Sean “Diddy” Combs has made some changes in the executive suites over at Revolt Media & TV, the company he founded.
Combs has promoted Detavio Samuels to CEO of Revolt TV, making Samuels one of corporate America’s youngest executives, according to a Revolt press statement. Samuels will also be one of the youngest CEOs in the cable industry.
Samuels came to Revolt in 2020 when he was tapped as its chief operating officer, following a five-year stint as president of media group iOne Digital, formally Interactive One.
At iOne, Samuels had a track record of growing companies with his creative ingenuity and business acumen. He oversaw several impactful brands including Bossip, Madame Noire, Hip Hop Wired, Cassius, Global Grind, Hello Beautiful and NewsOne.
Samuels tweeted after the announcement, “Humbled.”
“With Black creativity driving the global economy and hip-hop driving global culture, Revolt is primed to be the leading Black-owned global media power. Our focus is growing rapidly, expanding digitally, positioning hip-hop to dominate the video space, and transforming the global media landscape,” Samuels said in a Revolt TV press release.
Revolt’s current chief financial officer, Colin McIntosh, saw his role expanded as well. He will serve as both the company’s CFO as well as its chief operating officer going forward. Before joining Revolt in 2018, McIntosh helped lead mobile gaming company Scopely. He had also been VP of finance for Sony Pictures Television, Ad Age reported.
“My vision for Revolt was always to build the world’s largest Black-owned media company powered by the smartest young executives from the culture,” Combs said, adding that Revolt’s goal is to “stay true” to its mission of elevating up-and-coming industry leaders and empowering the growth of hip-hop.
Revolt was launched in 2013 as a music channel on Comcast following its merger with NBCUniversal. Among the goals of Revolt is to create talent-driven channels and forge strategic partnerships with leading brands and media platforms, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 04: Detavio Samuels Jamarlin talks to Detavio Samuels, president of Interactive One, the largest independent digital media platform focused on urban culture. Samuels leads a $30M digital media business that in 2017 acquired Bossip, Madamenoire, and HiphopWired. They discuss Richelieu Dennis’ acquisition of Essence, Facebook’s recent fumbles, and whether Complex Media is a culture vulture.
The company plans to release a new Revolt digital mobile app in the second quarter of 2021 featuring 24-hour original content to viewers worldwide.
“As we reimagine the future of the brand, it’s important that we stay true to that mission and position real game-changers to lead the way,” Combs added in the statement.
