Long-time Paramount communications executive David Bittler is departing the company.
Bittler has been with Paramount (and its forerunner Viacom) for some 25 years, most recently as executive vp communications for the company’s kids and family division, including Nickelodeon, Awesomeness and kids and family series at Paramount+. He also spent time at MTV Networks and helped launch Logo, the first ad-supported LGBTQ+ cable network.
“While today we find ourselves in another era of evolution, and at an exciting inflection point, this is the turn in the road where I must loosen the yoke and diverge from this pack of marvelous people and from the brands and shows I have promoted and protected for so long … like Nick and Nick at Nite, MTVN, Logo and Spike, SpongeBob and Dora, iCarly, Avatar: The Last Airbender, PAW Patrol and all the TMNTs under the sun,” Bittler wrote in a memo to staff Tuesday (read it in full, below).
Bittler is the second high-level PR executive to leave Paramount following the company’s merger with Skydance. Liza Burnett Fefferman, who headed comms for Showtime/MTV Entertainment and Paramount Media Networks, departed earlier in August.
At Nickelodeon, Bittler led multi-platform campaigns for shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, PAW Patrol and Avatar: The Last Airbender, helping grow the kids’ series into global brands well beyond their TV origins. He also had a hand in designing in-person experiences for fans at events like Comic-Con and the Annecy Animation Festival.
Prior to joining Viacom, Bittler spent time at news networks CNBC and CNN.
Bittler’s memo to staff is below.
Hello, all you beautiful people!
For those who remember, that was the MTV Networks-era opening line for so many of the speeches and email missives delivered to us, and I humbly use it today to harness that spirit to signal my departure from these storied halls of 1515 Broadway.
For so many years, this company has been a big tent party both on and off the screen(s), welcoming in fresh directions and new ideas from all paths of life as we worked together to create a wealth of groundbreaking characters, shows, experiences and moments that electrified the culture globally time and time again.
But you already know this. That’s the draw. That’s the pull. That’s what keeps us coming back day after day and year after year — to be a part of these teams, a part of this bounty of creativity, a part of it all.
And while today we find ourselves in another era of evolution, and at an exciting inflection point, this is the turn in the road where I must loosen the yoke and diverge from this pack of marvelous people and from the brands and shows I have promoted and protected for so long … like Nick and Nick at Nite, MTVN, Logo and Spike, SpongeBob and Dora, iCarly, Avatar: The Last Airbender, PAW Patrol and all the TMNTs under the sun.
It has been years of long hours, big wins, and countless challenges, and for me, time flew for all of it. I could take the pro forma route here and list all the things I’m most proud of, but that’s already on LinkedIn. Come follow me!
So instead of telling you what I did, I will tell you why. I did it for the audience. I did it for our people here and for our brands that mean so much to so many. But most of all, I did it for love.
Ciao, for now!
David
