V10 Entertainment, the media company and owner of portfolio companies including Venture 10 Studio Group, Vin Di Bona Productions (America’s Funniest Home Videos), Fishbowl Media Worldwide, Home Video Licensing (HVL.com) and V10 Digital, has named accomplished media and entertainment executive Samantha Cooper as Head of International Licensing and Business Development. With over two decades of experience in content monetization and global negotiations, Cooper has launched V10’s New York offices and will focus on global licensing along with further library acquisitions and strategic partnerships. Reporting to V10 President Carter Skeath, Cooper will oversee V10’s recently acquired global distribution rights for America’s Funniest Videos and oversee sales of additional V10 titles including Follow Me, Totally Funny Kids & Animals, Blue Collar Auction, World’s Funniest Videos, and V10’s much anticipated original sports docuseries Arch Racing with Keanu Reeves and Gard Hollinger, set to premiere in Q1 of 2026.
“Sam combines unparalleled experience negotiating content deals with the ability to navigate large-scale media-company growth,” said John Stevens, CEO, V10 Entertainment. “Her accomplishments across linear and streaming for top film and TV franchises will be a tremendous asset for V10 as we level up our global footprint with IP and licensing.”
“I have had the pleasure of working with Sam while at Paramount Global. Her reputation, leadership, and performance track record are best in class among global media executives,” added Carter Skeath, President, V10 Entertainment. “Sam’s addition is a significant step in V10’s journey as we continue to opportunistically expand our library, production, and global partnerships.”
Cooper has held senior leadership roles for multiple decades at Viacom and subsequently, Paramount Global most recently as Executive Vice President, Global Content Licensing. In this role, she managed billions of dollars of revenue, including architecting $1B+ of annual global SVOD streaming revenue for a large and growing portfolio of original content from Paramount Pictures’ film library, CBS, Showtime, MTV Entertainment Group, and Nickelodeon as well as original content from Paramount+, Viacom International Studios and CBS News/Films. Also, during her time, Cooper helped negotiate the company’s first-ever advanced advertising deal with Netflix’s programming and ad teams.
“V10’s ideal industry position as a fully integrated, private equity-backed media company with a vast portfolio of IP provides a tremendous opportunity to tap into key markets abroad and find new audiences,” said Cooper. “I am excited to be joining John and Carter who have developed a dynamic team culture that welcomes new perspectives and ideas as the company further leverages its production, distribution and content development expertise to a global market.”
Previously, Cooper served as Executive Vice President, Content Distribution and Partner Marketing at Viacom where she managed business that represented a significant portion of Viacom’s total revenue and captured billions in new revenue, leading deal renewals representing over 80% of the subscriber base. Prior to that, Cooper served as Senior Vice President, Content Distribution and Business Development at Paramount where she led the partnership and deal renewal negotiations with Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Cablevision and AT&T.
