[ad_1]
AMC Networks’ chairman James Dolan has appointed his wife Kristin as the entertainment firm’s new CEO – six years after they separated.
Kristian will take the helm on February 27. She has already served on AMC’s board and worked closely with the company, having most recently served as CEO of 605, a data analytics firm that measures audience numbers for TV networks.
James and Kristin wed in 2002, and separated in 2018, but have not divorced, and remain on good terms – as evidenced by Kristin’s new job. James is a father to six boys born over the course of his marriage to Kristin and a previous wife.
Kristin, 56, will begin her new role as AMC struggles to navigate the streaming era, with its market value falling 80 percent in five years, according to WSJ. Her predecessor, Christina Spade, was booted from her role in November 2022 after just three months, amid claims her cautious approach to layoffs was at odds with the slash-and-burn cost-saving measures AMC wants to enact.
The Dolans split in 2018 after 15 years of marriage when they expressed while they could not continue a romantic partnership, they will continue their ‘relationship as business partners and co-parents.’
Just months into the tenure of AMC Networks former CEO, Chairman James Dolan has appointed his wife, Kristin, to the position as the pair remain on ‘good terms’ despite separating six years ago
‘I look forward to bringing my broad experience – across programming, cable operations, and most recently, utilizing data to reimagine television advertising – to leverage AMC Networks’ strong assets, drive the next phase of the company’s growth, and build shareholder value in the coming years,’ Kristin said in a news release on Wednesday.
Kristian has held various marketing roles at AMC, when it was known as Rainbow Media, in the early part of her career.
She also spent 16 years in various roles at Cablevisions Systems Corp., the cable-TV company once owned by the Dolan family before it was sold to Altice in 2016.
In November, Christina Spade stepped down from her role as CEO less than three months after being promoted to the position.
Within the same week, AMC told its employees it would be going through a significant round of layoffs, amounting to roughly 20 percent of its American staff, CNBC previously reported.
In a memo to staff in November, James Dolan said it was the company’s belief that ‘cord-cutting losses would have been stemmed by streaming’ WSJ reported.
‘This has not been the case. We are primarily a content company and the mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray,’ he told staff in a memo at the time.
After Spade stepped down restructuring measures were announced with the company saying they would be ‘designed to achieve significant cost reductions, in light of ‘cord cutting’ and the related impacts being felt across the media industry as well as the broader economic outlook.’
That restructure is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
More than half of AMC Networks’ revenue comes from its traditional pay-TV bundle, which has been bleeding subscribers as customers opt for less expensive streaming services.
Kristian will take the helm on Feb 27 and has already served on AMC’s board and worked closely with the company. In November, Christina Spade stepped down from her role less than three months after being promoted to the position
In addition to the channel, known for content like ‘The Walking Dead,’ and ‘Breaking Bad’ (pictured) the company also owns streaming platforms AMC+ and the horror-focused Shudder
In addition to the channel, known for content like ‘The Walking Dead,’ and ‘Breaking Bad’ the company also owns streaming services like AMC+ and the horror-focused Shudder.
The company’s flagship streaming service, AMC+, costs $9 a month and offers popular series from the AMC channel.
AMC forecast that its services should reach 20 million to 25 million subscribers by the end of 2025.
It added 300,000 subscribers in the third quarter, bringing its total paid customer base to 11.1 million.
AMC Networks has been considered a target for larger media companies looking to bulk up their libraries.
As the company sees a shakeup in its management, the partnership sees the former couple proverbially back in bed with one another since their apparently amicable split in 2018.
In a statement to Page Six at the time of the separation they wrote: ‘While this decision was a difficult one, we have a great deal of regard for each other and will continue our relationship as business partners and co-parents.’
‘Our children remain the center of our lives and their well-being is our top priority. It is in this spirit that we sincerely ask that their privacy and the privacy of our family be respected during this transitional period in our lives.’
They have two sons together and Jim has four sons from a previous marriage.
[ad_2]
Source link
