Executive Vice President, Media & Strategy Planning

Job Description

The EVP, Media & Strategy Planning is responsible for owning end-to-end subscriber growth for STARZ, leading both media investment and performance marketing execution across the full customer lifecycle. This executive will oversee not only how media dollars are deployed, but how effectively they convert by driving acquisition, conversion, engagement, and retention in close partnership with product, lifecycle marketing, and analytics teams.

As the senior-most leader across paid media and growth marketing, this role will unify brand and performance disciplines under a single, outcome-driven strategy, ensuring that media, creative, and customer experience work together to maximize subscriber growth and lifetime value. This leader will bring a rigorous test-and-learn mindset, balancing long-term brand building with continuous optimization of conversion and retention systems.

We are seeking an executive with a challenger-brand mindset who is deeply knowledgeable about the evolving media landscape and the streaming, DTC, and OTT ecosystem. This individual will combine strategic vision with operational rigor, balancing long-term brand building with measurable business outcomes. An empathetic leader and strong cross-functional collaborator, this person will guide the organization with clarity and purpose while fostering a culture of innovation, accountability, and continuous improvement.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Partner with the CMO and senior marketing, publicity, and distribution leaders to establish overall go-to-market strategy for the STARZ brand and content slate;
• Own performance across the full subscriber lifecycle, including acquisition, conversion, onboarding, engagement, and retention, ensuring accountability for outcomes beyond media inputs;
• Manage and develop the internal media team and agency partners in creating innovative, data-driven campaigns for consumer and trade audiences. Lead across both the brand and direct response teams now consolidated under this role;
• Partner with Insights & Analytics leadership to define and measure campaigns against KPIs, optimize investment decisions, and evaluate impact across digital and traditional channels;
• Lead paid media strategy for STARZ wholesale partners, including budget allocation, media planning, performance evaluation, and optimization;
• Define and evolve performance metrics beyond media efficiency, incorporating conversion rates, cohort performance, subscriber lifetime value, and incrementality;
• Drive a structured test-and-learn agenda across media, creative, and customer journeys, continuously optimizing conversion rates, engagement, and lifetime value;
• Ensure alignment between media strategy and on-platform experience, optimizing the connection between acquisition campaigns and the downstream product journey;
• Manage the annual media budget in partnership with Finance and Accounting, including forecasting, reconciliation, accruals, and overall investment stewardship;
• Supervise and lead a high-performing, integrated team culture, developing talent and driving accountability across brand and performance disciplines;
• Serve as a key strategic advisor to senior leadership on media trends, emerging platforms, competitive dynamics, and evolving consumer behavior;
• Oversee allocation of media investments across DTC and affiliate channels, ensuring resources are prioritized to maximize overall portfolio performance;
• Champion advanced attribution and incrementality approaches to inform investment decisions and optimize cross-channel performance.

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS

• 12+ years of relevant experience in media, marketing, growth, or related leadership roles, preferably within television, entertainment, streaming, or subscription businesses;
• Minimum of 7 years of management experience leading high-performing teams;
• Demonstrated experience owning or materially influencing conversion, onboarding, and retention performance within a DTC, subscription, or streaming business;
• Preference for entertainment, streaming, or subscription-video experience and expertise with the DTC/OTT ecosystem, including major distribution platforms such as Amazon Channels, Hulu, and Roku;
• Extensive knowledge of media planning, buying, optimization, and performance measurement across traditional and digital channels;
• Proven experience developing and overseeing large-scale media strategies and investment plans;
• Strong track record managing significant media budgets and complex agency and vendor relationships;
• Experience building and scaling test-and-learn frameworks, including A/B testing, incrementality measurement, and continuous performance optimization;
• Strong fluency in key growth metrics, including conversion rate, customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), churn, and cohort analysis;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build relationships across all levels of the organization;
• Ability to deliver clear, concise, and compelling presentations to senior executives, cross-functional partners, and external stakeholders;
• Player-coach leadership style, with the ability to operate strategically while remaining engaged in executional detail when needed;
• Challenger-brand mindset with a disciplined, ROI-focused approach to media investment and resource allocation;
• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Business, or a related field.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Estimated Starting Range: $335,000 to $450,000 per year
  (Note: The salary range listed above is specific to the locale for our Santa Monica, CA office.)
  The posted salary range represents the good-faith estimate of what STARZ reasonably expects to pay for this position at the time of initial hire. Individual compensation decisions are based on a variety of job-related, non-discriminatory factors, including but not limited to the candidate’s relevant experience, specialized skills, qualifications, education, and specific office location.
  
• Total Rewards Package: In addition to base salary, full-time employees are eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, and a 401(k) retirement plan with company match. Our time-off program includes ~20 paid company holidays annually, accrued vacation time (with accrual rates scaling and capped based on tenure), 80 hours of front-loaded sick leave each year, and 5 days of front-loaded wellness leave each year. This position is also eligible for a discretionary annual bonus with a target percentage determined by role level; actual payout is not guaranteed and remains dependent upon individual performance, company performance, and leadership approval.
  
• Application Deadline: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. The company expects this hiring window to remain open at least until 1/1/2027, but reserves the right to close the posting sooner if a high volume of qualified applications are received.

About STARZ

STARZ (NASDAQ: STRZ) is the leading premium entertainment destination for women and underrepresented audiences, and home to some of the most popular franchises and series on television. STARZ offers a robust programming mix for discerning adult audiences, including boundary-breaking originals and an expansive lineup of blockbuster movies, and is embodied by its brand positioning “We’re All Adults Here.” Complementary to any platform or service, STARZ is available across a wide range of digital OTT platforms and multichannel video distributors and is a bundling partner of choice. STARZ is powered by an industry-leading advanced technology, data analytics and digital infrastructure and the highly rated and first-of-its-kind STARZ app.

Our Benefits

• Full Coverage – Medical, Vision, and Dental

• Annual discretionary bonus and merit increase

• Work/Life Balance – generous sick days, vacation days, holidays, and wellness days

• 401(k) company matching

• Tuition Reimbursement (up to graduate degree)

EEO Statement

Starz is an equal employment opportunity employer. All employees and applicants are evaluated on the basis of their qualifications, consistent with applicable state and federal laws. In addition, Starz will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. Starz will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and federal law.