Frequency hires former Amagi executive to lead monetisation strategy
June 10, 2026 11.19 Europe/London By Julian Clover


Frequency has appointed James Smith as General Manager, Monetization as the streaming television technology provider looks to expand its advertising and revenue capabilities.

Smith joins the Los Angeles-based company from Amagi, where he led the company’s global advertising business. Prior to that, he managed Meta’s global entertainment and streaming advertising portfolio and held senior digital media roles at Disney and Sony.

The appointment comes as Frequency increases its focus on helping FAST, OTT, connected TV and virtual MVPD operators improve revenue generation and advertising performance. It follows the recent launch of the company’s In-Scene Advertising product, which creates advertising inventory within live and streamed television content.

Blair Harrison, founder and CEO of Frequency, said the next phase of streaming television would be defined not only by audience growth but by the industry’s ability to monetise those audiences more effectively.

“The next chapter of streaming isn’t about creating more ad inventory, it’s about creating better inventory,” added Jon Cohen, Chief Revenue Officer at Frequency.

Smith said Frequency’s position within the streaming television ecosystem, combined with its channel distribution network and technology platform, provided an opportunity to help content owners extract greater commercial value from their services.

Frequency provides SaaS-based channel creation, management and distribution services for broadcasters, studios and content owners. The company says its platform is used by media companies including Amazon MGM Studios, Hearst Television, Red Bull Media House, BBC Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment, with channels distributed across more than 200 platforms worldwide.

Smith will represent the company at The Stream TV Show in Denver later this month and at Cannes Lions in France, where Frequency plans to meet with content owners, distributors and advertisers to discuss streaming television monetisation strategies.