Speaker Sara Burns
Based in the New York Metro area, as Senior Vice President of Programming and Strategy at Cineverse, Sara leads content planning and insights across 20+ FAST Channels and 8+ SVOD platforms including Screambox (horror), DOVE (romance & dramas), Fandor (indie films), and many more. She takes a consumer-centric approach to strategy that includes everything from working with partners on creative stunts to enhancing content discoverability on platform. She steers Cineverse’s Greenlight Pipeline including key acquisitions and new releases.
Sara's additional career highlights are marked by her 18-year run at Warner Brothers Discovery. In her last role as SVP of Scheduling and Strategy, she oversaw beloved brands such as HGTV, ID, and TRVL. She ran key launch initiatives for franchises and big tentpoles such as Home Town, Celebrity IOU, Rock The Block, Ugliest House in America, and Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge. Her future-focused approach to content windowing strategies across linear and direct-to-consumer platforms was pivotal in the success of discovery+ and the relaunch of Max. Her responsibilities also encompassed launching 100+ series per year and guiding greenlight and renewal priorities through insightful analysis. She was part of the team that launched Investigation Discovery after rebranding it from Discovery Times Channel in 2008 - making it into a popular true crime destination. Sara is a respected speaker and panelist at industry conferences, a contributor to noteworthy publications like Hub Intel: Entertainment Explained, a member of notable organizations such as Chief and WICT, and has served as a guest lecturer at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Speaking on: The Great Media Universe Debate hosted by Evan Shapiro