Nielsen Business Media is reorganizing the way it manages its entertainment properties again. Gerry Byrne, who has been advising Nielsen since early 2007, will head a new entertainment group, while John Kilcullen leaves the company after five years, “to pursue his passion as an entrepreneur.” The entertainment properties now become part of the appropriately named Entertainment Group; as SVP, Byrne will report to Greg Farrar, president of Nielsen Business Media.
The rationale for the move: create a more comprehensive strategy that treats the properties as connected, rather than disparate, units. The new group includes Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Back Stage, Kirkus Reviews, The Bookseller, Film Journal International and various expos. From the release: “The new division sets in place a more unified editorial approach across entertainment properties to provide audiences with the most inclusive, in-depth access to news, data, analysis and insights on every aspect of the industry.”
Kilcullen was appointed SVP of the cobbled-together Film & Performing Arts and Music & Literary groups in October 2006 when the company was still known as VNU Business Media; he became president and publisher of Billboard in 2003.
Byrne will be responsible for the entertainment, music and literary publishing enterprises across digital, print and face-to-face platforms. He started his own consultancy in 2003; his resume includes group VP and publisher of Variety and Daily Variety.
A little background: The changes come a few months after Farrar became president of The Nielsen Company unit. He had been COO and became acting head when former CEO Robert L. Krakoff died unexpectedly last March.
Rafat adds: Kilcullen was brought in to rescue Billboard and then moved from NYC to LA for Hollywood Reporter. He had a tough job: trying to revive some brands which are fast losing relevance in the industry they’re covering, at the same time as their endemic ad base was being eroded. This isn’t the first time VNU/Nielsen has tried to restructure the responsibilities of the media/entertainment group…and this won’t be the last.
This news comes as rival Reed Business, which owns THR’s rival Variety, is now up for sale.
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