Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) has announced the appointment of Michael Armstrong as Executive Vice President and General Manager, International Brand Development.   In this role, he is responsible for continuing to identify new market opportunities to launch BET, Paramount and Spike in addition to overseeing the strategy, branding and operations of those launches.

“Michael has had a long, impactful tenure with Viacom, both in the US and at international, spanning key lines of business including affiliate, advertising and now network development,” said Robert Bakish, President and CEO of VIMN. “This promotion recognises the significant value that Michael’s leadership has delivered for the company.”

Prior to his role at VIMN, Armstrong had been Senior Vice President and General Manager of BET International since May 2006, overseeing the strategy, launch, programming, marketing, advertising and operations of BET in international markets, such as the United Kingdom and Africa.   He transferred over to VIMN in 2011 from BET Networks at which time Paramount Channel was also added to his remit.  Since then, he launched the Paramount Channel internationally, which is now distributed in 28 countries across 45 million households.

On the BET front, Armstrong is credited with growing the brand significantly, which now has distribution reaching 20M households, with additional launches planned for 2015.   Armstrong will now also spearhead the creation and distribution of Spike internationally – which will launch FTA in early 2015 replacing VIVA on Freeview.  Armstrong joined MTV Networks in 1998.

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