Charter Communications has hired veteran video industry executive Scott Barton to the role of group VP, digital marketplace, where he’ll help the No. 1 U.S. pay TV provider bundle no less than 10 third-party subscription streaming services with its linear video offerings.
Charter confirmed the hiring after Barton announced his move on LinkedIn on Monday. He started back in February. “Scott will further integration of popular streaming apps and services into Spectrum’s product offering,” a Charter spokesperson told StreamTV Insider.
On LinkedIn, Barton said that he’ll be “responsible for the strategy and execution of a best-in-class digital storefront, offering seamless entertainment apps, services and more.” The Charter rep wouldn’t elaborate on the “storefront” plan, but CEO Christopher Winfrey alluded to this packaging during Charter’s Q4 earnings call on Jan. 31, while discussing the ongoing SVOD integration.
Barton will report to Elena Ritchie, who was promoted to the role of senior VP of video back in November. He arrives at Charter’s Stamford, Conn. headquarters after spending the previous four years as chief product officer for Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based startup MyBundle, a company that specializes in connecting pay TV operators, streaming companies and customers. Prior to that, he had a two-year stint as senior VP of product for Denver-based cable operator WideOpenWest. And he had a 17-year run at Starz before WOW!, last serving as senior VP, digital programming and product.
Starting with its landmark carriage renewal with Disney back in September 2023, Charter has carved out broad reaching capabilities to offer premium subscription streaming services to its pay TV customers at no additional consumer cost. The cable operator has since signed similar agreements with Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount Global, NBCUniversal, and several other media companies.
Charter is still in the middle of a technical integration process but will soon offer the ad-supported iterations of Disney+, Paramount+, Max, Peacock, Discovery+, Vix, AMC+ and several DTC services at no additional costs to subscribers of Spectrum Select and other pay TV tiers. Charter will also soon offer customers the ability to pay extra to access ad-free versions of these popular SVOD services.
During Charter’s Q4 earnings call, Winfrey discussed packaging all these SVODs together within Xumo, the joint-venture TVOS the cable operator is developing with Comcast. With the added value of these subscription streaming services, Charter is once again bundling video alongside its core home broadband and mobile connectivity service offerings.
“Once we've got all the apps fully activated for inclusion, and once we have a consumer friendly way for them to upgrade into the ad-free versions … and we have that in a store that allows customers to go through at least the perception of a unified authentication process that's customer friendly, then you'll start to see us push more and more into driving that, not just for video sales, but as a way to contribute to the broadband connectivity and the mobile relationship,” Winfrey said.