CJ ENM hires former Fox exec Steve W Chung to oversee global growth plan

BCWW: South Korean entertainment company CJ ENM has appointed former Fox executive Steve W Chung as its global chief growth officer, based in LA.

Steve W Chung

Chung takes up the newly created post immediately and will be tasked with overseeing CJ ENM’s global strategy and accelerating its international expansion plans.

Chung joins from Fox Corporation, where he had been chief growth officer since May 2021. Prior to that, he was chief digital officer at Fox TV Stations.

The exec also previously founded and was CEO of Frankly, a publicly traded media tech company in San Francisco, and worked as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley and an executive producer in China.

Kang Ho-sung, CEO of CJ ENM, said: “We are at a time when our company is experiencing exponential growth and seeking opportunities to further expand our business globally.

“Based on his leadership in driving the growth of companies in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, we are thrilled to have Steve join our team as one of our key executives to position CJ ENM as a global entertainment company of the future.”

The news, announced during the BCWW conference here in Seoul, comes as CJ ENM’s expansion plans get into gear. The Korean firm recently acquired a majority stake in LA-based Endeavor Content and sold Nordic distributor Eccho Rights to a German company, while the global roll-out of its unscripted format I Can See Your Voice is continuing.

The singing show has been a major talking point at BCWW, with one panel dedicated to the format’s local productions in 27 countries, while another focused on the US coproductions and commissions of CJ ENM’s quasi-independent production subsidiary Studio Dragon.

The studio’s global division head, Hyun Park, told BCWW delegates yesterday about its slate of global Korean-language dramas, including 10-parter The Big Door Prize, which is being produced by CJ ENM, Studio Dragon and LA-based Skydance Television for Apple TV+.

Studio Dragon is also developing several other projects in the US, including English-language versions of Korean hits Hotel Del Luna and Crash Landing on You and an adaptation of author Kim Un-Su’s sci-fi crime thriller The Plotters, with The Ink Factory onboard the latter.