MTV President steps down after a year

The departures through the Viacom-owned MTV’s revolving door continue, with President Sean Atkins stepping down after a year. 

No reason has been given. Atkins was brought in to reinvent the network. He launched MTV Live and MTV Classic, and the successful Snapchat Discover channel.

Music was brought back to the fore while the brand’s news, websites and app were revamped. 

Aiming at a younger viewership and rebranding it as an arbiter of cool, Atkins also pushed for more original content, green-lighting 14 new series and specials.

However the rise of streaming has seen MTV ratings continue their five-year downward trend, the drop is at an annual rate of 17%, according to data from research firm MoffettNathanson LLC.

The sought-after new audience did not materialise within the 12 months. Viewership declined 16% during prime time in the third quarter. Indications were that the decline in its core 18—34 demographic was slowing down.

In comparison, the turnaround at sister network VH1 was fast and significant. 

MTV is no longer a success story for Viacom, with the one- time Top 10 network now slipping out of the Top 20. 

Media sources speculated that Viacom Music and Entertainment Group President Doug Herzog – who hired him and to whom he reported – told Atkins he wanted to bring in an executive over him to accelerate the process. 

Atkins opted to go. He will stay until January in a consultancy capacity to make the transition easier.

In an email to his staff announcing his exit, the outgoing President said, “I am so proud of what this team has accomplished together. We’ve filled the creative pipeline with so many new projects and producers.

“Amazing projects like Sweet/Vicious, Stranded With A Million Bucks, Signed and Going Off are just around the corner.

“We’ve moved aggressively to recapture music as our muse with projects like Made In Compton, Wonderland and Virtually Famous just to name a few. 

“We’re taking the time and care to do smart thinking around the brand and vision for MTV, including bringing in new media and creative agencies to back our new brand campaign. 

“We’ve continued to invest into our future with the successful growth of our Snapchat Discover channel, social footprint and MTV News.

“And we’ve continued to be an incredible social voice with our Elect This campaign and launch of our new documentary unit. This tremendous creative effort is a recipe for success and it will pay off.”

Atkins arrived last September to replace Stephen Friedman who had been with the company since 1998 and served as its President since 2011.

He joined from Discovery Communications, where he had served as GM and EVP of Digital Media Strategy. Before that he was Senior VP of Digital Media at HBO and Head of Programming and Development at Yahoo Entertainment. 

Atkins’ departure follows last year’s defection by President of Programming Susanne Daniels to YouTube. In February, MTV Networks Music & Logo Group President Van Toffler left after 28 years at the network.