Crackle Plus names executive team
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Michelle Clancy
| 08 June 2019

Hot on the heels of creating the VOD joint venture with Sony Pictures Television (SPT), Chicken Soup for the Soul (CSS) Entertainment has appointed four executives to lead Crackle Plus.

Crackle in the US and Canada will form the core of Crackle Plus, announced in May, which SPT and CSS said will have an audience of nearly 10 million monthly active users on its owned and operated networks, as well as millions of additional users from SPT’s ad rep business. CSS Entertainment will also contribute the rights to six owned and operated AVOD networks (Popcornflix, Truli, Popcornflix Kids, Popcornflix Comedy, Frightpix and Espanolflix) to the JV, along with subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform Pivotshare.

Philippe Guelton has been named president of Crackle Plus and will also remain as executive vice president of CSS Entertainment and president of VOD networks; Darren Olive has been named executive vice president of advertising sales; Jason Schaeffer has been named senior vice president of business development, marketing and business intelligence; and Tony Simon has been named senior vice president of content and operations.

“Crackle Plus represents an exciting new chapter for CSS Entertainment,” said William Rouhana, chairman and CEO of CSS. “We need a highly skilled and visionary team to navigate the coming months, and to create the best ad-supported video-on-demand platform possible. I am confident that Philippe Guelton is the best candidate to lead the new Crackle Plus team.”

He added, “Darren Olive, Jason Schaeffer and Tony Simon will be enormous assets to Crackle Plus, as each brings decades of industry experience to the venture. We anticipate this team will quickly help accelerate the growth of the business.”