Chicken Soup hires ex-MGM exec Phil Oppenheim to lead streaming strategy

New York-headquartered Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment has hired former MGM executive Phil Oppenheim as chief content officer as it pushes further into the ad-supported streaming space.

Phil Oppenheim

In the newly created position, Oppenheim will lead the content strategy for the company’s physical and streaming brands, including Redbox and Crackle, with a focus on growing revenue and profits. Starting work on November 1, he will report to Chicken Soup president Jonathan Katz.

Oppenheim was formerly the senior VP of programme scheduling at MGM’s Epix Networks, where he led the programming team and oversaw Epix’s linear and SVoD premium linear services, as well as Epix streaming extensions including Epix Now and ScreenPix.

Before that, he was chief curator, pop culture officer and senior VP of programming for Lionsgate, where he spearheaded the content launch of multiplatform streaming service Comic-Con HQ and Kevin Hart’s LOL AVoD service. He was also previously the senior VP of programming for TNT and TBS, overseeing content strategy, linear programming and scheduling, and VoD.

“Phil is a true unicorn. He’s an executive with wide-ranging experience across multiple streaming brands and business models, along with vast experience leading some of TV’s most successful linear networks,” said Katz.

Chicken Soup-owned VoD brands include Crackle Plus, which owns and operates several AVoD services including Crackle and Popcornflix. In May, the publicly traded company acquired ad-supported streamer and movie rental service Redbox Entertainment for US$375m.