or


[06/05/13 - 10:17 AM]
Spike TV Bolsters Original Series Department with New Additions and Key Promotions
Chris Rantamaki is promoted to Senior Vice President, Original Series while Justin Lacob is promoted to Vice President, Original Series.

[via press release from Spike TV]

SPIKE TV BOLSTERS ORIGINAL SERIES DEPARTMENT WITH NEW ADDITIONS AND KEY PROMOTIONS

Los Angeles, CA, June 5, 2013 - As Spike TV continues to evolve and develop its brand through broad-appealing original programming, the network is announcing additions and promotions to its Original Series Team. The department's growth correlates with the network's biggest ever commitment to originals, which include the network's hit series "Ink Master," "Bar Rescue," "Tattoo Nightmares," "Auction Hunters," and the upcoming "Fight Master" and "Criss Angel: Believe."

"The Original Series team's expansion reflects our ever-continuing goal to create distinctive, bold shows geared toward a more-gender balanced audience," said Sharon Levy, Executive Vice President, Original Series, Spike TV. "We are developing more original series than ever before, and we are bringing in two real superstars in Kevin Bartel and Hayley Lozitsky to join one of the best development teams in the business."

The Original Series department changes include the following:

Chris Rantamaki is promoted to Senior Vice President, Original Series and will continue to report to Levy. Rantamaki will oversee the day-to-day department activities relating to development and production. Rantamaki joined Spike in April 2011 as Vice President, Original Series and was instrumental in developing the highest-rated series on the channel, "Ink Master," which delivered nearly three million viewers for its most recent season finale. Rantamaki also oversees the successful "Tattoo Nightmares," "World's Worst Tenants" and "Urban Tarzan." Before joining Spike, Rantamaki spent four years at the Discovery Channel.

"I am thrilled to announce Chris's well-deserved promotion today. He'll now be taking more of a leadership role in the department and company," said Levy. "He is a rising star in our industry and his creativity, passion and taste have played an enormous role in helping Spike grow its slate of successful original programming."

Justin Lacob is promoted to Vice President, Original Series. Lacob previously served as Director where he oversaw two of the network's signature series, the critically-acclaimed "Bar Rescue" and "Savage Family Diggers." Lacob is now developing two of the network's highly anticipated series, the upcoming "Tattoo Rescue" and "10 Million Dollar Big Foot Bounty." In his new role, Lacob will also work with Levy and other members of the team in the development of the network's scripted miniseries. Lacob came to Spike following a two-year stint at Intuitive Entertainment, where he served as Senior Director of Development overseeing such projects as "LA Shrinks" and "Love Broker" for Bravo.

Hayley Lozitsky joins Spike TV as Vice President, Original Series. Lozitsky previously served as Senior Vice President of Development at Ellen Rakieten Entertainment where she developed non-scripted/scripted programming. Among the series she developed include "Trisha's Southern Kitchen" for Food Network, "Pretty Wicked Moms" for Lifetime and "Hideous Houses" for A&E. Prior to that, Lozitsky was an agent specializing in non-scripted television at UTA. She began her career at E! and Style Network in Programming and Development.

Kevin Bartel joins Spike TV as Vice President, Original Series. Bartel previously served as Vice President of Development and Current Programming for All3Media America. Prior to that, Bartel joined Eli Holzman as one of the first employees of the U.S. arm of the British production company, Studio Lambert and helped launch "Undercover Boss," the #1 new show of the 2009-2010 season for CBS. Working across All3media Americas diverse slate of projects, Bartel has helped develop and produce television for A&E, AMC, Animal Planet, Bravo, CBS, CMT, CW, Discovery, E!, Lifetime, Logo, MTV, Nat Geo, NBC, Oxygen, Spike, Style, SyFy, TLC, TNT, Travel, TruTV, Vh1 and USA.

After nine years at Spike TV, Senior Vice President Tim Duffy will be leaving this fall to start a production company with his twin brother, Mike Duffy. "Tim has been an invaluable asset to me and a tremendous force in developing some of Spike's signature series. While we will miss Tim on our team, we are very excited to partner with him on a development deal as he sets out to create our next hit series with his new production company. We wish him tremendous luck and a big thank you for his time here."

About Spike:

Spike is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike's Internet address is www.spike.com.





  [june 2013]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· AUCTION HUNTERS (SPIKE TV)
· BAR RESCUE (PARAMOUNT)
· CRISS ANGEL BELIEVE (SPIKE TV)
· FIGHT MASTER: BELLATOR MMA (SPIKE TV)
· INK MASTER (PARAMOUNT PLUS)
· TATTOO NIGHTMARES (SPIKE TV)





[11/21/24 - 04:01 PM]
"Rugged Rugby: Conquer or Die" Premieres December 10: A Battle for Supremacy Begins
In the shadows of Korea's rugby world, seven teams engage in a fierce battle of strength, strategy, and teamwork - all vying to be crowned champion.

[11/21/24 - 04:00 PM]
ABC Presents a Two-Night Special Event To Commemorate the Diamond Anniversary of "Mary Poppins"
First, "The Untold Story of Mary Poppins: A Special Edition of 20/20," a two-hour special from ABC News Studios chock full of rarely seen footage, photos and stories from the film's living legends, airs Wednesday, November 27 on ABC and streams next day on Hulu and Disney+.

[11/21/24 - 01:32 PM]
2024 International Emmy Nominees on Hulu
Check out these Emmy-worthy international series streaming on Hulu.

[11/21/24 - 01:12 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Semifinals Is Top Program of the Night in Adults 18-49 and All Key Women Demographics
The spectacular season 33 penultimate episode grew over the previous week's 500th episode celebration in both Total Viewers (5.19 million vs. 5.13 million) and Adults 18-49 (0.75 rating vs. 0.71 rating), hitting a season high in Total Viewers.

[11/21/24 - 01:05 PM]
NBC Orders Five Additional Episodes of Its Friday Night Comedy Hit "Happy's Place"
The "Happy's Place" premiere has hit 14 million viewers across all platforms.

[11/21/24 - 12:14 PM]
NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and Believe Entertainment Group's "Billion Dollar Babies: The True Story of the Cabbage Patch Kids" Is Now Available to Rent on Amazon Prime
The feature-length documentary captures the incredible true story of the dolls, leaving nothing untouched, including the fundamental dispute over who originated the idea.

[11/21/24 - 12:14 PM]
MGM+ Renews Sci-Fi Horror Series "From" for Season Four
The series is set to return to production in Nova Scotia in 2025, and premiere in 2026.

[11/21/24 - 12:00 PM]
What's New on Max This December
Watch the debuts of HBO originals "Hard Knocks: In Season with the AFC North," "Nature of the Crime," and "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story," Max originals "Creature Commandos," "Fast Friends," "Rose Matafeo: On and On and On," and season two of "Bookie," and Warner Bros. film "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice."

[11/21/24 - 11:00 AM]
HBO Renews Original Late-Night Comedy Series "It's Florida, Man." for a Second Season
The season one finale debuts Friday, November 22 and the first season is available to stream on Max.

[11/21/24 - 10:32 AM]
Taylor Sheridan's "Landman" Explodes with Over 5M Global Viewers Across Paramount+ and Linear Preview
The series also secured the #1 spot for a U.S. premiere in Paramount+ history within its first three days.

[11/21/24 - 10:31 AM]
Video: "Ronny Chieng: Love to Hate It" - Sneak Peek - Netflix
Filmed over a five-night sold-out run in Honolulu at the historic Hawai'i Theatre, this extremely personal special hilariously unpacks the indignities of the IVF process, the pitfalls of being a man on the internet, American politics and the place of the older generation in today's world.

[11/21/24 - 10:06 AM]
CNN Renews "Have I Got News for You" for a Second Season
Produced by Hat Trick Productions for CNN Originals, "Have I Got News for You" concludes its 10-episode freshman season on Saturday, November 23 at 9pm ET/PT on CNN.

[11/21/24 - 10:04 AM]
"CMA Country Christmas" Returns Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 8/7c an ABC and Next Day on Hulu and Disney+
Filmed in Nashville in front of a live audience, the festive special showcases one-of-a-kind musical performances of Christmas classics from Country Music's biggest stars.

[11/21/24 - 10:01 AM]
Netflix Brings "Squid Game" to Los Angeles with Immersive Fan Event & US Premiere Set for December 12th, 2024
The interactive event, which will give fans a chance to compete for their seat at an exclusive advance screening, will feature director Hwang Dong-hyuk, Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun, and more cast members from Season 2.

[11/21/24 - 10:00 AM]
HBO Documentary Films' "Nature of the Crime" Debuts December 10
Over a period of four years, filmmakers Ricki Stern and Jesse Sweet follow Todd Scott and Chad Campbell: two men involved in violent crimes as teenagers who have since served more than 30 years of their sentences and have each been eligible for parole for more than a decade.