Recently named a “Who’s Next” leader by Fast Company, Jennifer Caserta is the recipient of the NCTA 2011 Vanguard Award for Young Leadership. As the executive vice president and general manager of IFC, Caserta oversees the day-to-day operations of the network, including original programming and acquisitions, scheduling, marketing and digital media. She was named to the post in June 2008.
Caserta also serves as executive producer for a number of IFC’s original series, including the popular alt comedies Onion News Network, Portlandia, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, and the sketch comedy The Whitest Kids U’ Know. She also served as executive producer on the docu-series Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer’s Cut), which secured IFC and the legendary comedy troupe their first ever Emmy® nominations.
Most notably Caserta oversaw IFC’s 2010 launch of its new look and brand direction embodied by the tagline “Always On. Slightly Off.” to reflect the evolution of IFC’s original programming strategy. The channel transitioned from being first and foremost an indie film network to a destination that celebrates all things indie culture with a specific slant towards alt comedy, a favorite genre amongst the network’s heavy male audience. She also spearheaded the network’s transition in 2010 from a sponsorship model to an ad-supported network with public ratings.
Prior to serving as GM, Caserta was IFC’s executive vice president of marketing, communications, scheduling and alternative programming. In this role, she directed some of IFC’s most innovative, multiplatform marketing and programming initiatives, including the campaigns to support the IFC original series The Whitest Kids U’ Know and Z Rock. Caserta also forged IFC’s multi-faceted partnership with South by Southwest for the SXSW Film Conference and Festival, a uniquely creative environment that aligns perfectly with IFC’s programming sensibility. Caserta also re-launched IFC.com in 2008 as a content rich channel with the mantra “voices of independent culture.” In addition, she spearheaded the creation and launch of IFC’s first On Demand offering, IFC Free.
Previously, Caserta served as executive vice president and general manager of the music network fuse. Under her guidance, the network increased its ratings and web traffic and launched a live studio series called The Sauce, as well as the first season of The Whitest Kids U’ Know.
Before joining fuse, Caserta served as senior vice president of marketing for IFC and oversaw all trade and consumer marketing initiatives for the network, including advertising campaigns, promotions and special events. In this role, she directed some of IFC’s largest-ever marketing campaigns, including an integrated marketing campaign called Target Stores Cinema Red Mondays, which brought IFC Indies to 1400 Target stores nationwide. Caserta first joined IFC as vice president of marketing in 2004.
Earlier in her career, Caserta served as vice president of ad sales marketing for Court TV, successfully redefining the Court TV trade brand. Prior to Court TV, she held marketing positions at Oxygen Media, Food Network, Westwood One and the Radio Advertising Bureau.
IFC has earned numerous top honors under Caserta’s leadership, including two Primetime Emmy® Award nominations, multiple BDA, CableFAXIES, and PROMAX Awards, a CableFAX Program Award, an International Emmy® Award, multiple Mark Awards, a Myers Media Innovation & Creativity Award, several NAMIC EMMA Awards, a Reggie Award, a Telly Award, a Webby People’s Choice Award and a Writers Guild Award.
Caserta earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Hunter College. She is an active member of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) and PROMAX. Caserta is an alumna of CTAM’s executive management program, CTAM U, at Harvard Business School. She was named one of the Most Powerful Women in Cable by CableFAX for three consecutive years (2008-2010), named to the CableFAX 100 list in 2010 and honored by Multichannel News as a 2010 Wonder Woman.
