Jean-Paul Colaco, Hulu and Apple Veteran, Named Head of WarnerMedia Ad Sales

Dino-Ray Ramos Associate Editor/ReporterEXCLUSIVE: Stand-up comedian Lil Rel Howery is about to lead the charge when it comes to comedy at kweliTV. The Get Out star has been named Head of Comedy for the SVOD platform for global indie Black cinema.Howery will team with kweliTV Founder and CEO DeShuna Spencer to securing new comedy content for distribution as well as partnerships and other opportunities in the comedy space.

Variety Staff Follow Us on TwitterAPA executive Julia Johnson has joined ICM Partners as general counsel and executive VP overseeing all business and legal affairs.At ICM, Johnson will take on some of the duties now handed by general counsel Rick Levy, who is exiting the agency at the end of the year. Johnson is expected to begin in November.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWarnerMedia’s recent restructuring was “spot on,” and the company accelerated those changes to the media division — which had been eyed for 2021 — because of COVID to boost the streaming profile of HBO Max, according to AT&T CEO John Stankey.Stankey, speaking Monday at the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ Live streaming conference, praised WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s changes at the company.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorWarnerMedia wants to take another swing at celebrity golf.The AT&T-owned media operation unveiled plans Monday for another of its golf telecasts featuring two celebrity teams squaring off against one another. The new foursome will feature Phil Mickelson and Charles Barkley taking on Stephen Curry and Peyton Manning.

discussing some of the disturbing potential ramifications of Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorExecutives at NBCUniversal, NBC News and the NBC broadcast network are not-so-quietly thanking an employee who has only limited command over the Comcast-owned company’s corporate direction: Savannah Guthrie.Guthrie’s handling of President Donald Trump during a town-hall broadcast organized in last-minute fashion by NBC News helped blunt waves of criticism of the media conglomerate, which scheduled the event directly opposite one with Joe Biden, Trump’s Democratic

Sometimes you’ve got to shoot your shot.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPresident Trump wanted to run and ramble. Savannah Guthrie wouldn’t let him.In what may be the performance of a career, the popular “Today” anchor kept a tight rein on the proceedings of a controversial town-hall event with President Donald Trump that put NBC in the cross-hairs of critics and Hollywood A-listers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe election coverage will be from CBS News.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPresident Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will no doubt make news when they take part in dueling town halls this evening on NBC and ABC. But the networks broadcasting their events may be looking less at headlines the two politicians will generate and more at the money they will draw.NBC and ABC hope to take in hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising revenue from their 8 p.m.

Bachelor in Paradise alum teamed up with Rum Haven to crash fans' Zoom watch parties and share her first impressions about the season with Cosmopolitan. For starters, Hannah said she's totally feeling Clare as The Bachelorette.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC News and ABC News regularly feud in the morning and fight in the early evening. Now they are taking their scorched-earth battle for news viewers to primetime.Little love is lost between the two news divisions, one an integral and massive part of the Comcast media empire, and the other, smaller rival an instrumental piece of Walt Disney.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBC News will move forward with an 8 p.m.

 Jenna Ortega  is taking the world by storm. At only 18-years-old, the actress’s resume is already quite impressive.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNBCUniversal consolidated ad sales for its local stations and regional sports outlets under its ad-sales chief Linda Yaccarino, adding to her duties at the large Comcast-controlled media conglomerate.Yaccarino will continue to oversee the company’s national advertising sales, as she has done since the fall of 2012. She joined NBCUniversal in September of 2011 from the former Time Warner to oversee cable and digital ad sales.

2020 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is set to be a star-studded event. On Thursday, a number of A-list celebrities were announced as special guests for this year's ceremony, which will induct Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, The Notorious B.I.G.

Dade Hayes Finance EditorJean-Paul “JP” Colaco, the industry veteran who has worked at Apple and at Hulu, has been hired by WarnerMedia as Head of Advertising Sales.

WarnerMedia has named Jean-Paul “JP” Colaco as its new head of advertising sales. One of his first assignments: launching HBO Max's ad-supported offering in 2021.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCamille Hearst has been named head of Spotify for Artists, the resource the streaming giant provides for artists and their teams to better understand and build their audiences via statistics, insights and other educational resources.In this new role, she will be responsible for managing a cross-functional team including product, tech, design, user research and more. Hearst is based in New York and reports to Charlie Hellman, the company’s VP and head of