WSL Appoints Erik Logan As President of Content, Media and WSL Studios
WSL has appointed Erik Logan as President of Content, Media and WSL Studios. Logan has a solid history of work having been President of Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), Executive Vice President, programming and broadcast operations for XM Satellite Radio and prior to that President of Programming for Citadel Broadcasting. Logan, who is due to start in January, 2019, said “I’m incredibly excited to join the WSL at this amazing time in its history.”
LOS ANGELES, CA/USA (Monday, October 8, 2018): The World Surf League (WSL) today announced that Erik Logan will join as President of Content, Media and WSL Studios. Logan’s role at the WSL will include the delivery of all live and non-live content and media, in addition to global distribution across all the WSL’s owned and operated channels, as well as its partners. Logan will also oversee the creation of WSL Studios, which will deliver a broad range of high quality scripted and unscripted surf and lifestyle content. He will also lead a new direct-to-consumer membership offering, which will in the future become a key aspect of the WSL’s world class content portfolio.
Logan has a stellar track record as a media executive and is currently President of Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). He led OWN’s turnaround from 2011 and has positioned the company today as the #1 cable network in its target demographic with 5 of the top 20 shows in scripted cable programs for women ages 25-54, more than any other cable network. Before OWN, Logan was Executive Vice President, programming and broadcast operations for XM Satellite Radio, where he helped build the subscriber base to over nine million subscribers, negotiated partnerships, and managed day-to-day relationships with major content providers including Major League Baseball, PGA Tour, CNN, Clear Channel Communications and Fox News. Prior to joining XM, Logan also served as President of Programming for Citadel Broadcasting, and served for over a decade at CBS/Infinity Broadcasting in a variety of roles, including Vice President of programming.
WSL CEO Sophie Goldschmidt said: “Erik joining our leadership team is a very big moment for the WSL, as we look to take surfing and its special lifestyle to an even broader audience. He is a world-class, highly talented executive with huge passion for surfing and the ocean. He is deeply respected in the media and entertainment industry and is the ideal person to take our content offering for fans to the next level. We know him well and I am thrilled that he is joining our team.”
Logan will start with the WSL in January 2019, said: “I’m incredibly excited to join the WSL at this amazing time in its history. The League has come so far and is brimming with untapped potential. I am fired up to help lead the acceleration of the company’s evolution in content, expanding the WSL’s offerings, and engaging surf and ocean enthusiasts everywhere. There are countless stories and characters in surfing that are compelling, both within and beyond the reaches of competition, that we will shine a light on.”
An avid waterman and current adviser to WSL, Logan served on the Board of Directors of USA Surfing, the NGB for the United States Olympic Committee, is co-founder of Shred & Speed, LLC Infinity SUP, and is co-owner in Nikau Kai Surf Shop.
