LA’s Genius Brands is streamlining its DTC media business under former Disney exec  Todd Steinman (pictured), who has been named president of the new Genius Networks division. 

The fast-moving company has been building scale in the platform space for the last three years, starting with its 2020 launch of AVOD Kartoon Channel! and followed by the acquisitions of WOW! Unlimited Media and its talent-focused Frederator Network in October 2021 and SVOD Ameba TV in January 2022. 

Steinman will oversee the integration of the three businesses into one division and craft its growth and monetization strategy. He first joined Genius a year ago as chief revenue and marketing officer for the Kartoon Channel! platform. Prior to that, he spent two years as VP of Disney’s DTC division and played a strategic role in the launch of Disney+.

Reflecting on the complex and chameleon nature of the media space right now, Genius Brands CEO and chairman Andy Heyward noted in a release that Steinman’s track record in the business is uniquely suited to steering the merger of the company’s various lines of business into a single unit. “There are an expanding number of opportunities to take advantage of, requiring a singular vision to achieve our ambitious goals, and Todd has an impeccable track record for developing and implementing profitable digital entertainment businesses.” 

The new year has already been a busy one for Genius Brands, which sold a 50% stake in three Frederator anime shows to Japan’s TOHO International last week. Earlier this week, the company also announced that it’s launching a tween reality series called Kidaverse Roblox Rumble, which will feature offline games that are also playable on the Roblox platform.