MTV has brought aboard Conde Nast Entertainment’s Michael Klein to be executive vice president, Original Content.
Klein (pictured above), will oversee all original programming, development and creative across MTV and its related brands. His prior credits include “Vanity Fair Confidential” for ID; “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations” and “Man v. Food” for Travel Channel; and “What Not to Wear” and “Miami Ink” for TLC.
Most recently executive vice president of Programming and Content Strategy at Conde Nast’s Digital Channels, Klein will now report directly to Sean Atkins, President of MTV.
“Michael is a proven hitmaker with a strong feel for our audience, a keen eye for talent, and a successful track record of reinventing brands through distinctive, creator-driven content,” said Atkins. “His leadership and experience are an excellent fit for MTV in this pivotal moment for the network, as we accelerate a new development slate of music and pop culture-inspired programming.”
At Conde Nast Entertainment, Klein was responsible for programming strategy, development and production for the company’s portfolio of Millennial-targeted digital channels across unscripted, scripted, animation, documentary and virtual reality. Prior to launching that venture, Klein served as senior vice president of Programming and Development for the Sundance Channel.
Earlier, Klein served as senior vice president of Content for the Travel Channel, where he helped engineer a network renaissance and record ratings with original series including “Man v. Food” and “Ghost Adventures.” He’s also held executive roles at Discovery Communications Inc., where he launched “Little People, Big World,” “What Not to Wear” and “Miami Ink.”