Bellinda Alvarez Joins The Ankler as CRO
Bellinda Alvarez Joins The Ankler as CRO
The sales veteran comes from Entertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair and The Hollywood Reporter
Bellinda Alvarez has joined The Ankler as Chief Revenue Officer. Alvarez comes to The Ankler from her former position as Head of Entertainment on the West Coast for Entertainment Weekly and People. Earlier, she was Executive Director of Entertainment across all Conde Nast brands, including Vanity Fair. At both companies (DotDash Meredith and Conde Nast) she created and launched new For Your Consideration business units, bringing in millions of dollars in new revenue for storied Hollywood brands.
Alvarez joins The Ankler during a period of explosive growth for the upstart, called a “hit Hollywood newsletter” by the New York Times, with a “Who’s Who” of subscribers from the top echelons of entertainment, Silicon Valley and media. Paid subscription revenue has grown 128 percent in the three months since Ankler Media CEO Janice Min joined Richard Rushfield at The Ankler. In January, the upstart newsletter also became part of Y Combinator, the premier seed accelerator for Silicon Valley and the birthplace of Airbnb, DoorDash, Dropbox and Instacart. Previous media brands that launched in Y Combinator include The Athletic, Reddit and Substack. Additionally, the Ankler Hot Seat podcast, launched in January, has been downloaded nearly 400,000 times.
Alvarez served as Executive Director of TV and Film at The Hollywood Reporter when Min was co-president of The Hollywood Reporter-Billboard Media Group. Alvarez was first brought on to THR to build out the brand’s digital strategy following Min’s editorial turnaround of the publication, and later returned to help grow the consumer side of the brand’s entertainment business. Before joining THR, Alvarez had served as VP of Film for Deadline. Alvarez also spent nearly four years as the Head of Sales for Hitfix, where Ankler editorial director and chief columnist Richard Rushfield had been editor in chief.
Says Alvarez: “I am excited to join Janice and Richard at The Ankler in building a new kind of smart, thoughtful and provocative entertainment media that definitely has people talking and brings a much-needed fresh and, when called for, fearless voice into the conversation. I can’t wait to build on the incredible quality of The Ankler’s audience, a dream list of the top names and most influential people in this industry.”
“I’m thrilled to partner with Bellinda again,” says Min. “She is smart, savvy and the right person to help capitalize on The Ankler’s momentum. She has a full understanding of the transformational change underway in the entertainment business and the media covering it.”
Recent Ankler headlines have included exclusive breaking news about the departure of Spotify’s top dealmaker, Jason Momoa’s starring role in Warner Bros.’ Minecraft movie, and Disney’s investigation of a Grey’s Anatomy writer. Other notable editorial has included coverage of Bozoma Saint John’s departure from Netflix, wall-to-wall analysis of the Oscars and its aftermath, and the addition of new voices that include contributing editors Nicole LaPorte and Peter Kiefer, editor at large Tatiana Siegel, Jeff Sneider, the Entertainment Strategy Guy, and Vincent Boucher (writer of The Glossy). Thousands also have signed on for The Ankler’s first standalone subscription newsletter, The Optionist, about available intellectual property. Alvarez will be overseeing all revenue attached to newsletters, podcasts and events.
The Ankler’s re-launch sponsor in January was Amazon Studios, with additional partners following that included MGM, Focus Features, A&E Networks and MTV Studios.
Alvarez started her career in publishing in New York as part of the launch team for Latina Magazine, the first bilingual magazine for Hispanic women in the U.S. She then went on to serve earlier stints at various Conde Nast brands including Mademoiselle, Glamour, Golf for Women and Self.
Alvarez is a graduate of UCLA and resides in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. She is a first-generation Mexican-American from Oxnard, California.
Alvarez can be reached at Bellinda@theankler.com.
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