Chicken Soup for the Soul names Epix & Lionsgate veteran as CCO

Phil Oppenheim

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (CSSE) has appointed Epix and Lionsgate veteran Phil Oppenheim as chief content officer.

Taking up the newly created role on 1 November, Oppenheim will lead content strategy across physical and streaming brands, including recent acquisition Redbox and Crackle, helping to grow revenue and profits. He will report to Jonathan Katz, president, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.

His appointment comes soon after CSSE set out its new senior leadership structure, with Redbox CEO Galen C. Smith becoming executive vice chairman of Redbox and CSSE, while former Scripps Networks exec Jonathan Katz was been named president of CSSE.

Oppenheim was previously SVP of program scheduling at MGM’s Epix Networks, where he led the programming team and stewarded Epix’s linear and SVOD linear services and their streaming extensions under the Epix banner.

He was also responsible for the streaming content and branding for ScreenPix’s suite of ad-free channels, as well as Epix Now.

Before Epix, Oppenheim was chief curator and pop culture officer and SVP of programming for Lionsgate, where he led the content launch of Comic-Con HQ, a multi-platform SVOD service, as well as Kevin Hart’s LOL AVOD service.

Prior to Lionsgate, Oppenheim spent several decades at Turner Broadcasting, beginning his career driving the launch of TCM, and ultimately ending as SVP of programming for TNT and TBS, overseeing content strategy, linear programming and scheduling, as well as the digital content team responsible for streaming and VOD.

“Phil is a true unicorn. He’s an executive with wide-ranging experience across multiple streaming brands and business models, along with vast experience leading some of TV’s most successful linear networks,” said Katz. “Phil has helped grow audience and revenue at every point in his career, and we’re incredibly lucky to have him as part of the team.”