Spike’s Sharon Levy Departs

Spike TV veteran Sharon Levy is leaving the network as it prepares for a complete rebrand next year.

Levy, executive VP of original series, said Tuesday in an internal email that she’s leaving “to pursue other opportunities.” Levy joined Spike in 2005 and oversaw the development of such network hits as Bar Rescue and Ink Master and, more recently, Lip Sync Battle. She also moved the network into the scripted realm with the miniseries Tut and its upcoming limited series The Mist.

Levy’s departure comes a week after Spike parent Viacom announced that the network will be rebranded into The Paramount Network in 2018.

Spike TV president Kevin Kay in a separate email thanked Levy for “everything that she has accomplished at Spike,” and added that Levy has been a “great partner, teammate and friend to me and the entire staff.”

For the full story go to Multichannel.com.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.