Spike TV Hires Chris Rantamaki as Vice President, Original Series

NEW YORK, April 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Spike TV has named Chris Rantamaki vice president, original series, it was announced today by Sharon Levy, executive vice president, original series and animation.  Rantamaki is based in the network's California offices and comes to Spike TV from Discovery Channel, where he was vice president of production.

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In this newly created position, Rantamaki will report to Levy and be responsible for overseeing the development of non-scripted series that will further broaden and expand Spike TV's growing audience.

"We're thrilled to add someone of Chris' caliber to our team," said Levy.  "With such extensive experience in the reality television world, we look forward to him playing an instrumental part in developing programming that resonates with our viewers."    

Rantamaki joins the Spike team after four years at the Discovery Channel, where he most recently served as vice president of production.  There, he oversaw a slew of marquee shows, including "Auction Kings," "The Colony," "Howe & Howe Tech," "Gang Wars," "Construction Intervention," "Cook County Jail," and "Expedition Alaska," among others.  Prior to his stint at Discovery, Rantamaki served as executive producer and producer for more than ten years on a wide variety of reality staples, including TLC's hit docu drama "Miami Ink," Fox's "Ambush Makeover," E!'s "#1 Single," "Shipmates" and TLC's "A Dating Story."  He also has extensive experience in the talk show arena, serving as producer on "Queen Latifah," "Dr. Joy Browne," and "Jerry Springer," to name a few.  

Spike TV is available in 99.4 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks.  A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV's press site at http://www.spike.com/press.   Follow us on Twitter @spiketvpr for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.

SOURCE Spike TV

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