Former president of Warner Brothers Online will leave Yahoo to rejoin Time Warner as president of media ventures for HBO.
Jim Moloshok has been Yahoo’s senior VP of entertainment and content acquisition since 2002. Now, ClickZ reports he will leave Yahoo and rejoin Time Warner. With HBO, Mr. Moloshok will be responsible for helping the cable channel develop cross-platform programming.
With Yahoo, Mr. Moloshok helped bring advertising for NBC’s “The Apprentice” online. The cross-platform ads for ice cream flavors developed by competitors on the show led to the ice creams selling out within 24 hours.
Yahoo searches for the ice cream pointed to local businesses carrying the ice cream, with handy Yahoo Maps providing directions to the stores, ClickZ reported.
HBO and Time Warner appear to see a need to better compete online. News Corp has been spending plenty of cash to add Internet properties to its Los Angeles Internet unit, and CBS News has begun to switch to an online-first model for providing news. At HBO, Mr. Moloshok will be exploring ways to develop content to take advantage of both cable and broadband.
Yahoo should be flattered that its efforts in the entertainment industry have become significant enough to encourage other firms to start poaching its talent.
The portal company recently debuted its first foray into original programming by sending war correspondent Kevin Sites on a round-the-world year-long trip to global conflict spots. His travels will be chronicled online by Yahoo.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
