Dawn Ostroff is an American businesswoman. She is the
chief content officer and advertising business officer of
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
, and the former president of entertainment of
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
and former president of
Condé Nast Entertainment
Condé Nast Entertainment (also known as CNE) is a production and distribution studio with film, television, social and online video, and virtual reality content.
CNE is headquartered at 1 World Trade Center.
Background
Previously, Condé Nast ...
.
Early life and education
Ostroff was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1960. She had an early introduction to music, her father being a concert promoter who worked with
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
. Ostroff holds a Bachelor of Science degree from
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
.
[
]
Career
Ostroff began her career in news as a reporter for WINZ, a CBS affiliate in Miami. She also worked in local news at WPLG and WTVJ
WTVJ (channel 6) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Fort Lauderdale–licensed WSCV (ch ...
in Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. She later held senior positions at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
, Michael Jacobs Productions
Michael Jacobs Productions is an inactive American production company located at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It was founded in 1978 by Michael Jacobs.
By 1989, the company had reached a film and television producing deal with ...
(Disney) and the Kushner-Locke Company.[
]
Lifetime
From 1996 to 2002, she served as executive vice president of entertainment at Lifetime Television and led the network to become the #1-rated cable network in prime time.
UPN Network
From 2002 to 2006, Ostroff served as president of the UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which prod ...
Network, a subsidiary of CBS, where she developed the popular reality series '' America's Next Top Model'', along with other programs including ''Veronica Mars
''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series prem ...
'' and '' Everybody Hates Chris''.
The CW
Beginning in 2006, Ostroff launched The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
broadcast network - a joint venture of CBS and Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...
- and served as president of entertainment. Ostroff was in charge of programming, digital initiatives, branding, marketing, research and sales. As president, she developed several TV series, including '' Gossip Girl'' and ''The Vampire Diaries
''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...
''.
Condé Nast Entertainment
Ostroff and Condé Nast
Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast, and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.
The company's media ...
CEO Bob Sauerberg co-founded and launched Condé Nast Entertainment
Condé Nast Entertainment (also known as CNE) is a production and distribution studio with film, television, social and online video, and virtual reality content.
CNE is headquartered at 1 World Trade Center.
Background
Previously, Condé Nast ...
(CNE) in 2011, a studio and distribution network for film, television, premium digital video, social, and virtual reality.[ At CNE, Ostroff produced film projects including ''Only the Brave'', adapted from a GQ feature; '']The First Monday in May
''The First Monday in May'' is a 2016 documentary film directed by Andrew Rossi. The film follows the creation of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's most attended fashion exhibit in history: the 2015 art exhibition '' China: Through the Looking Glas ...
''; ''The Old Man & the Gun
''The Old Man & the Gun'' is a 2018 American biographical crime film written and directed by David Lowery, about Forrest Tucker, a career criminal and prison escape artist. The script is loosely based on David Grann's 2003 article in ''The New ...
'' with Robert Redford
Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...
as well as TV series including '' Last Chance U'' on Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
and ''Vanity Fair Confidential'' on Investigation Discovery. Additionally, through its digital franchises, such as ''Vogue's'' "73 Questions" and ''WIRED's'' "Autocomplete Interview," CNE made 5,000 videos, garnering more than 11 billion views in 2017.[
]
Spotify
Ostroff joined Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
in August 2018 as Chief Content Officer. She leads all aspects of content and distribution operations, including global advertising, global original content, content marketing, industry and creator relationships, and licensing.
During Ostroff's time as Chief Content Officer, she focused on expanding the music streaming service into other forms of audio, primarily podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
s. She signed Barack
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
and Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...
's production company Higher Ground Productions to produce a slate of exclusive podcasts for Spotify. She also negotiated exclusive podcast deals with Kim Kardashian West
Kimberly Noel Kardashian (formerly West; born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after the sex ...
, Joe Rogan
Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American UFC
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly ...
, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III.
Meghan was ...
. She is also responsible for overseeing the acquisitions for digital media company and podcast network Gimlet Media, the podcast creation tool Anchor, digital media firm Parcast and Bill Simmons's The Ringer.[
Ostroff helped Spotify increase the number of podcasts from 185,000 to 3 million, as of January 2022, and in 2020, the company's stock more than doubled.]
Board memberships
Ostroff serves on the board of New York University College of Arts & Science The New York University College of Arts & Science (CAS) is the primary liberal arts college of New York University (NYU). The school is located near Gould Plaza next to the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and the Stern School of Busines ...
. In June 2020, Activision Blizzard appointed her to its board as an independent director. She has also served on the board of directors for Westfield Corporation
Westfield Corporation was an Australian commercial real estate company and operator of shopping centres. It was founded with the spin-off of the Westfield Group in 2014, where assets in Australia and New Zealand formed the Scentre Group and ...
and on the City Year LA board. Ostroff is also one of the listed directors for the Tom Brady-backed digital NFT
A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the ...
company Autograph and is on the board of trustees for the Paley Center for Media
The Paley Center for Media, formerly the Museum of Television & Radio (MT&R) and the Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S. Paley, is an American cultural institution in New York City, New York with a branch office in Los Angeles, ...
. She also served on the board of American entertainment company Anonymous Content.
Awards and recognition
*Hollywood Reporter 2021 Women in Entertainment Power 100 (2021)
*New York Women in Communications Matrix Award (2021)
*Billboard Power List (2020)
*Rolling Stone The Future 25 (2019)
*New York Women in Film & Television MUSE Award (2014)
*AdAge Women to Watch (2012)
Personal life
Ostroff resides in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
with her husband Mark Ostroff and their four children.
Ostroff has devoted herself over the years to work with several organizations such as A Place Called Home, which helps children in South Central Los Angeles, the Independent School Alliance, and the American Jewish Committee
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish org ...
.[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostroff, Dawn
1960 births
20th-century American Jews
21st-century American Jews
American television executives
Businesspeople from Miami
Paramount Global people
Warner Bros. Discovery people
Warner Bros. people
The CW executives
Florida A&M University alumni
Living people
People from New York City
Presidents of The CW
Spotify people
UPN television network executives
Women television executives