Spotify has hired former Paramount+ executive Julie McNamara as its new head of U.S. studios and video, an individual with knowledge of the matter told The Hollywood Reporter.
Reporting to Dawn Ostroff, Spotify’s chief content and advertising business officer, McNamara will be responsible for setting the creative vision for Spotify’s studios and leading partnerships for Spotify Originals, including The Ringer, Gimlet, Parcast and Studio 4, Higher Ground and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Archewell Audio.
The ViacomCBS veteran was most recently the evp and head of programming at Paramount+, where she helped launch the streaming service — then called CBS All Access — with scripted originals like Star Trek: Discovery and The Good Fight. After the streamer rebranded to Paramount+, McNamara also developed originals like The Offer: The Making of The Godfather, Yellowstone: 1883, the iCarly revival and SpongeBob: Kamp Koral.
McNamara joined CBS All Access after spending 10 years at CBS Television Studios, where she served as the evp of drama development and oversaw shows like The Good Wife, Elementary, Criminal Minds, Hawaii Five-0 and Jane the Virgin. She exited ViacomCBS in May, shortly after Pluto’s Tom Ryan was named head of ViacomCBS Streaming, after 15 years at the company.
Courtney Holt, who joined Spotify from Disney in 2017, will continue to manage partnerships and exclusive licenses as vp of Spotify’s global podcast business.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
