Jordan Levin
Quick Facts
Biography
Jordan Levin is an American media executive and entrepreneur. He is currently the Chief Content Officer for The NFL. He was previously the CEO at The WB and the founder and CEO of Generate, a production studio and talent management company.
Early life
Levin's father worked in advertising. As a child, Levin states that he would “take the old TV Guide Fall Preview issue and, just based on the descriptions, write whether I thought the shows would stick or not. So I always sort of fantasized about running a network.” Levin attended the College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin where he majored in Radio-Television-Film with a concentration in film and television theory and criticism.
He wrote his college thesis about how increasing the number of channels through cable would force networks to target niches. This caught the eye of executives at the Walt Disney Company, who hired him as a production intern, which was Levin’s first job in the entertainment industry.
Career
Levin spent five years at Walt Disney Television where he worked on the creative team that developed and managed shows like Home Improvement, Ellen, and Boy Meets World.
In 1994, Levin joined The WB as part of its founding executive team. He oversaw the development of shows like Dawson’s Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Felicity, One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, and Smallville. While at the WB, Levin worked with writers like J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon, and Greg Berlanti who wrote and executive produced their first television series. Levin became The WB's president & CEO at the age of 35, making him the youngest CEO in broadcast television history.
In 2005, Levin became the CEO and founder of Generate, a production studio and talent management company. Generate focused on producing fictional and factual entertainment, branded content, and connecting advertising, technology and entertainment companies. In 2008, Levin secured $6 million in venture financing from MK Capital and Velocity Interactive Group. Three years later in 2011, Levin sold Generate to Alloy Digital, continuing on as Alloy Digital's President.In 2013, Alloy Digital merged with Break Media to form DEFY Media.
In 2014, Levin joined Microsoft's Xbox Entertainment Studios as executive vice president, general manager to produce original programming.
In 2015, Levin became the Chief Content Officer at the NFL. He oversees the development, production, and distribution of video and editorial content for the NFL’s media networks, including the NFL Network, NFL Digital Media, and NFL Films. He also manages the NFL’s event programming franchises, like the Super Bowl Halftime Show and NFL Honors.
In addition to his roles as a media executive, Levin is also a speaker, author, producer, and television director. In 2004, Levin directed an episode of Everwood. He was an adjunct professor at USC, where he taught a class on the entertainment industry in the convergence age. He is also a board member or advisor to several non-profit organizations, academic institutions, political advocacy groups, and early-stage media companies.