AMC Networks hires Kristin Dolan as CEO

The fate of AMC Networks has always been determined by its controlling shareholders, the Dolan family, and now Kristin Dolan has a chance to put the ailing programmer back on track.

The wife of CEO James Dolan (although the couple is divorced), who has been a media and entertainment executive for more than three decades, will take over the company on February 27. She succeeds Christina Spade, the former CFO, who held the top job for just three months last year before stepping down from the company at a time of turmoil for the industry and wider economy. James Dolan took on a more hands-on role when Spade left and has been leading the company for the past few months, overseeing layoffs of 20% of the company’s workforce and a series of layoffs in programming.

Like many of its peers, AMC Networks has faced increasing pressure from cable cuts as it tries to expand its presence in streaming with a group of niche services like Shudder, AcornTV and AMC+. The company is expected to reach 20 million to 25 million total subscribers in its portfolio by 2025, with streaming accounting for more revenue than traditional pay TV.

The company thrived after splitting from Cablevision in 2011 with original hits like The living dead, break bad And crazy men Enjoy peak levels of linear distribution at a time when Netflix’s original programming was still in its infancy. With advertising and affiliate revenue falling and streaming revenue models still unclear across the industry, things have gotten a lot more difficult in recent years. A Wall Street Journal A report today said the company rejected takeover offers from Roku, Lionsgate and several private equity firms as its valuation fell below $1 billion. Reports of interest from potential buyers sent shares up 10%, but they remain less than half their value from a year ago.

On Friday morning, AMC Networks will publish its quarterly numbers.

Kristin Dolan was most recently CEO of 605, the audience measurement and data analytics company she founded in 2016. Prior to 605, she spent 16 years at Cablevision in a variety of operational roles, including Chief Operating Officer. The company, which was one of the largest MVPDs and a force in the New York market (where Dolan’s other assets, including Madison Square Garden, are located), was sold to French telco Altice in 2016 for $17.7 billion mergers and acquisitions. Transforming the pay TV landscape.

Prior to joining Cablevision, Dolan held various marketing roles at AMC Networks (then known as Rainbow Media Holdings), including affiliate marketing and sales, where she began her career in 1989.

Before Spade was named CEO in 2022, AMC Networks was led on an interim basis by Matt Blank, a media veteran known for his long tenure as Showtime’s CEO. Blank stepped in after Josh Sapan left in mid-2021, as well as COO Ed Carroll shortly after. Sapan and Carroll had a combined 60 years of experience at AMC and Rainbow.

“Kristin is a seasoned executive and industry leader with a track record of organizational change, a history of managing subscription-based businesses and a deep understanding of audience engagement and advertising,” James Dolan said in the official announcement. “These are areas that are critical to transforming our business and monetizing our high quality content. With her significant experience and knowledge of the business, Kristin is ideally positioned to lead AMC Networks into its next chapter in this time of industry disruption.”

Kristin Dolan called it “a privilege to be part of a company with a long tradition of delighting audiences with outstanding stories and world-class brands.” She added: “It’s also where I started my career
Industry. I look forward to using my extensive experience – in programming, cable operations and most recently, using data to redesign television advertising – to leverage the strengths of AMC Networks, the company’s next phase of growth, and shareholder value over the next year to add Increase. “