NEW YORK — February 4, 2026
Executive Summary
Great American Media has announced the appointment of Denise Crayne, CPA, as Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Crayne will report directly to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bill Abbott and will oversee all finance, accounting, tax, and financial planning functions across the company. According to the company, the appointment supports Great American Media’s continued growth, operational discipline, and long-term strategic objectives as it expands its portfolio of faith- and family-focused media brands. Crayne brings more than 20 years of senior financial leadership experience spanning media, entertainment, software-as-a-service, and private equity-backed organizations. In her role, she will partner closely with executive leadership to guide financial stewardship, support strategic initiatives, and strengthen enterprise-wide financial operations.
Announcement Overview
Great American Media announced the appointment of Denise Crayne as Chief Financial Officer, marking a key leadership addition to the company’s executive management team. In this role, Crayne will assume responsibility for overseeing all finance-related functions, including accounting, tax, financial planning and analysis, and strategic financial oversight across the organization.
According to the company, Crayne will report directly to Chairman and CEO Bill Abbott and will serve as a strategic partner to executive leadership as Great American Media continues to scale its operations. Her appointment comes as the company expands its distribution footprint, content offerings, and streaming presence across multiple platforms serving faith- and family-focused audiences.
The company stated that Crayne’s background in media, entertainment, technology, and private equity-backed environments aligns with Great American Media’s operating model and growth trajectory. Her experience includes leading finance organizations through periods of expansion, transformation, and operational complexity, supporting both creative businesses and technology-enabled platforms.
Key Appointment Details
Appointment type: Executive appointment
Effective date: February 4, 2026
Position: Chief Financial Officer
Reporting to: Bill Abbott, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Primary responsibilities: Finance, accounting, tax, financial planning, strategic finance
Company: Great American Media
Headquarters: New York, New York
Strategic Context
According to the company, Great American Media continues to operate in a competitive and evolving media landscape characterized by shifting viewer consumption habits, increased demand for streaming content, and heightened focus on disciplined capital allocation. As media companies balance content investment with distribution expansion, financial leadership plays a central role in aligning creative strategy with sustainable growth.
Great American Media stated that Crayne’s appointment reflects the company’s focus on strengthening its financial leadership as it expands its portfolio of linear and digital brands. The company operates across traditional cable distribution, streaming platforms, and direct-to-consumer applications, requiring coordinated financial planning, rigorous cost management, and long-term strategic oversight.
The company noted that Crayne’s experience across both media and technology-enabled businesses supports its objective of maintaining operational discipline while investing in content, distribution, and platform capabilities. Her background in private equity-backed environments is expected to support financial governance, reporting rigor, and strategic decision-making as the company continues to scale.
Leadership Statement
“Denise is a proven financial leader with deep experience in media, technology, and global operations,” said Bill Abbott, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Great American Media. “She understands how to balance growth with discipline, and she brings the kind of steady, strategic leadership that supports long-term value creation. I’m excited to have her as a partner as we continue to build and scale Great American Media.”
Role and Responsibilities
As Chief Financial Officer, Crayne will oversee Great American Media’s finance organization, including accounting, tax, treasury, financial planning and analysis, and strategic finance functions. According to the company, her responsibilities will include supporting executive decision-making, strengthening financial controls, and aligning financial strategy with the company’s long-term growth plans.
The company stated that Crayne will work closely with leadership across content, distribution, technology, and operations to ensure financial alignment across business units. Her role will also include supporting strategic initiatives, evaluating investment opportunities, and ensuring compliance with financial reporting and regulatory requirements.
Great American Media noted that the CFO role is central to maintaining operational discipline as the company expands its content slate, streaming services, and distribution partnerships. Crayne’s appointment is intended to support both near-term execution and long-term strategic planning.
Professional Background and Experience
Denise Crayne brings more than two decades of senior financial leadership experience across media, entertainment, SaaS, and private equity-backed organizations. According to the company, she is recognized for building disciplined, high-performing finance teams and guiding organizations through periods of growth, transformation, and complex strategic initiatives.
Most recently, Crayne served as Chief Financial Officer of Music Reports, Inc., where she led all finance, accounting, and tax functions. In that role, she acted as a strategic advisor to the company’s chief executive officer, board of directors, and private equity ownership. Her responsibilities included financial planning and analysis, audit and tax compliance, acquisition modeling, and post-acquisition integration.
At Music Reports, Crayne also led return-on-investment analysis for technology, artificial intelligence, and go-to-market investments, supporting strategic decision-making across the organization. According to the company, her experience in aligning financial strategy with technology and data initiatives is relevant to Great American Media’s expanding digital and streaming operations.
Prior Leadership Roles
Before joining Music Reports, Crayne served as Senior Vice President and Head of Finance, Accounting, and Business Operations at the World Surf League. In that role, she led a comprehensive finance transformation spanning multiple business units and international offices.
According to the company, her work at the World Surf League included implementing the NetSuite enterprise resource planning system, centralizing finance operations, modernizing financial planning and analysis processes, and strengthening cash management practices. She also led the organization’s first audited financial statements under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
In addition to finance leadership, Crayne oversaw enterprise information technology, cybersecurity initiatives, and global risk management at the World Surf League, reflecting a cross-functional leadership role extending beyond traditional finance responsibilities.
Earlier in her career, Crayne served as Vice President, Global Controller at Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, where she oversaw global controllership for a business generating approximately $1 billion in annual revenue. Her responsibilities spanned physical media, digital distribution, and content acquisition operations across multiple international markets.
Crayne began her professional career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she spent more than a decade leading audits for Fortune 100 entertainment and media clients. According to the company, this experience provided a foundation in financial reporting, compliance, and governance within complex, large-scale organizations.
Education and Professional Credentials
Crayne is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in New York and California. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, where she graduated summa cum laude.
In recognition of her leadership, Crayne was named a Los Angeles Business Journal CFO of the Year in the Emerging Growth Company category in 2024. According to the company, this recognition reflects her contributions to financial leadership and organizational growth.
Alignment With Company Strategy
According to Great American Media, Crayne’s appointment aligns with the company’s emphasis on disciplined growth, financial stewardship, and long-term strategic planning. The company operates in a media environment that requires balancing content investment with efficient capital deployment across linear television, streaming services, and digital platforms.
The company stated that Crayne’s experience across both creative and technology-driven businesses supports its approach to managing diverse revenue streams and cost structures. Her background in private equity-backed organizations is expected to contribute to governance, reporting rigor, and strategic evaluation of growth opportunities.
Great American Media noted that the CFO role is central to supporting the company’s continued expansion while maintaining alignment with its mission-driven content strategy focused on faith, family, and values-based entertainment.
About Great American Media
Great American Media was established in June 2021 by Bill Abbott in partnership with a group of U.S.-based family offices. The company was founded with the objective of building a leading media platform dedicated to faith- and family-focused entertainment across linear television, streaming, and digital distribution.
Headquartered in the United States, Great American Media operates a portfolio of entertainment brands serving audiences seeking values-driven programming. The company’s flagship linear network, Great American Family, features original movies, including seasonal programming such as Christmas films, romantic comedies, and scripted series. The network is distributed through major cable and satellite providers and reaches millions of U.S. television households.
Great American Media also operates Great American Pure Flix, a faith- and family-focused streaming service offering a library of movies, series, and original programming available on-demand across multiple devices. Pure Flix serves subscribers seeking faith-aligned content and represents a core component of the company’s direct-to-consumer strategy.
In addition, the company operates Great American Faith & Living, an unscripted companion network focused on lifestyle, faith, and inspirational programming, as well as GFam+, a mobile and connected-TV application that enables viewers to access Great American Media content across platforms.
Since its launch in 2021, Great American Media has expanded its distribution footprint across cable, streaming platforms, and digital applications, positioning itself as one of the fastest-growing faith and family entertainment companies in the U.S. media landscape. According to the company, its portfolio reaches audiences nationwide through traditional television distribution, streaming services such as Pure Flix and YouTube TV, and proprietary digital applications.
Great American Media operates as a privately held company backed by U.S.-based family offices and focuses on long-term growth supported by disciplined financial management, targeted content investment, and strategic distribution partnerships.
Media Contact
Debbie Davis
Phone: 512-537-1414
Source Attribution
Source: Company announcement