Sarah Tomassi Lindman Joins MTV As EVP, Program Strategy

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Sarah Tomassi Lindman has been named Executive Vice President, Program Strategy for MTV, it was announced October 28th by Stephen Frideman, General Manager, MTV and Tony DiSanto, President of Programming, MTV. She joins MTV having served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of TeenNick (formerly The N,) the network for tweens that is a part of MTV Networks’ Kids and Family Group.

In her new role, Ms. Lindman will be responsible for all aspects of the programming business, including oversight of the linear television schedule and all cross platform digital video distribution. She will strategize and direct the programming calendar during all points of its creation and transformation, from the daily to annual planning. As a key member of MTV’s senior programming team, Ms. Lindman will work closely with the creative teams to help set goals for development and current series that best support MTV’s overarching programming strategy. As that strategy evolves, Ms. Lindman will also supervise future acquisitions for the network. Ms. Lindman will hold a dual report into Mr. Friedman and Mr. DiSanto, and will be based in MTV’s New York office.

In her previous role as Senior Vice President and General Manager of TeenNick (formerly The N,) she was responsible for setting the network’s strategy, as well as running its day-to-day operations, including programming, scheduling, acquisitions, promotions, marketing and working with MTV Networks’ Affiliate Sales organization on the channel’s distribution rollout. Ms. Lindman also managed The N’s successful split from NOGGIN in 2007, evolving from a daypart on a shared channel to an independent 24-hour network. Under her leadership, The N has grown to be a top-ten network among teens with such popular original series as Degrassi: The Next Generation, South of Nowhere and Beyond the Break. Prior to being named General Manger, she served as Vice President of Production and Programming for NOGGIN and The N, overseeing all aspects of production, programming and scheduling for the networks. She joined the company as Director of Programming in September 1998 from Kids’ WB! where she was Director of Programming. Prior to her work at the Kids’ WB! she was with Warner Bros. Animation where she worked on copyright protection of Warner Bros. animated properties.

Ms. Lindman was honored by Crain’s New York Business with a “40 Under 40” award in 2007. She is a graduate of Yale University where she earned a B.A. degree in Philosophy. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers