• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, June 27, 2007

Roo Group, which provides video solutions to online content providers and advertisers, made several key hires this week, including Bert Solivan as executive vice president and general manager. Solivan comes from Fox News, where he served as senior vice president.

In addition, Paula Balzer--former chief marketing officer at Clear Channel Entertainment--was appointed chief marketing officer, while Rick Gell, co-founder of Corbis Corporation, was named chief content officer.

Still in its infancy, Roo recently reported first-quarter revenues up 68% compared to $3 million. But with clients including News Corp., Verizon and The Street.com, Roo has established itself as a company to watch in the nascent broadband industry.

Earlier this year, News Corp. agreed to purchase a 5% stake in the company, and will potentially take another 5% in the near term.

Roo has powered video distribution and syndication across News Corp.'s properties, including The Times of London and The Australian. Roo also has content syndication partnerships with Fox News Channel and Sky News.