Team Whistle, a global media company that includes Whistle, New Form, Tiny Horse and Vertical Networks, has promoted Michael Cohen to CEO. He has also been appointed to the company's board of directors. John West, Team Whistle's founder and CEO, will assume the role of full-time executive chairman and remain on the board. Additionally, Team Whistle has signed a new producing arrangement with former Electus CEO Chris Grant who will join the company as a senior advisor.
Michael Cohen has held a series of increasingly senior roles within Team Whistle, originally joining the company as executive vice president of finance and operations. He was subsequently promoted to COO and has most recently served as president since 2018. As CEO, Cohen joins Team Whistle's board of directors.
"As one of our earliest team members and my right hand over the last eight years, Michael has been a trusted employee, dedicated leader, and a key architect of our vision and strategy," said Team Whistle founder John West. "He is the right person to lead the company through this time of accelerated digital media transformation, as we continue to adapt to this fast-paced and exciting environment."
"I want to thank John West for his friendship, support and most of all his mentorship over the years," said Michael Cohen. "Together, we've lived by the mantra, 'It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change.' This mindset has enabled us to facilitate strong growth across all our business segments – with exceptional viewership, watchtime and engagement across our fully-distributed, diverse portfolio of positive, relatable and inclusive content. As we embark on the next evolution of our journey at Team Whistle, I'm humbled to have the opportunity to lead the team through an unprecedented time in our industry."
As a leading creator and distributor of engaging content experiences across the networks, social, audio and streaming platforms that matter most, Team Whistle is acutely focused on monetizing its owned IP. To help drive this effort, the company has partnered with Chris Grant, former CEO of Electus. He will join Team Whistle as a senior advisor to help accelerate long form studio development of Team Whistle's owned IP and position its studio as a full-service, vertically-integrated leader. Grant pioneered bringing advertisers closer to the creative process; throughout his tenure at Electus, he had an advertiser-supported series at one or more of the major networks every year since its inception. Grant previously helped Team Whistle and Banijay establish the Bear Grylls Digital Network.
"Team Whistle is a great company at an exciting moment in its evolution," said Chris Grant. "They have a solid 360 pipeline of products and services which has incredible potential for brands and distributors alike, and I am thrilled to work with Team Whistle in the next phase of their journey."
Other significant Team Whistle accomplishments in the last few months include major brand partnership deals between the company's Whistle and Brother brands including McDonald's, Kraft, Wendy's, Ubisoft, Powerade, and Axe leading to A-list talent like Trae Young, Ja Morant, Boban Marjanovic, Ryan Shazier and more participating in the company's landscape of shows. Team Whistle recently launched Benedict Men with Stephen Curry and Quibi earlier this month and continues to accelerate distribution of its linear AVOD network, Whistle TV – currently available in 51 million homes and launching shortly on Amazon Fire TV, Google Android TV, Peacock and Roku.
About Team Whistle
Team Whistle – comprising Whistle, New Form, Vertical Networks and Tiny Horse – is a global media company that's changing the sports and entertainment game. We create and distribute engaging content experiences for today's audiences, always playing in the positive and resonating with what's relatable. Our premium scripted, unscripted and interactive shows, podcasts, music and merchandise are available on the networks, social, audio and streaming platforms that matter most. For brands, sports leagues and media companies, we help them activate and engage consumers across the content ecosystem. To learn more, visit https://teamwhistle.com/.
