Yahoo Hires Another TV Executive

Yahoo Inc. is taking a dramatic approach to winning business deals with television networks: hire their executives.

Stepping up its courtship of all things Hollywood, Yahoo planned to announce today that it had hired David Katz, a former senior vice president of CBS Television Network, to run the Internet giant’s sports and entertainment businesses.

The four biggest TV networks are now represented in the top ranks of Yahoo Media Group: Katz will work alongside Ira Kurgan, a former longtime Fox Broadcasting executive, and Shawn Hardin, former general manager of NBC’s Internet group. They report to Lloyd Braun, former chairman of ABC Entertainment Television Group.

Yahoo and rival Internet giants are trying to persuade traditional media companies to distribute and promote more of their shows, movies and music online. In addition to bringing more video online, the Internet companies are jockeying to be in a strong position when more viewers can download content onto their televisions.

“The media landscape is undergoing fundamental change, with consumers and advertisers demanding more compelling interactive experiences,” Katz said in a statement released by his new employer. “Yahoo is uniquely positioned to develop the next generation of content, and I’m thrilled to be joining this dynamic team.”

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo has been the most aggressive of its peers. It moved many executives into an enormous office in Santa Monica that once housed the home entertainment division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. and hired several prominent media executives.

“It’s Yahoo taking advantage of where the medium is going and getting close to the talent pool that will push that along,” said Lewis Henderson, a William Morris Agency senior vice president.

But Yahoo’s spate of Hollywood hires has puzzled some entertainment industry executives, who wonder what it is up to. Yahoo won’t disclose many details about this component of its strategy, and Braun has kept a low profile since joining the company last fall.

In contrast, Time Warner Inc.’s America Online recently announced that it was producing several Web-only shows. And it secured rights to last weekend’s Live 8 concerts. AOL said more than 5 million people watched streaming video of the performances, and the company licensed the television broadcast rights to ABC and MTV.

Katz is scheduled to join Yahoo today after eight years at Viacom Inc.’s CBS, where he was senior vice president of strategic planning and interactive ventures. His work there included overseeing network websites and TV shows. He also worked on interactive television and broadband services, including an innovative program selling extra video from the CBS show “Big Brother” over the Internet.

“He’s done a little bit of everything at CBS,” said Rick Mandler, a vice president and general manager of enhanced TV at Walt Disney Co., owner of ABC. “He’s got a real broad perspective on the intersection of content and technology.”

Several industry executives said that Katz was adept at evaluating the potential value of emerging platforms, but that he’s also well-versed in old-fashioned Hollywood deal making.

“He does have his feet solidly in both areas,” said Ben Mendelson, president of the Interactive Television Alliance, a trade group based in Santa Monica.

Mendelson said Katz would be an important asset to Yahoo as the company and its rivals try to “stretch out past their PC demographic and reach the average Joe who sits in the living room with a remote control.”