Hearst Corporation Names Neeraj Khemlani & George Kliavkoff Co-Presidents of Hearst Entertainment & Syndication

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Oct 17, 2013) - Hearst Corporation announced today that Neeraj Khemlani and George Kliavkoff have been named co-presidents and group heads of Hearst Entertainment & Syndication. The announcement was made by Hearst Corporation President and CEO Steven R. Swartz, to whom both executives will report.

Khemlani and Kliavkoff will help support the management teams at Hearst's jointly-owned cable television networks and production companies, including ESPN, A&E, HISTORY and Lifetime; ONE THREE MEDIA, a joint venture with Mark Burnett; and Hearst's 50 percent stake in NorthSouth Productions. A+E Networks is a joint venture of Hearst and The Walt Disney Company, and Hearst owns 20 percent of ESPN, with Disney owning the remaining 80 percent.

"Neeraj and George have worked side by side in various capacities at Hearst and are a great team to help support our entertainment programming partnerships and lead our expansion into new markets and businesses, including streaming video and digital media ventures," Swartz said. "I look forward to our continued success and to building inspired multiplatform businesses that will be the future of Hearst."

Khemlani will continue leading Hearst Digital Studios, which works across Hearst to support creative innovation and development of digital products. Kliavkoff will also continue his role heading Hearst Ventures, one of the most active and successful corporate venture funds.

Khemlani was most recently senior vice president and chief creative officer of Hearst Corporation, a position he assumed in December 2012. He joined Hearst in March 2009 as vice president and special assistant to the CEO for digital media. In February 2011, Khemlani was appointed executive vice president and deputy group head of Hearst Entertainment & Syndication. He was formerly vice president and general manager of Yahoo! News & Information as well as Yahoo! Originals, the unit charged with producing original video content across the media group.

Kliavkoff joined Hearst in March 2009 as executive vice president and deputy group head of Hearst Entertainment & Syndication. Prior to Hearst, he was chief digital officer at NBC Universal, where he was among the team responsible for the success of Hulu.com, NBCU's online video joint venture with News Corp., playing a key role in its conception and design.

From 1998 to 2006, Khemlani was a producer for CBS News' 60 Minutes and 60 Minutes II, and before that a producer for the late Peter Jennings at ABC News. He holds a master's of science in journalism from Columbia University, where he graduated with honors, and a bachelor's in communications from Cornell University.

Prior to joining NBC, Kliavkoff served as executive vice president of business for MLB Advanced Media, Major League Baseball's interactive media and Internet company. Before that, he led the business development group for the consumer division of RealNetworks. Earlier in his career, Kliavkoff was an attorney with law firms in Los Angeles and Seattle. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Boston University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia.

About Hearst Corporation
Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) is one of the nation's largest diversified media and information companies. Its major interests include ownership of 15 daily and 36 weekly newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union; hundreds of magazines around the world, including Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, ELLE and O, The Oprah Magazine; 29 television stations, which reach a combined 18 percent of U.S. viewers; ownership in leading cable networks, including Lifetime, A&E, HISTORY and ESPN; significant holdings in automotive, electronic and medical/pharmaceutical business information companies; a 50 percent stake in global ratings agency Fitch Group; Internet and marketing services businesses; television production; newspaper features distribution; and real estate. Follow us on Twitter @HearstCorp.