Promotion Follows Network’s Emmys Wins for Mad Men and Breaking Bad, Including History-Making Emmy Win for Outstanding Drama Series for Mad Men
New York, NY – November 10, 2008 – Rainbow Media has promoted Charlie Collier to president of AMC. In his new role, Collier will continue to lead AMC in bringing viewers enduring, iconic movies and cinematic original programming. The announcement comes on the heels of AMC winning multiple Emmys for its original scripted series Mad Men and Breaking Bad, including the history-making Emmy Award win for Outstanding Drama series for Mad Men. Collier was previously executive vice president and general manager of AMC. He continues to report to Ed Carroll, president of national entertainment services of Rainbow Media.
"Under Charlie’s direction, AMC has been transformed into a network that critics and the industry agree is home to the best dramas on television," said Carroll. "He has elevated the brand to new heights, and has presided over AMC during a period of record growth and success. Charlie is a talented executive who skillfully bridges the creative and business sides of the network. This is a well-deserved promotion and I know AMC will continue to benefit from his leadership."
Last month, AMC made television history by becoming the first and only basic cable network to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama series for Mad Men, an honor that has contributed to the network holding the basic cable record for the most Emmy wins ever. The series, created by Matthew Weiner, just completed its second season, which has continued to see audiences grow with more than 1.5 million viewers tuning in on average. With one of the most upscale audiences on television, the series has increased its viewership by 63% over its first season.
AMC was also honored at the Emmy Awards for its second original drama series Breaking Bad, with lead actor Bryan Cranston winning for his outstanding portrayal of the series’ lead character Walt White. Breaking Bad premiered in January 2008 to record-ratings, delivering adult 18-49 audiences 88% over the network’s prime season to date delivery. In 2009, AMC will premiere its second original mini-series The Prisoner, AMC’s reinterpretation of the 1960 cult series starring Jim Caviezel and Ian McKellan in their first U.S. television roles. The network’s first original mini-series, Broken Trail, premiered in July of 2006 and was the second most watched cable movie since 1995 delivering the network all time record ratings with a stellar 7.7 HH rating.
Last month, AMC launched AMC News, a short-form programming strand covering entertainment news including film premieres, major film festivals, and industry award events. The network continues, on a monthly basis, to contextualize its movies through three programming franchises that Collier introduced, including AMC Hollywood Icon, AMC complete collection, and AMC Celebrates, which marks the anniversaries of classic films.
Under Collier’s tenure, AMC has had three consecutive years of demo delivery growth across all dayparts. In addition to season-over-season growth of key demos in primetime and all other major dayparts, the 07/08 season brought in record delivery of key Adults 18-49, Adults 25-54 and Men 25-54 in primetime.
Prior to joining AMC in September 2006, Collier served as executive vice president and general manager of advertising sales at truTV, formerly Court TV, where he more than quintupled its ad revenue. During his time with Court TV, Collier led the network in the creation of an organization called, The ROI Council, a new task force comprised of major advertising industry research leaders that explored new ways to measure ad effectiveness and return on investment. Before that, Collier held senior roles at Oxygen Media and A&E Networks.
Collier is a Cable Advertising Bureau board member and, beyond his professional life, Collier is involved in many ventures including a senior board position at CancerCare, an organization devoted to helping not just cancer patients but also those around them touched by the disease. He earned an MBA from Columbia University and graduated with a BA from Bucknell University.
About AMC
AMC is a multi-platform network that celebrates classic movies and high-quality scripted series. Among the elite services available in nearly 95 million homes (Source: Nielsen Media Research), AMC defines what it means to be a classic movie network today, creating a distinctive viewing experience that celebrates all that is enduringly cool, personal and powerfully relevant about movies. AMC’s comprehensive library of popular movies strike a meaningful chord with its audience, and its critically-acclaimed slate of originals all have a cinematic quality that allow them to complement and be complemented by some of the best movies of all time. AMC is a subsidiary of Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, which includes sister networks IFC, WE tv and Sundance Channel. AMC is THE FUTURE OF CLASSIC.
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC is a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC). Rainbow Media is a leading producer of targeted, multi-platform content for global distribution, creating and managing some of the world’s most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, WE tv, Sundance Channel and VOOM HD Networks. Through IFC Entertainment, Rainbow Media also owns and manages the following: IFC Films, a leading distribution company for independent film; IFC Productions, a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects; and IFC Center, a three screen, state-of-the-art cinema in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village. Rainbow Media also operates Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation, its advertising sales company; Rainbow Network Communications, its full service network programming origination and distribution company; and 11 Penn TV, a company that manages Rainbow Media’s NYC studios and post-production facilities.