Charlie Collier is leaving Fox to join Roku
The CEO of Fox Entertainment will oversee Roku’s an advertising and content businesses.
Charlie Collier has moved.
The Fox Entertainment veteran and CEO is leaving the company to become head of media at Roku. Collier will be in charge of both Roku’s an advertising and content businesses, including The Roku Channel.
Collier will start working for Roku in October and will be headquartered in New York. He had been at Fox since 2018, heading the company’s entertainment division and developing shows such as The Masked Singer and The Cleaning Lady. He was the president of AMC before joining Fox.
He joins Roku as part of a bigger restructure that also sees the streaming technology business promote two other executives. Roku’s president of devices will be Mustafa Ozgen, while the president of the customer experience will be Gidon Katz. All three will report to Roku CEO Anthony Wood.
Fox has a long history with Roku, not only as a content partner (through Tubi and Fox Nation) but also as a prior shareholder. Fox sold its Roku interest in 2020 and used the proceeds to acquire Tubi, which Collier oversaw.
Roku is most known for its streaming boxes and sticks, but advertising has been the company’s key growth story, with its owned free streaming service Roku Channel playing a significant role. The business is also in the midst of a major expansion into original content, which began last year when Roku acquired the defunct Quibi’s library and is preparing to air a false biopic about Weird Al Yankovic, starring Daniel Radcliffe, on The Roku channel in November.
“There is a tremendous opportunity to further accelerate and evolve Roku’s business as the streaming platform built for advertising, and Charlie is the ideal person to help us capitalize on the moment,” said Wood in a statement. “He is a proven leader who brings vast experience, a history of evolving businesses, strong creative instincts, talent relationships, and a track record of driving revenue and growth. He will play an integral role in helping us achieve even greater success as a next-generation media company.”
Added Collier, “Roku is a pioneer in streaming television and has achieved scale and significant relationships with our partners that will continue to be unique and valuable at this pivotal time in the industry. As a partner of Roku, I’ve seen firsthand the power and potential the platform provides advertisers, partners, content creators, and consumers. I’m eager to work with Roku’s talented team to continue to innovate, grow, and bring the company and its partners to the next level.”
In a statement, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch said, “We want to convey our gratitude to Charlie for his leadership, contributions, and irrepressible excitement.” He and his team have carried out a creative, entrepreneurial, and lucrative approach that has utilized our broadcast leadership to establish and support businesses, positioning us for future growth. We wish Charlie the best in his new position.”
It is unclear who will take Collier’s job at Fox. According to network sources, executives learned of Collier’s resignation roughly an hour before the news broke.
Collier’s hire follows the retirement earlier this year of Scott Rosenberg, Roku’s veteran platform executive who was important in developing The Roku Channel and growing the company’s ad business.