AT&T’s York in at Cox as CEO and president

US media firm Cox Media Group has announced the appointment of Daniel York as its president and CEO.

Most recently, York served as senior executive vice president and chief content officer of AT&T and subsidiary DirecTV. He rejoined AT&T following the acquisition of DirecTV by the operator in 2015, and prior to that was at AT&T as its president of content and advertising sales for eight years.

In this new role of CEO at Cox, York will be responsible for all aspects of managing the company’s media platforms and will oversee CMG’s long-term strategic priorities.

David Sambur, co-lead partner of private equity at Apollo Global Management, said: “I’m excited to welcome Dan as the President and CEO of Cox Media Group. He has an outstanding record of leadership in this industry, and of operating efficiently, creating strategic vision, and inspiring organizations to innovate and grow.”

Steve Pruett, who was appointed as executive chairman of CMG last year, said: “On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to welcome Dan as the president and CEO of Cox Media Group. He has a background of success in media, content, distribution, operations, and successfully leading large organizations.

“Most importantly, he embraces contemporary thinking as the media landscape continues to evolve. We have full confidence he is the right person to lead CMG in the next phase of the company’s growth.”

York said: “I am excited to lead Cox Media Group, a company that has the most talented team and leadership in the industry. I have always admired and respected the unparalleled quality of CMG’s 90+ TV and radio stations, digital and advertising platforms, and the company’s unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity.

“The past few months have underscored that there is no substitute for the most important and valuable content in the ecosystem, market-leading local news and entertainment. I look forward to working with the Board and the CMG team as we continue to enhance our partnerships with our advertisers, content providers and distribution outlets to best serve our communities and millions of viewers and listeners.”

This appointment is not the only crossover between AT&T and Cox in recent times. Last month, the pair signed a distribution deal to bring just-launched streaming service HBO Max to Cox customers. Cox subscribers who also pay for HBO’s linear channel will have access to the streamer at no additional cost.