(Jericho, NY) January 06, 2005 – Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, the programming subsidiary for Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC), today announced that it had centralized its public relations efforts across all of its businesses and promoted Ellen Kroner to senior vice president, corporate communication and marketing to head up the newly consolidated organization. Under the new operating structure, Ms. Kroner will work closely with Rainbow’s executive management team to align internal and external marketing and communications. As part of the announcement all PR department heads at each Rainbow business as well as the current Rainbow Corporate Communications staff will now report to Kroner, who will report directly to Rainbow president and CEO, Joshua Sapan.
“Bringing our public relations teams together across Rainbow’s businesses is part of a strategic plan that will more closely link our communications efforts with the needs of our partners, advertisers and viewers,” said Mr. Sapan. “Ellen is an exceptional public relations executive whose extensive experience and relationships make her well-suited to lead this team. Rising through the ranks of our company, she brings strong internal relationships and an impressive PR and marketing skill set to her new position. We are confident that her publicity and marketing expertise will be a significant asset to Rainbow as we capitalize on the opportunities to further develop our entertainment and programming properties.”
In her new role, Ms. Kroner will be responsible for company-wide media relations, public affairs, industry relations, internal communications and corporate marketing. She will also be responsible for creating and maintaining all activities relating to the corporate brand identity among both internal and external constituents, as well as Rainbow’s strategy and execution for major industry events. She is replacing Jim Weiss who will continue as a consultant with the company.
A veteran of the industry and a seasoned Rainbow employee, Ms. Kroner moves into her new position after over six years with the company, most recently serving as vice president of Public Relations for American Movie Classics (AMC) and overseeing the consumer publicity for WE and IFC. In this capacity, she developed and directed all network public relations strategies, including program publicity, network corporate communications, crisis management, community and media relations. She also was a key member of a management team responsible for AMC’s rebranding in October 2002 that surpassed network goals for advertising revenue and ratings performance.
Prior to joining Rainbow in 1998, Ms. Kroner has had an extensive and diverse career in publicity and promotions. As senior vice president of Corporate Communications for International Creative Management (ICM), one of Hollywood’s largest talent agencies, she was responsible for building a corporate communications structure that resulted in dramatic increases in agency media visibility. Prior to this, Ms. Kroner was vice president of Publicity for Sony Pictures Entertainment; vice president and general manager for leading entertainment advertising firm, Seininger Advertising, and vice president of Field Publicity and Promotion for TriStar Pictures out of New York and then vice president of National Promotions for Columbia TriStar Pictures in Los Angeles.
Ms. Kroner earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Communications at Hunter College.
About Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
A leader in sports, news and entertainment programming, Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation. Rainbow owns and manages national networks: AMC, Fuse, IFC (The Independent Film Channel) and WE: Women’s Entertainment, as well as Mag Rack, a collection of on-demand video magazines. In addition, Rainbow has recently launched the VOOM 21, a series of commercial-free channels that provide a wide range of programming content and capitalize on the advent of high definition television. Rainbow’s other businesses include its regional programming services – MetroChannels, News 12 Networks and Rainbow Sports Networks – in addition to the Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation and Rainbow Network Communications. Rainbow is a 50 percent partner in Fox Sports Net.