OverDrive Announces Strategic Leadership Appointments for Global Digital Media Distribution
Newly established Content Group will offer authors, publishers, audiobook and video suppliers expanded services to grow sales to global school, library, academic and corporate buyers
Cleveland, OH – July 31, 2024 – To keep pace with surging demand from millions of students, readers, and viewers benefiting from digital content available through their local libraries and schools, OverDrive announced the formation of a newly established Content Group. The newly configured business unit will drive innovation for digital content discovery and sales, integrating Kanopy’s 30,000+ film and video library alongside OverDrive’s vast collection of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, comic books, and educational resources, while enhancing metadata and collection development services reaching over 90,000 institutional buyers.
To lead the OverDrive Content Group, Jason Tyrrell has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Content. For the past three years Tyrrell served as General Manager of Kanopy, OverDrive’s video streaming service. Prior to Kanopy, Tyrrell spent 17 years in high volume licensing and business development roles across the entertainment landscape. Alexis Petric-Black, who has been with OverDrive for over two decades, has been promoted to Vice President, Content. Erica Lazzaro, who led OverDrive’s Publisher Services departments and legal team, will focus on an expanded role as OverDrive EVP & General Counsel, heading the enterprise’s global legal, regulatory, governance and privacy policies, as well as managing OverDrive’s large portfolio of intellectual property.
For the past 20+ years, under Lazzaro and Petric-Black’s leadership, OverDrive Marketplace has become the largest global distributor and sales partner to schools and libraries worldwide, providing customers with thousands of publishers’ and suppliers’ catalogs in over 100 languages.
“Through July of 2024, Libby checkouts are up 35% over the same period from last year. Kanopy viewership and student reading with Sora are both surging which drives content sale opportunities for our publishing and content suppliers,” says Steve Potash, CEO and founder of OverDrive. “The OverDrive Content Group will assist our content suppliers in effectively reaching larger audiences for their books, stories, and media, while enhancing the selection, insights, and options for best managing digital school and library catalogs.”
“We envision a future where there will always be an abundance of compelling media available through your local library,” says Tyrrell. “By developing content discovery channels and evolving access models to support the sustainability of the supply chain, OverDrive will continue to provide the best possible content experience for institutions across the globe.”
The OverDrive Content Group will further explore geographic and channel specific offerings, new subscription plans and access models, expand on its industry leading collection of exclusive and carefully curated content, and grow beyond its core offerings to ensure the greatest variety and choice for libraries, schools, and institutions worldwide.
About OverDrive
OverDrive is a mission-based company that stands with libraries. Named a Certified B Corp in 2017, OverDrive serves more than 92,000 libraries and schools in 115 countries with the industry’s largest digital catalog of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, video and other content. OverDrive empowers libraries and schools by expanding access for all through tireless industry advocacy and consistent innovation. Award-winning apps and services include the Libby library reading app, the Sora student reading app, Kanopy, the leading video streaming app for libraries and colleges, and TeachingBooks.net, which offers one of the largest catalogs of supplemental materials that enhance literacy outcomes. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio USA. www.overdrive.com
Contact:
Madison Stoneburner
Marketing & Communications Specialist
