Director, Media Operations & Distribution

NY 411; New York (NY); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Versant Media is seeking a seasoned Director of Media Operations & Distribution to steer content delivery for our premium news, sports, and entertainment programming across linear, affiliate, and DTC platforms. You will ensure timing, accuracy, and readiness from signal acquisition through final distribution in high-stakes live and on-demand environments.

The role emphasizes operational reliability, disaster recovery, and workflow optimization, including digital transformation initiatives and

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in media operations and content distribution for live and on-demand platforms.
• Proven leadership of large operations teams in high-stakes environments.
• Strong knowledge of broadcast and OTT distribution workflows and standards.

Responsibilities

• Lead distribution operations and reliability for live events and VOD.
• Oversee signal acquisition, transmission, and backup systems to minimize risk.
• Manage end-to-end content flow from capture to delivery for linear and OTT platforms.
• Coordinate with affiliates and vendors to resolve delivery issues and enforce schedules.
• Develop and publish SOPs, specs, and blackout policies; drive digital transformation initiatives.

Skills

Media operations

Content distribution

Leadership

Broadcast operations

Tools

Aspera

Signiant

SFTP

EVERTZ

Job description

Director, Media Operations & Distribution

This is a Full Time position in the field of Live Broadcast / Sports / TV News / Technical Operations , located in New York, NY .

Versant Media is seeking a highly experienced and strategic Director, Media Operations & Distribution to lead all operational aspects of content delivery for our premium News, Sports, and Entertainment programming across linear channels, affiliate partners, and Direct to Consumer (DTC) OTT platforms. This role is responsible for ensuring the accuracy, timing, and readiness of our content from signal acquisition through final distribution, with a focus on maximizing reliability, compliance, and operational efficiency in high stakes live and on demand environments.Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:Distribution Operations & ReliabilityLive Event Execution: Lead broadcast and streaming operations for high-profile live news, sports, and entertainment programming, overseeing critical distribution packages (e.g., major sports league content) to ensure uninterrupted broadcast delivery.Signal Acquisition & Transmission: Oversee technical feed acquisition and management, leading the adoption of modern transmission workflows (e.g., satellite, SRT, and ZIXI) and implementing integrated backup systems to minimize risk and manual intervention.Disaster Recovery: Own the ongoing operational readiness and management of the disaster recovery system and associated content operations to maintain high-availability broadcast and streaming services.Technical Compliance: Direct the implementation and technical alignment for broadcast and digital triggers, including SCTE-35 and SCTE-224, and coordinate with engineering teams on platform rollouts (e.g., EVERTZ).Content Workflow & ComplianceEnd-to-End Content Flow: Manage the complete content lifecycle, from signal acquisition and scheduling to content formatting and final delivery for linear channels, VOD, and international partners.Affiliate & Vendor Liaison: Serve as the primary operational liaison with affiliates and vendors, swiftly resolving delivery issues, blackout enforcement, and scheduling discrepancies for high-profile content.Compliance & Documentation: Lead the creation and publication of essential documentation, including SOPs, technical specifications, and blackout policy guidelines, ensuring all staff, vendors, and affiliates adhere to strict operational standards.Content Formatting: Oversee the proper formatting of outbound content for VOD and international partners, managing requirements around file transcoding and technical specifications.Strategic & Operational LeadershipWorkflow Optimization: Continuously assess and lead major efficiency initiatives to improve team performance, reduce redundancies, and transition legacy operations (e.g., physical tape stock elimination) to fully digital workflows using tools like Aspera, Signiant, and SFTP.Strategic Planning & Development: Convert high-volume, dynamic requirements (e.g., converting live event channels into scheduled linear content during major industry shifts) into new, functional workflows and schedules, driving strategic content retention and reuse policies.Revenue Generation: Identify and execute opportunities to utilize available inventory (e.g., schedule blocks for advertising) to generate new revenue streams with no additional operational cost.Team Leadership: Lead and mentor the Operations team, ensuring precise execution and a deep understanding of technical and platform needs.

Experience

The ideal candidate possesses deep, proven expertise in media operations, compliance, and large-scale content distribution across all platforms.Demonstrated management/director-level experience in high-volume Broadcast, Sports, and Media Operations, with a focus on both linear and OTT distribution.Deep expertise in the operational execution of major league sports packages.Expert-level knowledge of content delivery systems, signal acquisition, and modern transport protocols.Strong practical experience with industry standards for ad insertion and signaling, including SCTE-35 and SCTE-224.Demonstrated ability to write and enforce SOPs, technical specifications, and blackout policies and manage complex affiliate communication and compliance issues.Proven track record of leading major digital transformation projects, managing technical specifications and implementing disaster recovery systems,Additional Requirements:Hybrid: This position has been designated as hybrid, generally contributing from the office a minimum of three days per week.

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