Brent Montgomery is an American businessman who is CEO of Wheelhouse Entertainment, a media group he launched in 2018. Under the Wheelhouse banner also is Spoke Studios, the content arm of Wheelhouse Entertainment, which creates programming across a variety of platforms and genres.
Montgomery also serves as strategic advisor to ITV America. Montgomery was named CEO of ITV America in 2015 following the 2014 acquisition of his company, Leftfield Entertainment, for $360 million by UK-based, multi-national media company ITV. Under Montgomery's leadership, in 2017 ITV America's revenue increased by 33%.
Career
Montgomery began his television career working for Texas
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
affiliate
KBTX
KBTX-TV (channel 3) is a television station in Bryan, Texas, United States, serving the Brazos Valley as a dual affiliate of CBS and The CW
The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadc ...
, which subsequently paid for the majority of his tuition at
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...
. He later moved to New York and worked on ''
The Bachelor'', ''
Wife Swap'' and ''
Blind Date
A blind date is a romantic meeting between two people who have never met before.
Both parties arrange a date with little to no information about each other, hoping for the possibility of making a lasting impression. Typically, a family member or ...
''.
[
Montgomery started his first production company, Leftfield Pictures, in 2002 with $10,000.][ Montgomery developed the concept for Leftfield Pictures’ flagship series '']Pawn Stars
''Pawn Stars'' is an American reality television series shown on History and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24 ...
'' while in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
for a bachelor party. Struck by the number of pawn shops in the city, Montgomery set out to locate a shop with the right setting and staff around which to build a television series.History Channel
History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
. In 2009, ''Pawn Stars'' premiered on History as a top rated series for the network, highlighting the “hidden treasures” genre of programming.
Montgomery grew Leftfield Pictures rapidly with other series soon added to Leftfield's roster.American Restoration
''American Restoration'' is an American reality television series airing on the History Channel. Produced by Leftfield Pictures, the first six seasons were recorded in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicled the daily activities at ''Rick's Rest ...
'' and ''Counting Cars
''Counting Cars'' is an American reality television series shown on History Channel and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series, which was the third spin-off of '' Pawn Stars'', was filmed in Las Vegas, where it chronicled the daily activitie ...
'' for History;Fox
Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush").
Twelve species ...
; ''Bethenny & Fredrik'' for Bravo, and National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...
’s specials ''Billy the Kid: The New Evidence'' (executive produced by Kevin Costner) and ''Brain Surgery Live''.
In 2013, Montgomery established parent company Leftfield Entertainment (LFE), and assumed the role of CEO, in conjunction with acquiring production company Sirens Media. He then launched additional production companies under the LFE umbrella – Loud TV and Outpost Entertainment – before selling 80% of the company for $360 million to ITV in 2014. At the end of 2015, Montgomery completed a deal through which ITV acquired all of the Leftfield Entertainment group. As part of that process, he became CEO of newly formed production group ITV America,[ Collectively, they produce series including FOX's '' The Four: Battle for Stardom'' and '' Hell’s Kitchen''; HGTV's '' Fixer Upper'', Netflix's ''Queer Eye'' and ''Girls Incarcerated'', A&E's '']Duck Dynasty
''Duck Dynasty'' is an American reality television series that aired on A&E from 2012 to 2017. The series portrays the lives of the Robertson family, who became successful from their family-operated business, Duck Commander. The West Monroe, ...
'' and ''The First 48'', History's ''Pawn Stars'', ''Alone'' and ''Forged in Fire''. Bravo's ''The Real Housewives of New Jersey'',
During Montgomery's tenure as CEO of ITV America, the company made production and talent deals with TV personalities and celebrities Michael Strahan
Michael Anthony Strahan ( ; born November 21, 1971) is an American television host, journalist, and former professional American football, football player. He played his entire 15-year professional career as a defensive end for the New York Gian ...
, WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
star John Cena, Bethenny Frankel
Bethenny Frankel, also known as Bethenny Parisella, (born November 4, 1970) is an American entrepreneur, television personality, philanthropist, and author. She was the runner-up on the NBC reality competition series '' The Apprentice: Martha S ...
, Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
co-host Lara Spencer
Lara Christine Von Seelen (known professionally as Lara Spencer; born June 19, 1969) is an American television journalist. She is best known for her work on ABC's ''Good Morning America'', previously as co-anchor and currently as contributor. ...
, Grammy award-winner Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...
and author/actress La La Anthony
Alani Nicole "La La" Anthony (née Vázquez; 19791982) is an American television personality and actress. In the early 2000s, she worked as an MTV VJ on ''Total Request Live''. She was the host of the VH1 reality television reunion shows '' F ...
.
In January 2018, Montgomery founded Wheelhouse Entertainment and its production company Spoke Studios. He currently serves as CEO of Wheelhouse Entertainment.
Honors and affiliations
Montgomery was featured on the cover of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' on January 30, 2019, focusing on his new business, the Wheelhouse Group, and highlighting his contributions to reality TV.
In June 2016, Montgomery was inducted into the Realscreen Hall of Fame as Producer Extraordinaire.
In 2014 Montgomery became a founding member of the Non-Fiction Producers Association (NPA), the first professional body created to service the non-fiction TV business in the United States, and serves on its executive committee. In 2017 the NPA merged with PactUS to create NPACT, on whose board and executive committee Montgomery also sits. In 2018, he received NPACT's “Inspiration Award for Outstanding Achievement In Nonfiction” as part of the organization's inaugural NPACT Impact Awards.
Montgomery is a member of Lincoln Center Corporate Fund's newly launched Media and Entertainment Council, and a member of the Paley Media Council.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Brett
American chief executives in the mass media industry
Texas A&M University alumni
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)