Josh Sapan

Josh Sapan[1]
Sapan in 2022.
Born (1950-11-28) November 28, 1950 (age 73)[1]
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison[2]
Occupation(s)President and Chief Executive Officer of AMC Networks[3]

Josh Sapan (born 1950) is a media executive who served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of AMC Networks, as well as the Executive Vice Chairman.[4]

During his 35-year leadership of the company, 25 as CEO, Sapan has been credited with building a number of award-winning shows, movies and media brands.[5] They include AMC's Mad Men; Breaking Bad and prequel Better Call Saul; The Walking Dead, which resulted in the expansion to 7 different Walking Dead themed TV series; IFC’s Portlandia; SundanceTV’s Rectify; and Bravo’s Inside the Actors Studio and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Bravo was sold to NBC, a division of GE for $1.25 billion in 2002.[6] Sapan is credited with bringing independent films to wide audiences through IFC Films, which he led the launch of in 2000.[7] At IFC Films he supported the early work of directors Barry Jenkins, Lena Dunham, Lynn Shelton, Christopher Nolan, Mira Nair, Noah Baumbach, Richard Linklater and Steven Soderbergh.[8][9]

Sapan brought AMC Networks into the targeted streaming business with the launch of Doc Club in 2014, later rebranded Sundance Now, the horror genre streaming service Shudder in 2015, followed by the acquisition of the British Mystery themed Acorn TV, ALLBLK, the first streaming service created for Black film and TV, and AMC+.[10][11][12]

Sapan led the overall management of the various businesses within AMC Networks, including the company's national television networks and subscription video on-demand services; AMC Studios, the company’s television production business; IFC Films, its independent film distribution business; AMC Networks International, the company's international programming business, as well as 25/7 Media Holdings LLC (formerly called Levity Live.)[13][14]

During his tenure, AMC Networks has produced a number of award-winning and critically acclaimed shows with the company’s flagship channel AMC becoming the first basic cable network to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for Mad Men,[15] and the only cable network to win the award four consecutive years,[16] having been nominated 10 years in a row.[17]

He has led AMC Networks since 1995, including its spin-off from Cablevision in 2011.[18] Since becoming a public company, Sapan has presided over AMC Networks' increasing net revenues and operating income for seven consecutive years through fiscal year 2017.[19]

Prior to the company's spin-off into AMC Networks, Sapan was president of Rainbow Media's National Entertainment Division (a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation) where he oversaw AMC and Bravo.[18]

  1. ^ a b "Joshua W. Sapan". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
  2. ^ "Q&A with Josh Sapan". C-SPAN.
  3. ^ "Josh Sapan".
  4. ^ "Josh Sapan, Amc Networks Inc: Profile and Biography". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  5. ^ Szalai, Georg (2021-08-24). "As Josh Sapan Steps Down, Is an AMC Networks Sale Next?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  6. ^ Welsh, James (2002-12-10). "NBC completes Bravo purchase". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  7. ^ Harris, Dana (2000-09-26). "IFC channels films". Variety. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  8. ^ Andrew Sheldon (2018-01-29). "Josh Sapan's Persistence of Vision". Long Island Pulse Magazine. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  9. ^ "Stopping by with Josh Sapan". Poetry Society of America. Retrieved 2021-04-22.
  10. ^ Lang, Brent (2015-11-18). "SundanceNow Doc Club Launches Series of 5-Minute Films About Social Issues (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  11. ^ Dhawan, Joshua Kanter,Nishka; Kanter, Joshua; Dhawan, Nishka (2022-10-10). "What to Watch on Shudder, AMC Network's Horror Streaming Service". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-12-01.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Spangler, Todd (2018-07-30). "AMC Networks Reaches Deal to Buy RLJ Entertainment for $65 Million". Variety. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  13. ^ "AMC Networks Buys Majority Stake in Comedy Venue Operator Levity Live". The Hollywood Reporter. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  14. ^ "AMC NETWORKS INC. REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2021 RESULTS". 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
  15. ^ Sarraiya, Sonia (July 18, 2017). "'Mad Men' at 10: The Last Great Drama of TV's Golden Age". Variety.
  16. ^ Eng, Joyce (September 20, 2009). "30 Rock, Mad Men Repeat, While Jon Cryer and Toni Collette Surprise at Emmys". TV Guide.
  17. ^ "72nd Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners". Emmys. 2020.
  18. ^ a b Spangler, Todd (July 2011). "AMC Networks Spinoff From Cablevision Is Official". Multichannel. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  19. ^ "AMC Networks Inc. Reports Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2017 Results". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). AMC Networks. 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2019-01-15.