Josh Sapan

One of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and visionary executives, Josh Sapan sets strategy and is responsible for the overall management of AMC Networks, which owns and operates the following businesses: several leading entertainment brands, including popular and award-winning national cable television networks AMC, IFC, SundanceTV, WE tv, and BBC AMERICA (operated through a joint venture with BBC Worldwide); feature film label IFC Films and Sundance Selects; and AMC Networks International, the company’s international programming and distribution division.

Named CEO in 1995, Sapan led the company’s successful spin-off from Cablevision Systems Corporation in June 2011, when AMC Networks began trading as a separate public company on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Lauded by Fast Company magazine as one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business,” Sapan’s record of delivering must-have content to passionate audiences, coupled with his championing of breakthrough distribution models, has transformed cable television and changed the way people watch TV. The recipient of the Paley Prize for Innovation and Excellence, Sapan is credited with building some of television’s most influential entertainment brands and shows that are at the center of what’s been widely referred to as a new “Golden Age” of television; shows including: AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” “Mad Men,” and “Breaking Bad;” SundanceTV’s “Rectify” and “The Honorable Woman;” and IFC’s “Portlandia.” Vanity Fair has recognized him in its New Establishment Issue and as one of the “Impresarios of Cable’s Golden Age.”

In addition to spearheading AMC’s evolution from a classic movie channel into one of the most acclaimed and successful television networks, Sapan has developed IFC, SundanceTV and WE tv into offerings with groundbreaking content for targeted audiences. IFC has become a home for original comedies and leading comedic talent, including its series hit Portlandia – winner of Emmy, Peabody, and Writer’s Guild Awards – and projects from Will Ferrell (The Spoils of Babylon and The Spoils Before Dying) and Denis Leary (Maron); WE tv has emerged as a leading unscripted destination with hit shows Braxton Family Values and the Marriage Boot Camp franchise; and SundanceTV, following its acquisition by the company in 2008, has transformed into a home for original programming including the Golden Globe Award-winning miniseries The Honorable Women; acclaimed scripted drama Rectify; the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning miniseries Top of the Lake; scripted drama The Red Road; and One Child, a BBC AMERICA co-production.

Sapan has been instrumental in bringing independent film to wide audiences through award-winning film distribution and production labels IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight. Recent IFC Films’ successes include the critically acclaimed Boyhood, winner of the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and winner of the Golden Globe Award for Best Feature Film, both firsts for the company; as well as the Oscar-nominated documentary Finding Vivian Maier. Other notable releases include Sundance Selects’ Oscar-nominated Two Days, One Night and IFC Midnight’s critical and cultural hit The Babadook. In addition, Sapan opened New York City’s IFC Center in 2005, the brick-and-mortar home for the brand and home to DOC NYC, the largest documentary film festival in the United States. He also pioneered the strategy of same-day theatrical and video-on-demand release which has fundamentally altered how independent films are distributed and is a model that is now widely used throughout the movie industry.

Earlier in his career Sapan 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 notable and culturally impactful programs, including Inside the Actors Studio and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. The network was sold to NBC in 2002.

Inducted into the Cable Center Hall of Fame and the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame, Sapan has been recognized with a wide range of honors including the Paley Prize for Innovation and Excellence and, for his contributions to the advancement and protection of free speech, The Media Institute’s Freedom of Speech Award. Sapan has also received the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s (NCTA) Vanguard Award for Programmers and its 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 among many others.

Sapan serves on numerous boards, including The Paley Center for Media, The Cable Center, the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) Educational Foundation, the International Radio and Television Society (IRTS), the Museum of the Moving Image, People for the American Way, WNYC Radio, and The New School University.

Sapan is the author of The Big Picture: America in Panorama (Princeton Architectural Press), a collection of panoramic photos from the 20th century, with an introduction by writer and critic Luc Sante and captions from celebrated public figures, including Yogi Berra, Arianna Huffington, Bob Kerrey, Anna Quindlen and Martha Stewart.

He is a published poet, and also has the world’s largest collection of antique lightning rods, a selection of which is currently on display at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

Bibliography

• The Big Picture: America in Panorama (2013). Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1616891657.

References