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John D. Maatta was named Chief Operating Officer of The CW on January 24, 2006, overseeing the network's business operations, including sales, business affairs, network distribution, legal, finance and human resources.
A joint venture between Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corporation, The CW launched on Sept. 20, 2006 as America's new fifth broadcast network and the only network targeting young adults 18-34. Along with President, Entertainment Dawn Ostroff, Maatta oversaw the formation and launch of The CW, which included, under his guidance, building a stronger distribution system than any new network has ever had.
Prior to The CW, Maatta served as the Chief Operating Officer for The WB, a position he held since September 2005. As COO of The WB, Maatta served as the network's General Counsel, as well as having direct oversight of all business and operations departments, such as business affairs, finance, network distribution, which included The WB 100+ station group, technology, legal, research, network operations, broadcast standards and human resources.
The CW represents the second network Maatta has been involved with from the early stages. He earned the distinction of being The WB's very first employee, making many of the initial distribution deals, he has also been in the Warner Bros. family since 1986 when he joined Lorimar Telepictures Corporation as legal counsel, At Lorimar, he rose to Vice President, Business Affairs; subsequently at Warner Bros. Television, Maatta held the positions of Senior Attorney and Vice President and Senior Attorney, before he moved to The WB in 1993. Prior to Lorimar, Maatta was a trial lawyer in San Francisco.
Maatta sits on the board of the Trader Vic's Restaurant Corporation (and is the former Chairman of the Board of that enterprise). Maatta also serves on the board of Rochester Television Ventures, LLC, and has been published in respected scholarly law journals on subjects of Hollywood and entertainment. | 