The fate of AMC Networks has always been decided by its controlling shareholders, the Dolan family, and now Kristin Dolan has a chance to get the ailing programmer back on track.
The wife of executive chairman James Dolan, who has more than three decades of experience as a media and entertainment executive, will take over the company on February 27. She succeeds Christina Spade, who retired from the company for just three months last year. James Dolan, who took on a more hands-on role and, to guide it through the post-Spade era, presided over the layoffs of 20% of the company’s workforce and a number of programming pullbacks.
Like many of its peers, AMC Networks has faced mounting pressure from cable-cutting as it seeks to build its presence in streaming with a portfolio of niche services. While the company thrived for many years after splitting from Cablevision in 2011, it’s struggled to make the jump to streaming, thanks to original hits like The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men. a Wall Street Journal report earlier today said the company rejected takeover attempts by Roku, Lionsgate and several private equity firms as its valuation fell below $1 billion.
AMC Networks will publish its quarterly figures on Friday morning.
Kristin Dolan most recently served as CEO of 605, the audience measurement and data analytics company she founded in 2016. Prior to 605, she spent 16 years in various operational roles at Cablevision, including as Chief Operating Officer. The company was later sold to French telecom company Altice in 2016 for $17.7 billion.
Prior to Cablevision, Dolan held various marketing positions at AMC Networks (then known as Rainbow Media Holdings), including Affiliate Marketing and Distribution, where she began her career in 1989.
“Kristin is a proven executive and operations leader with a track record of driving organizational change, a history of managing subscription-based businesses, and a deep understanding of audience engagement and advertising,” said James Dolan in the official announcement. “These are areas that are critical as we transform our business and monetize our high-quality content. With her considerable experience and knowledge of the business, Kristin is ideally placed to lead AMC Networks into the next chapter in this transformative period in the industry.”
Kristin Dolan called it “a privilege to be part of a company with a long tradition of engaging audiences with outstanding stories and world-class brands.” She added: “It’s also where I started my career in
industry. I look forward to using my broad experience – in programming, cable operations and most recently using data to reshape television advertising – to leverage the strengths of AMC Networks, the next phase of the company’s growth. company and build shareholder value over the next year.”
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