Syfy promotes Sharknado exec

US cablenet Syfy has expanded the remit of the senior VP it credits with being the driving force behind the Sharknado social media phenomenon.

As senior VP of programme strategy, Chris Regina is now responsible for content planning, scheduling and original movie development and production at Syfy and fellow NBCUniversal-owned channel, Chiller.

Regina will continue to oversee Syfy’s acquired international and domestic coproductions, which have recently included the zombie show Z Nation.

TV movie Sharknado, which sees a freak tornado deposit man-eating sharks in the streets of LA, sparked a frenzy of Twitter activity when it aired on Syfy in the US last year. Its sequel, Sharknado 2: The Second One, was similarly popular online.

Based at the channel’s New York office, Regina will report directly to Dave Howe, president, Syfy and Chiller.

Regina joined Syfy in 1998 as director, scheduling and administration. Prior to that, he was programme director at WGTW-TV in Philadelphia, where he oversaw all scheduling and acquisitions as well as off-air marketing and promotion.