Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the creation of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. The existing Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting has joined with NYC Media, the official television, radio and online network of the City of New York, to create a single entity that will also perform citywide digital coordination functions as the use of social media becomes more prevalent. The planned merger, announced by Mayor Bloomberg in his 2010 State of the City speech, aims to integrate and expand the City’s diverse media industries and spur the development of innovative new media technologies and uses. Commissioner Katherine Oliver, who was appointed Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting on August 1, 2002, and has been the President of NYC Media since April 2009, will oversee the new office and serve as Commissioner. Since January, Commissioner Oliver has worked with her staff and the Departments of Information Technology and Telecommunications and Small Business Services to implement the changes the Mayor made official in an executive order.

“Today, we have taken another step towards making government better and stronger by creating the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Katherine Oliver has achieved great things as Commissioner of the Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, and I know she will have just as much success in her expanded role. This dynamic new entity will allow us to make better of digital media and to continue to make New York the place where movies, television shows and theatre want to come.”

“Serving as the Film Commissioner for the last eight years has been truly one of the greatest honors of my life,” said Commissioner Katherine Oliver, “I look forward to the next phase as Commissioner of Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, implementing the Mayor’s ideas of making government services and messages better, continuing our duties to bring film and entertainment to New York City and making sure we do our best to be the most digitally creative City that we can be.”

Todd Asher, who had been Chief Operating Officer of NYC Media, was appointed First Deputy Commissioner. Asher will coordinate the entities within the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and report to Oliver. Asher has worked at NYC Media since May 2009. John Battista will continue to serve as Deputy Commissioner of the Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. Diane Petzke will serve as General Manager of NYC Media, overseeing programming for radio and television.

The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, originally established in 1966, will continue its function as the one-stop shop for productions shooting in the City, issuing all permits required for films, television series and still photography shoots. The agency has created innovative incentive programs to attract and retain film and television production as well as workforce development and education programs to grow the entertainment industry. One of its most successful programs is the “Made in NY” Production Assistant Training Program, developed in partnership with Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, which gives unemployed and disadvantaged New Yorkers their start in the TV and film industry as production assistants.

As the official TV, radio and online network for the City, NYC Media informs, educates and entertains New Yorkers with programming featuring the City’s diverse people and neighborhoods, government, services, attractions and activities. NYC Media oversees several television channels, a radio station and other online assets. NYC life – Channel 25 on most systems and Channel 22 on Cablevision – explores art and culture, entertainment and lifestyle, and history and education, and features the people and places that make the City unique; NYC gov provides a window into City government by airing press conferences, City Council hearings and  public events; NYC world offers international programming for New York’s diverse ethnic communities; and NYC drive features live feeds from a network of City cameras providing local travelers with coverage of the City’s main roadways. The NYC Media Video On Demand Player also allows viewers to watch NYC life original programming online at any time.

Within the new Office of media and Entertainment, the Office of Digital Coordination will implement the City’s digital media efforts, and enhance communications between City government and the public through social media and other digital tools. The Office of Digital Coordination will use evolving technology and media to provide more transparency in government.

The Office of Media and Entertainment will also provide unemployed and under-employed New Yorkers with opportunities for hands-on experience in the television industry at NYC Media.  Each year, graduates of the “Made in NY” Production Assistant Training Program will be considered for paid PA positions at NYC Media.  The program helps create job opportunities, connects disadvantaged New Yorkers with employers in the industry, and educates production assistants on how to work collaboratively with the communities in which they shoot.

The merger provides various cost-saving efficiencies, some of which have already been realized. A number of operational staff from the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, including communications, marketing, and finance, now fulfill responsibilities for the new office, and the Departments of Information Technology and Telecommunications will administer the back office support, including payroll, budget, IT, and human resources.