Charles Humbard, who founded the Gospel Music Channel in 2004 and led its evolution into the media company Up Entertainment, is stepping down as CEO.
Up, a supplier of family-friendly and uplifting programming on linear networks like UPtv and AspireTV and subscription streamer UP Faith & Family, will now be run by company veterans Philip Manwaring and Reta Peery. Manwaring, who had been CFO, CTO and head of streaming, has been named CEO; Peery, who has served as chief administrative and operations officer and general counsel, has been named president and COO.
Humbard, son of the pioneering televangelist Rev. Rex Humbard, was previously a senior executive at Discovery and Turner and has worked in the media in various roles for nearly six decades.
“The company is poised for continued growth, having just completed two of its highest revenue and profit years in the company’s history,” Humbard said in a statement. “I am so confident in the leadership of Philip and Reta to take our business into the future. Having led our key business areas for over 10 years, nobody knows our brands and how to successfully execute our strategy better than they do.”
The Up networks came to market in the 2000s, when pay-TV was still dominant. As cord-cutting began shrinking the pay bundle a decade later, the company branched into FAST channels and streaming.
Manwaring called Humbard “a true visionary” who has inspired viewers with “powerful storytelling.” Peery saluted Humbard for building a company “rooted in purpose, collaboration and heart.”
An announcement of the leadership change said additional promotions would be announced soon.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source deadline.com ’
