By Stuart Thomson
US cable giants Comcast and Charter Communications have named Marcien Jenckes to head their recently formed streaming platform joint venture.
The streaming JV will be charged with developing and offering a next-generation streaming platform on a variety of branded 4K streaming devices and smart TVs
Comcast will license Flex, its aggregated streaming platform and hardware to the joint venture, contribute the XClass TV retail business, and contribute Xumo, the ad-supported streaming service it acquired in 2020. Charter will make an initial contribution of US$900 million, funded over multiple years.
Jenckes has served as president of advertising for Comcast Cable since 2017. Before that, he was esponsible for Comcast Cable’s residential lines of business, including video and internet.
He has also been involved in a number of advertising-focused initiatives in Comcast and with the wider cable industry.
“Marcien has been an outstanding leader within our company for over a decade. His blend of experience as an entrepreneur, as an expert in improving customers’ entertainment experience, and an innovator in the rapidly changing advertising environment, makes him uniquely qualified to helm this partnership with Charter,” said CEO of Comcast Cable, Dave Watson.
“Marcien has emerged as a leading voice within the media industry. He has a future-focused view of the landscape, understands the importance of this partnership and is a great choice to lead the joint venture,” said Charter chairman and CEO, Tom Rutledge.
