Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the appointment of Katherine Oliver as Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting. The agency serves as the central development, marketing and service agency for all film, theatre and television productions in New York City, coordinates police and production assistance, and issues a one-stop permit for all shooting in the City. The agency is an advocate for the industry, from major feature films and television series to commercials and documentaries, with both public and private sector organizations and individuals, and serves as a liaison on policy and regulatory issues affecting the industry. The agency also promotes the City's reputation as an international production center, which provides thousands of the City's entertainment professionals with employment and generates over $5 billion dollars annually.

"As one of the world's largest international production sites, our City offers an unrivaled talent pool of over 100,000 New Yorkers, and 300 square miles of cinematic locations," said Mayor Bloomberg. "New York's entertainment industry is a vital economic engine, and now more than ever, it is paramount that we make doing business in our city as attractive as possible. From years of working with Katherine, I am confident that she has the professional and personal understanding of the challenges the industry faces in today's competitive market and will work creatively to assure that New York City remains the ultimate 'location'."

"It is an important and exciting time to develop the entertainment industry here in New York City and we have so much to offer the production community," said Commissioner Oliver. "Our work with the industry plays an important role in marketing and promoting New York throughout the world, and to have the opportunity to serve in my hometown, and to work with this administration, is a truly a great honor."

Prior to her appointment, Katherine Oliver was General Manager of Bloomberg Radio and Television International from 1996 to the present. Oliver managed a staff of approximately 400 individuals working at broadcast operations in 25 cities worldwide, which ran Bloomberg's ten channels in seven different languages. She started at Bloomberg LP in 1992 and helped launch its radio station WBBR in 1993 and its television programming in 1994. Prior to Bloomberg LP, Oliver was a radio and television reporter for CNBC, Financial News Network (FNN), WABC and 1010 WINS. Oliver is a board member of the National Association of Television Program Executives. She earned a BA at New York University in journalism and economics, and was a professor at the New York University School of Journalism from 1994 to 1996. Oliver was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and now resides in Manhattan.