AMC Networks names Kristin Dolan as CEO

Updated: Hours after The Wall Street Journal reported that Kristin Dolan, wife of James Dolan, was a candidate for CEO of AMC Networks, she is officially in the top job. According to an SEC filing Wednesday afternoon, Kristin Dolan will begin as CEO on February 27; his mandate is currently scheduled to last at least until March 31, 2026.

Prior to serving on the board of AMC Networks and data analytics firm 605, Kristin Dolan served as Chief Operating Officer at Cablevision from 2014 to 2016.

The original story is as follows:

Last November, AMC Networks CEO Christina Spade left the company after less than three months on the job. Shortly thereafter, the company’s chairman, James L. Dolan, took over as interim executive chairman while the board searched for a suitable CEO. They didn’t have to stray too far from home because Dolan’s wife is apparently one of the best candidates for the job.

AMC board member Kristin Dolan is listed as CEO. The Wall Street Journal. The Dolans married in 2002 and are currently separated but close, according to the Journal.

Although Kristin Dolan is not an official employee of the company — she runs the data analytics firm 605, which was founded in 2016 — she maintains an office at the company’s executive level and is very close to her husband and the management team, according to the Journal. The company’s search for a CEO isn’t over yet, and recruiting firm Sucherman Group is helping vet candidates, so don’t stick your name on the corner office door just yet. (Who are we kidding, you probably already have a heel—or two.)

AMC org. table already resembled the Dolan family tree. James Dolan is the son of Charles Dolan, the famous founder of HBO and Cablevision and controlling owner of AMC Networks. The family owns several other companies, including MSG Entertainment, MSG Sports and BBC America. In 2020, James Dolan succeeded his father as president of AMC — although you may know James Dolan best as the guy who ran the New York Knicks into the ground and banned legendary player Charles Oakley from Madison Square Garden.

On the day Spade left AMC, Dolan announced “large-scale layoffs” at the company, his decision to leave AMC+ and specialty services such as Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, ALLBLK, and anime- attributed to the weak profits of the streaming division that houses -focused HIDIVE.

AMC predicts that these streamers will collectively reach 20-25 million subscribers by the end of 2025; they currently have a total of 11.1 million paid subscribers. AMC Networks will report its fourth quarter results on Friday.

It seems that Wall Street doesn’t entirely hate the idea of ​​(continued) nepotism: AMC shares ( AMCX ) are trading up nearly 8 percent today. But this probably isn’t about Kristin Dolan; the Wall Street Journal also revealed Wednesday that Roku approached AMC Networks about a possible acquisition 18 months ago.

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