TheMaven because I saw an opportunity to reach even more
people and help them out,” said Kilmer, whose massive following has
generated more than 160 million video views. “After meeting with
TheMaven team, I was impressed from the top down by the professional
grade of all involved.
“TheMaven is a perfect match for me, as part of their expert-only
network. Their business model allows me to do my thing, while they
handle technology, distribution and advertising – and they bring serious
internet executive experience. It’s hard enough for me to stay ahead of
emerging car technology, so I appreciate them ensuring my media
technology is out front as well. This is a perfect Yin/Yang
relationship,” he added.
TheMaven is a growing coalition of elite, independent reporters,
analysts, experts and cause leaders across multiple subject categories.
Kilmer plans to launch “On The Road With Scotty” on TheMaven this spring.
A mechanic for the last 49 years, Kilmer uses expertise and wit to make
informative and entertaining videos. The Houston Press dubs him “the
Guru of Gasket.”
“Bringing Scotty Kilmer onto our network, brings an intense auto
audience within the automotive vertical,” said James Heckman, the
founder and CEO of TheMaven. “His following is phenomenal and he has a
history of partnering with manufacturers who seek the opportunity to
have their products spotlighted by someone with an authentic expertise
respected by their customers. On top of being the most knowledgeable and
professional mechanic in media, Scotty’s sense of humor and unique
personality also help him connect with his audience on a genuine level.
We’re proud to have him as a founding partner with TheMaven.”
TheMaven is an expert-driven, group media network whose state-of-the-art
platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel
partners. By providing broader distribution, greater community
engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs, TheMaven
enables partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business:
creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with
the communities and constituencies they serve.
TheMaven Network will launch this quarter in beta as channel partner
signings continue to be announced. For more information, visit themaven.net.
Based in Seattle, TheMaven is publicly traded in the OTC Markets Group,
under the ticker symbol MVEN.
Key members of the leadership team include:
Founder and CEO, James Heckman has extensive experience in
digital media, advertising, video and online communities for major
public companies and several times as founder. He served as Head of
Global Media Strategy for Yahoo!, leading all significant transactions
and revenue strategy under Ross Levinsohn’s tenure. As Chief Strategy
Officer at Fox Digital, he architected the market-changing, $900 million
social media ad alliance between Google and Myspace and was instrumental
in Hulu’s formation. Prior to Yahoo!, Mr. Heckman was founder/CEO of
5to1.com (sold to Yahoo!), CSO of Zazzle.com, Founder/CEO of Scout.com
(sold to Fox), Founder/CEO of Rivals.com and Rivals.net (sold to Yahoo!,
post tenure and 365-Sports, respectively) and held the position of
President and Publisher of NFL Exclusive, official publication for every
NFL team. Heckman holds a BA in Communications from the University of
Washington.
Co-founder and COO, William Sornsin ran MSN’s Core Technology
team before joining Rivals as co-founder and CTO in 1999, co-founded
Scout.com as CTO/COO; was VP Engineering & Operations at Fox Interactive
Media after Scout acquisition. Earlier, Sornsin held a variety of
product and program management roles at Microsoft. He holds a BS
Electrical/Computer Engineering from the University of Iowa and an MBA
from UCLA.
Co-founder and CTO, Benjamin Joldersma’s career spans nearly two
decades of large-scale platform development, including CTO and chief
architect of Scout.com. Ben held the role of Senior software engineer,
Geo/Imagery at Google, a Principal Software Engineer at Yahoo!, Chief
Architect at 5to1 and held senior engineering roles at aQuantive,
Rivals.com and Microsoft. Ben studied Computer Science at University of
Puget Sound.
Director, Ross Levinsohn is a leading industry figure who has
long focused on the convergence of technology and media. He served as
CEO at Yahoo in 2012 and prior to that role was Executive Vice
President, Americas and Head of Global Media from 2010 to 2012.
Levinsohn served as President of Fox Interactive where he helped create
one of the largest digital businesses amongst the traditional media
companies, and was instrumental in the formation of what is now Hulu. He
serves on several public and private media and technology boards,
including Tribune Media, mobile advertising marketplace YieldMo,
Vubiquity, Zefr, and the National Association of Television Program
Executives. He was Executive Chairman and Director of Scout Media, Inc.
from 2014-2016, previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of
Guggenheim Digital Media and co-founded 5to1 Holding Corp, serving as
its Executive Chairman. He co-founded Fuse Capital in 2005 and served as
its Managing Director and Managing Partner. He served as General Manager
at AltaVista Network and Vice President of Programming and Executive
Producer at CBS Sportsline. Mr. Levinsohn received a BA in Broadcast
Communications from American University, and is a trustee there.
Contacts
TheMaven Network Inc.
Gretchen Bakamis, 206-715-6660
