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CEO of AT&T, Chernin’s Web Video Joint Venture Leaves

Wasn’t the right fit.

aliisik / Shutterstock
Peter Kafka
Peter Kafka covered media and technology, and their intersection, at Vox. Many of his stories can be found in his Kafka on Media newsletter, and he also hosts the Recode Media podcast.

The CEO of Otter Media, the Web video joint venture between AT&T and The Chernin Group, is leaving after less than a year on the job.

Virasb Vahidi, who became the JV’s first CEO last fall, is headed out; a company rep says there are no immediate plans to replace him.

Vahidi is a former AT&T executive who had most recently been at American Airlines before joining Otter Media. In a letter to employees, he said that since last fall “it has become clear to [Chernin Group CEO Peter Chernin] and me that the role of the CEO is different than we had originally envisioned.”

AT&T and Chernin assembled Otter Media last year. It is backed by at least $500 million from AT&T, and for now is composed of Fullscreen, a large video network, and a group of subscription video services including Crunchyroll, a Japanese animation network. Fullscreen founder George Strompolos runs his network, and the former YouTube executive Tom Pickett runs the subscription group at Otter.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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