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Nielsen forms Entertainment Group

27.02.08 Philip Jones

Nielsen Business Media has created a new entertainment group that brings together the company's entertainment brands, including The Bookseller, into one unit. Previously, the company's entertainment properties existed under two separate market groups -- Film & Performing Arts and Music & Literary.

Gerry Byrne, who has been named senior vice president of the Entertainment Group, will lead the new division from 1st March. Byrne will be based in New York and will report to Greg Farrar, president of Nielsen Business Media. Described as a "long time industry veteran", Byrne led the launch in 2005 of the Quills, the US consumer book awards, and is the chairman and founder of the Quills Literacy Foundation.

John Kilcullen, who has served as senior vice president of the company's Music & Literary and Film & Performing Arts groups since October 2006, and president and publisher of Billboard since 2003, will leave the company at the beginning of March. He said that he wanted to pursue his passion as an entrepreneur: "On the eve of my fifth anniversary my entrepreneurial clock is starting to tick and has been ticking loudly for some time. I am leaving to pursue fresh creative entrepreneurial ventures. I leave The Bookseller in good hands with a great leadership team, and I am proud of all that has been achieved in the last five years: the redesign, the launch of the Retail Awards, the Book Video Awards and the seminar programme."

Farrar said: "Over the past several years, the entertainment industry has changed. It no longer operates in a segmented way, but approaches the business as a whole regardless of the platform or medium. To be successful, our ability to evolve with the industry and meet the needs of our audiences is critical. That means having a unified go-to-market strategy for our entertainment assets domestically and internationally."

"Gerry has led such a distinguished career and has already been a key member of our team," Farrar added. "His outstanding accomplishments have made a tremendous impact on the media and publishing industries, and we are fortunate to have Gerry lead this new division. I'm also extremely thankful to John, an entrepreneur whose mission was to put in place a strong foundation to grow these brands. As John moves on to his next challenge, I'm confident that Gerry will help further our position at Nielsen Business Media as a leader in entertainment."

International US Philip Jones The Bookseller Nielsen The Quills Gerry Byrne

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