
Proven Media, Business and Studio Executive Brings a Wide Range of Experience to the Role
June 24, 2019
New York - WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey today announced the appointment of Ann Sarnoff as the new Chair and CEO of Warner Bros. Sarnoff, who is currently President, BBC Studios Americas (formerly BBC Worldwide Americas), brings more than thirty years of diversified business and media experience to the role of overseeing worldwide operations at Warner Bros. including the production, marketing and distribution of film, television and interactive entertainment.
I am delighted Ann is joining the WarnerMedia team and excited to work side by side with such a talented and accomplished individual. She brings a consistent and proven track record of innovation, creativity and business results to lead an incredibly successful studio to its next chapter of growth, said Stankey. Ann has shown the ability to innovate and grow revenues and has embraced the evolution taking place in our industry. I am confident she will be a great cultural fit for WarnerMedia and that our employees will embrace her leadership, enthusiasm and passion for our business.
Sarnoff comes to Warner Bros. with an established track record spanning an array of prominent media and entertainment businesses from Viacom to the NBA to Dow Jones to the BBC. Her vast knowledge from this range of experience puts the company in the hands of a seasoned, successful executive that is keenly aware of the continuous need to innovate. A widely admired leader, she has full appreciation and respect for the creative process and has worked in close collaboration with talent and business partners for many years to develop effective engagement strategies for global audiences.
It is a privilege to join a studio with such a storied history. Warner Bros. has been an industry leader for decades and is known for creating many of the most iconic film, television and gaming properties, said Sarnoff. I accept this position excited by the opportunity to work with the most accomplished executives and teams in media, and confident about carrying this incredible heritage forward with them.
As President of BBC Studios Americas, Sarnoff has been responsible for driving growth and profit across the company's diversified business division in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. She oversaw L.A. Productions, linear and digital program sales and co-productions, home entertainment, and licensing. She also led efforts to amplify BBC Studios' global brands Doctor Who, Top Gear, and the natural history brand BBC Earth. As Board Chair of BritBox Sarnoff has guided the development and growth of the direct-to-consumer service which offers U.S. and Canadian customers the largest collection of British television programming.
Ann's contribution to BBC Studios has been immense, said Tim Davie, CEO BBC Studios. She has grown our core business as well as driving significant innovation, including the successful creation of BritBox, the growth of BBC America alongside our partner AMCN, the launch of new channels like BBC Earth in Canada, and major new content and production deals. We will miss her generosity and her spirit of collaboration, and we wish her great success at Warner Bros.
During a leadership transition, Warner Bros. was managed by an interim team of leaders made up of Toby Emmerich, Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group, Peter Roth, President and Chief Content Officer, Warner Bros. Television Group and Kim Williams, EVP & CFO, Warner Bros.
I want to thank Toby, Peter and Kim for stepping up during this transition and making sure Warner Bros. didn't miss a beat. Their commitment to delivering operationally and creatively is evident in our results over the last several months. It's clear that Ann becomes part of a team that is second-to-none, Stankey added.
Sarnoff will be based in Los Angeles and will officially join the company later this summer.
Additional biographical information:
Alongside her role at BBC Studios Americas, Sarnoff also served as head of BBC Worldwide's Global Production Network from 2016-2018 and was charged with developing the strategy for and optimizing the company's global production operations. From 2010, when she joined the company, to 2015, Sarnoff was COO, BBC Worldwide North America, where she was responsible for most major revenue streams for the company and led cross-business franchise development for global brands, resulting in significant revenue gains. Sarnoff led the team that increased distribution of BBC America across the country to 80 million subscribers and managed the transition of digital program sales to where they exceeded linear program sales.
Prior to joining BBC Worldwide, Sarnoff was President of Dow Jones Ventures and Senior Vice President of Strategy. In this role, she was responsible for leveraging the assets of Dow Jones to create new businesses focusing on digital and B-to-C markets, and for overseeing corporate strategy and business development.
During her career, Sarnoff also served as COO for the Women's National Basketball Association, where she was recruited by and sat on the executive team of NBA Commissioner David Stern. In addition to running the league's business operations and overseeing player personnel and programs, Sarnoff redefined the WNBA brand, secured new sponsorships, and instituted innovative marketing campaigns for the league.
Sarnoff has also worked with some of the best-known brands in television while at Viacom from 1993-2003. As Nickelodeon's Executive Vice President for Consumer Products and Business Development, she led the team that launched the channel Noggin, and then pioneered a franchise-building approach to properties like Rugrats and Blue's Clues, growing Nickelodeon consumer products into a multi-billion-dollar
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
RASTATT, Germany Lawo and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) have partnered to launch the SMPTE ST 2110 Practical Lab, an immersive ...
11/12/2025
PHILADELPHIA Comcasts Xfinity operating brand has announced the launch of new national video plans with all-in pricing that the operator said will provide custo...
11/12/2025
After eight years of declines, MoffettNathansons new Cord Cutting Monitor for Q3 2025 shows that pay TV subscribers to linear TV packages rose by 303,000, the f...
11/12/2025
Happy Holidays from Berklee Enjoy this years holiday student-performance video.
December 10, 2025
By
Office of the President
Dear Berklee community,
As w...
11/12/2025
Sash is ready to samba as Fair City star Stephanie Kelly is revealed as the late...
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
10/12/2025
Sound-Alike Commercials Are Part of Sports' Soundtrack Johnny Cash for Coca-Cola is the latest in a long litany of sonic approximationsBy Dan Daley, Audio ...
10/12/2025
Immersive Sound Is Logical Next Step for Sports VenuesSound-systems suppliers are sanguine, but the market has its challengesBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednes...
10/12/2025
The Romans Built Arenas for Immersive Sound 2,000 Years AgoThe historic Arena of Nimes in France is still in use todayBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, De...
10/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Audio Workshop Hits on Immersive, Virtualized, and Next...
10/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview: Audio SpotlightBy SVG Staff
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - 8:21 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlig...
10/12/2025
SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the sounds of powder and ice at Milano Cortina wi...
10/12/2025
Advancements in audio technology: Capturing the atmosphere of live sports By David Davies
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 09:27
Print This Story
Although wor...
10/12/2025
Everything smelled of popcorn: The art of bringing the complex sound of esports ...
10/12/2025
Top L-R: Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!, Hanging by a Wire, Broken English, Buddy
C...
10/12/2025
For the first time, Spotify is giving users the power to steer the algorithm. Gustav S derstr m, Spotify's Co-President, CPO, and CTO, shares the vision beh...
10/12/2025
L3Harris' new contract for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Insensitive ...
10/12/2025
L3Harris Meadowlands system has been designed with an open architecture software system that allows for more flexible and efficient software updates. This capab...
10/12/2025
During this interval, streaming comprised the majority of ad supported TV (46.4%...
10/12/2025
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. Bitcentral, a provider of production, asset management, playout and streaming workflow solutions, has named technology veteran Rick Arnold...
10/12/2025
TV Tech is delighted to reveal the winners of the 2025 Media & Entertainment: Best in Market Awards....
10/12/2025
BOTHELL, Wash. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), the Video Services Forum (VSF), the Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the European Broad...
10/12/2025
In a notable example of how pay TV operators are integrating streaming services into their lineup and using those services to retain or attract subscribers, Dir...
10/12/2025
Today, Chaos builds instant feedback into the viewport, connecting Maya and Houdini to Chaos Vantage's real-time path tracer. Artists can now assess 3D asse...
10/12/2025
Smeup, a key partner for companies engaged in digital transformation, today announced the expansion of its adoption of Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud s...
10/12/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced two significant milestones...
10/12/2025
BEAVERTON, Ore. HDR10+ Technologies, LLC has announced that they will soon begin the licensing and certification of devices, content, and services that support ...
10/12/2025
SMPTE has joined forces with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) to publish an updated report on AI and its impact o...
10/12/2025
Clear-Com is pleased to announce the appointment of Kris Koch as Director of Sales - North & South America. In this expanded leadership role, Kris will oversee...
10/12/2025
Mavis today announced the latest version of Mavis Camera (v7.4), a major update to its professional iOS camera app, headlined by the launch of Film Kit - an opt...
10/12/2025
Creamsource, renowned for its Vortex series of cinematic lighting, is laying the groundwork for its next phase of growth with the addition of Markus Zeiler as G...
10/12/2025
Digital Alert Systems, a global leader in emergency communications solutions for media providers, today announced that the DAS3-DC-PS, a new DC power supply opt...
10/12/2025
Riedel Communications today announced it has formed a strategic partnership with Racing Electronics, a premier provider of motorsport communication equipment in...
10/12/2025
#GALSNGEAR is launching two signature leadership retreats in early 2026, designed to equip women in media, entertainment, and technology with the tools to lead...
10/12/2025
Providing worldwide customers with total confidence through transparent, all-inclusive pricing
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video...
10/12/2025
With the Federal Communications Commission working on new rules for the deployment of NextGen TV, next year promises to be an important one for both the future ...
10/12/2025
DENVER Tom Rutledge, director emeritus and former president and CEO of Charter Communications, will be honored with the 2026 Bresnan Ethics in Business Award by...
10/12/2025
NEW YORK Novocap's Cadent has acquired VuePlanner, a YouTube video ad planning, optimization, and measurement company in a deal that will help Cadent expand...
10/12/2025
The NVIDIA accelerated computing platform is leading supercomputing benchmarks once dominated by CPUs, enabling AI, science, business and computing efficiency w...
10/12/2025
The world's top-performing system for graph processing at scale was built on...
10/12/2025
As the scale and complexity of AI infrastructure grows, data center operators need continuous visibility into factors including performance, temperature and pow...
10/12/2025
In preparation for the madness of March, here are some important reminders for scheduling back-to-back Special Playlists.
The first Special Playlist MUST end b...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON's Rising Capital Markets Profile Strengthened by Inclusion...
10/12/2025
10 Dec 2025
VEON Recognized for JazzCash, Kyivstar and Jazz at the World Commun...
10/12/2025
December 10th, 2025
TRIBECA FILMS TO RELEASE THE INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY FILM...
10/12/2025
Wednesday 10 December 2025
Sky extends partnership with the Ladies European Tour for a landmark 30th year
Sky and the Ladies European Tour (LET) have announce...
10/12/2025
Wednesday 10 December 2025
Walk-on if you love the darts: James Maddison, Luke ...
10/12/2025
Rohde & Schwarz presents world's first RF power sensor with 0.80 mm RF conne...
10/12/2025
Back to All News
2026 Starts With a Swoon: Kim Seon-ho and Go Youn-jung Lead C...
10/12/2025
Back to All News
Berlin and the Lady with an Ermine Arrives to Netflix on May 15
Entertainment
10 December 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
THE N...