Showtime Taps Former Exec Michael Crotty As CFO, Will Also Oversee BET Finance Team, As Adam Townsend Exits

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Showtime Networks Inc. Tuesday named one of its longtime former executives Michael Crotty executive VP and chief financial officer, replacing veteran finance exec Adam Townsend, who is leaving at the end of March.

Crotty will also oversee BET Networks’ finance team and report to Showtime chairman-CEO David Nevins.

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The ViacomCBS universe has seen a series of executive shifts and departures since it merged late last year. This one marks a return act for Crotty, who started as a business analyst at Showtime in 2002 and rose to senior VP, Affiliate Revenue and Business Operations. He most recently served as CFO of The Players’ Tribune since 2016. He led the growth of the company, founded by Derek Jeter in 2014 to connect athletes and fans, post Series A funding, quadrupling its staff and growing revenue across advertising, licensing and original production. He raised $40 million in Series B from top private equity and venture capital firms, led TPT’s acquisition of Unscriptd – a mobile app for athletes to create short-form video – and the acquisition of TPT by Minute Media last November.

“We count ourselves incredibly fortunate to be able to lure Michael back to Showtime. He is extremely well liked and respected by everyone he worked with during his previous stint here, and the years he spent as CFO of The Players’ Tribune have given him indispensable entrepreneurial and leadership experience that he brings back to us,” Nevins said in a statement.

Crotty was previously one of the key executives that launched Smithsonian Networks, serving as VP, Finance, Business Development and Operations. He also worked at Arthur Andersen and at Altria Group (previously Philip Morris Companies).

Exiting Townsend joined CBS in 2008 and served for a decade as executive VP,Corporate Finance and Investor Relations running CBS’ daily outreach to the investment community, including during the IPO of its outdoor advertising business and the split-off of CBS Radio. He became Showtime’s CFO in 2018.

“Adam has been invaluable to Showtime Networks and CBS, not only with managing our finances but also our overall leadership,” said Nevins. “He’s been an enormous help in driving our business through a year of many transitions, and we are sorry to lose him. We wish him all the best on what we expect will be an exciting next chapter.”

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