Pivot Promotes Belisa Balaban To Executive Vice President, Original Programming

LOS ANGELES (April 10, 2014) – Participant Media’s Pivot today announced the promotion of Belisa Balaban to Executive Vice President, Original Programming for the television network targeting millennials. Balaban will be based at Participant’s Los Angeles offices and will report to Pivot President, Evan Shapiro.

Shapiro said: “As a start up in a very competitive landscape, we always knew that having committed and passionate players on our team was a must – and Belisa completely fits the bill. Her vision, spirit and proven programming track record over the past year speaks for itself and we feel privileged to have her leading the charge to create the kind of content that puts storytelling first and deepens the conversation our viewers are having about the world today.”

For the past year-and-a-half, Balaban has been responsible for Pivot’s alternative programming including the network’s acclaimed series “HitRECord” and award winning documentary “Teach.” A highly-regarded, Emmy and GRAMMY®-nominated producer, Balaban has created multiple socially relevant TV projects over the years, including “The Swell Life,” a 10-episode documentary series following the Paskowitz family raising their child with autism. In 2012, she developed and produced the Emmy-nominated special,” It Gets Better,” inspired by the anti-bullying project for LGBT youth which aired on MTV and Logo. As co-founder of Snackaholic, she executive produced pilots and series, including “Tabloid Wars” for Bravo, and “Bollywood Hero,” a three-hour musical comedy for IFC, as well as the recent GRAMMY nominee “From the Sky Down” about the making of U2’s Achtung Baby. Prior to that, Belisa oversaw and developed pilots and series for Actual Reality Pictures including, “Freshman Diaries” for Showtime, “Military Diaries” for VH1, and “Thin” for HBO Documentary Films. Her previous work includes development positions at The WB where she worked on “The PJ’s” and Darren Star’s series “Grosse Point,” and at Comedy Central where she was involved in array of projects including “Strangers with Candy” and “The Upright Citizens Brigade.”

About Pivot
Pivot (Pivot.tv), which launched nationally August 1 is a television network from Participant Media serving passionate Millennials (18-34) with a diverse slate of talent and a mix of original series, acquired programming, films and documentaries. Pivot focuses on entertainment that sparks conversation, inspires change and illuminates issues through engaging content and, through its website TakePart.com, connects audiences to a wealth of content and customizable actions. Pivot is available via traditional Pay TV subscription and integrating a Live and on demand streaming option via its interactive, downloadable Pivot APP. Follow Pivot on Twitter at @pivot_tv and on Facebook at facebook.com/pivottelevision.

About Participant Media

Participant (ParticipantMedia.com) is a global entertainment company founded in 2004 by Jeff Skoll to focus on feature film, television, publishing and digital content that inspires social change. Participant’s more than 45 films include GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK, SYRIANA, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, FOOD, INC., WAITING FOR ‘SUPERMAN’, THE HELP, CONTAGION and LINCOLN. Through its films, social action campaigns, digital network TakePart.com and Pivot, its new television network for Millennials, Participant seeks to entertain, encourage and empower every individual to take action.