Josh Sapan, President and CEO, AMC Networks Inc.
8:00 – 9:00 AM
Josh Sapan, President and CEO, AMC Networks Inc.
One of entertainment’s premier innovators and a pioneer in the cable industry, Josh Sapan leads AMC Networks Inc., which owns and operates popular and award-winning brands: AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv, and IFC Films. Under his leadership for the past 26 years, AMC Networks is the fastest growing programming group in the country, and was the only programming group selected by Fast Company as one of the "Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Film & TV" in 2010. Among Sapan’s many achievements was the evolution of AMC from a classic movie channel into one of today’s leading entertainment destinations. With quality originals like Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and favorite films from every genre and decade, AMC is known as home to the best stories on television. In 2011, the network made television history when it won the Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row, as well as the Golden Globe® Award for Best Television Series - Drama for three consecutive years. Sapan also spearheaded the development of the Bravo network. Launched in 1980, the network made arts and culture an essential part of the television landscape. Sapan’s oversight of Bravo’s growth included the creation of such notable programs as Inside the Actors Studio and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, which resulted in its sale to NBC in 2002. Sapan, who was recognized by Fast Company in 2010 as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business,” serves on the board of The Cable Center, the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) Educational Foundation, the International Radio and Television Society (IRTS) Foundation, the Museum of the Moving Image, and the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) Foundation. Sapan was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame and is a recipient of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s (NCTA) Vanguard Award for Programmers and Vanguard Award for Marketing, CTAM’s Grand TAM Award, and Chairman’s Award, the Association of Cable Communicators’ (ACC) President’s Award, a PROMAX Brand Builder Award, the T. Howard Foundation’s Executive Leadership Award, the Joel A. Berger Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the Media Financial Management Association’s Avatar Award. In addition, Sapan serves on the board of People for the American Way, WNYC Radio, and The New School University. Sapan is the author of Cable TV, published by Random House, and is a published poet with his works appearing in more than twenty literary magazines.
Moderated by: Scott Kurnit, Founder and CEO, Keep Holdings
Scott Kurnit founded Keep Holdings with a mission to improve the Internet by enabling consumers to engage in more productive interactions with the brands, products, and services in their lives. Keep Holdings operates Keep.com and TheSwizzle.com. He also founded and served as chairman and CEO of About, Inc. as it grew to a public market value of $1.7 billion and was the fifth largest of all Web properties. Kurnit sold About US to Primedia in 2001 for $724 million. About was then owned by the New York Times Company and was recently purchased by Barry Diller's IAC. Kurnit has founded four companies, all of which continue operating today. He holds four patents, led the team that embedded the first Web browser into an online service, started the first Pay Per View cable network, and co-led the team that implemented the first use of national caller ID. He was also the youngest program director in the PBS system and served as program director for Qube, the world’s first fully interactive cable system. He was president of Showtime Event Television when it generated the largest one night gross in the entertainment business and aired the first rock concert (broadcast in 70 countries) from the former Soviet Union. Kurnit serves on the boards of Keep Holdings, Appssavvy, Brightcove, and The Paley Center for Media. He has been a filmmaker, TV director, station program manager, marketer, and CEO. He has worked at the highest levels of Warner, Viacom, News Corp., PBS, IBM, and MCI companies.
This event is exclusive to Media Council members and other invited guests. To find out if you're eligible to join the Media Council, contact Stephanie Kousoulas at 212-621-6732 or mediacouncil@paleycenter.org.
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