David Eilenberg elevated to top content post at Roku, Rob Holmes set to exit

Roku’s VP of programming Rob Holmes is set to leave the company in March, with David Eilenberg being promoted to the role of VP, head of content for Roku Media.

David Eilenberg

With Eilenberg’s promotion, Roku Originals and Roku Studios will sit under one leader for the first time. The promotion comes around nine months after Eilenberg joined Roku as head of originals after previously serving as chief creative officer at ITV America.

Holmes’s departure is the first major exec shake-up at Roku since the arrival of former Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier, who became president of Roku Media last October. Eilenberg will report to Collier in the new role, after previously reporting to Holmes.

“David is terrific, proven and well-known across the industry and has been leading the charge at Roku, with his terrific team, to establish The Roku Channel as a destination for both scripted and unscripted original content,” said Collier in a memo seen by C21.

Holmes spent six years with Roku after previous stints at Comcast and NBCUniversal. In his remaining weeks with Roku, he will work closely with Collier on “ongoing strategic projects that deserve dedicated care.”

Collier said of Holmes: “Rob has been instrumental in Roku’s growth. He led The Roku Channel from concept to launch including hiring an awesome team, evangelising about Roku and The Roku Channel to early content partners, moving Roku into originals and setting a great foundation for future growth, with the channel still delivering record numbers and growing.”

Earlier this month, Roku said it had surpassed 70 million active accounts globally, according to its own data, after adding around 10 million active users in 2022. Next quarter, it is also planning the US release of the first smart TVs that it both designed and manufactured.