SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Scotty Kilmer, the Emmy Award-winning car care expert so facile with both the wrench and spoken word that he turned The Scotty Kilmer Channel into a YouTube phenomenon, is bringing his wildly successful show to the new digital media network TheMaven (symbol MVEN).
“I joined TheMaven because I saw an opportunity to reach even more people and help them out,” said Kilmer, whose massive following has generated more than 160 million video views. “After meeting with TheMaven team, I was impressed from the top down by the professional grade of all involved.
“TheMaven is a perfect match for me, as part of their expert-only network. Their business model allows me to do my thing, while they handle technology, distribution and advertising - and they bring serious internet executive experience. It's hard enough for me to stay ahead of emerging car technology, so I appreciate them ensuring my media technology is out front as well. This is a perfect Yin/Yang relationship,” he added.
TheMaven is a growing coalition of elite, independent reporters, analysts, experts and cause leaders across multiple subject categories. Kilmer plans to launch “On The Road With Scotty” on TheMaven this spring.
A mechanic for the last 49 years, Kilmer uses expertise and wit to make informative and entertaining videos. The Houston Press dubs him “the Guru of Gasket.”
“Bringing Scotty Kilmer onto our network, brings an intense auto audience within the automotive vertical,” said James Heckman, the founder and CEO of TheMaven. “His following is phenomenal and he has a history of partnering with manufacturers who seek the opportunity to have their products spotlighted by someone with an authentic expertise respected by their customers. On top of being the most knowledgeable and professional mechanic in media, Scotty’s sense of humor and unique personality also help him connect with his audience on a genuine level. We’re proud to have him as a founding partner with TheMaven.”
TheMaven is an expert-driven, group media network whose state-of-the-art platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel partners. By providing broader distribution, greater community engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs, TheMaven enables partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business: creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with the communities and constituencies they serve.
TheMaven Network will launch this quarter in beta as channel partner signings continue to be announced. For more information, visit themaven.net.
Based in Seattle, TheMaven is publicly traded in the OTC Markets Group, under the ticker symbol MVEN. Key members of the leadership team include:
Founder and CEO, James Heckman has extensive experience in digital media, advertising, video and online communities for major public companies and several times as founder. He served as Head of Global Media Strategy for Yahoo!, leading all significant transactions and revenue strategy under Ross Levinsohn’s tenure. As Chief Strategy Officer at Fox Digital, he architected the market-changing, $900 million social media ad alliance between Google and Myspace and was instrumental in Hulu’s formation. Prior to Yahoo!, Mr. Heckman was founder/CEO of 5to1.com (sold to Yahoo!), CSO of Zazzle.com, Founder/CEO of Scout.com (sold to Fox), Founder/CEO of Rivals.com and Rivals.net (sold to Yahoo!, post tenure and 365-Sports, respectively) and held the position of President and Publisher of NFL Exclusive, official publication for every NFL team. Heckman holds a BA in Communications from the University of Washington.
Co-founder and COO, William Sornsin ran MSN's Core Technology team before joining Rivals as co-founder and CTO in 1999, co-founded Scout.com as CTO/COO; was VP Engineering & Operations at Fox Interactive Media after Scout acquisition. Earlier, Sornsin held a variety of product and program management roles at Microsoft. He holds a BS Electrical/Computer Engineering from the University of Iowa and an MBA from UCLA.
Co-founder and CTO, Benjamin Joldersma’s career spans nearly two decades of large-scale platform development, including CTO and chief architect of Scout.com. Ben held the role of Senior software engineer, Geo/Imagery at Google, a Principal Software Engineer at Yahoo!, Chief Architect at 5to1 and held senior engineering roles at aQuantive, Rivals.com and Microsoft. Ben studied Computer Science at University of Puget Sound.
Director, Ross Levinsohn is a leading industry figure who has long focused on the convergence of technology and media. He served as CEO at Yahoo in 2012 and prior to that role was Executive Vice President, Americas and Head of Global Media from 2010 to 2012. Levinsohn served as President of Fox Interactive where he helped create one of the largest digital businesses amongst the traditional media companies, and was instrumental in the formation of what is now Hulu. He serves on several public and private media and technology boards, including Tribune Media, mobile advertising marketplace YieldMo, Vubiquity, Zefr, and the National Association of Television Program Executives. He was Executive Chairman and Director of Scout Media, Inc. from 2014-2016, previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Guggenheim Digital Media and co-founded 5to1 Holding Corp, serving as its Executive Chairman. He co-founded Fuse Capital in 2005 and served as its Managing Director and Managing Partner. He served as General Manager at AltaVista Network and Vice President of Programming and Executive Producer at CBS Sportsline. Mr. Levinsohn received a BA in Broadcast Communications from American University, and is a trustee there.
