AMC Networks appoints James Dolan as interim chairman of the board until a new CEO is appointed

AMC Networks, whose CEO Christina Spade resigned last week, said Monday that the board had appointed James Dolan as “interim CEO.”

“Mr. Dolan will serve as interim chairman of the board immediately, allowing him to provide strategic oversight of the company pending the appointment of a new CEO,” AMC said in an SEC filing.

“AMC Networks has an experienced leadership team, and I look forward to working with them to provide high-level strategic direction and guidance as we steer the company through this time of transformation in the media industry,” said Dolan.

He will remain in office until the Board appoints a new CEO or until March 6, 2023.

When Spade left the company — after just three months at the top — Dolan announced a wave of layoffs and plans to restructure operations and cut costs as the company faces financial headwinds. The bubbling growth has not kept up with the line cutting, he said. AMC is laying off 20% of its US workforce, or about 200 employees. It also announced restructuring charges of up to $475 million, high for a company of its size, for content write-offs, severance payments and other restructuring costs. Up to $400 million of that goes to content-related efforts, which the company calls “strategic program reviews.”

Among the victims of the programming is the second season of moon gate at AMC+, which was canceled four months after renewing the dystonic sci-fi series.

Notable departures include David Stefanou, SVP of original programming and development at WE tv, and Marco Bresaz, SVP of nonfiction and alternative programming at AMC and SundanceTV.

Spade, who was CFO before moving to the top job, replaced interim CEO Matt Blank. The former Showtime boss replaces longtime boss Josh Sapan, who left the role in September 2021 after 26 years at the helm of AMC.