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AMC Global Media Inc.

Cable Television Broadcasting and EntertainmentFounded 2011
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Company data updated: September 2026

Leadership History

AMC Global Media: CEO History

4 leaders · 1995 to present

Who is the CEO of AMC Global Media?

Kristin Dolan is the CEO of AMC Global Media, in the role since 2023. The first chief executive was Josh Sapan, from 1995.

Current CEO
Kristin Dolan (since 2023)
First CEO
Josh Sapan (1995)
Leaders documented
4
Founded
2011
NameRoleFromToYears in role
Kristin DolanChief Executive Officer2023Present3
Christina SpadeFormer Chief Executive Officer20222022< 1
Matt BlankFormer Interim Chief Executive Officer202120221
Josh SapanFormer President and Chief Executive Officer1995202126
Who was CEO of AMC Global Media before Kristin Dolan?
Christina Spade was CEO of AMC Global Media from 2022 to 2022, before Kristin Dolan took over in 2023.

Company Overview

AMC Global Media is a New York media company with 1,738 employees that has been in the television business for more than 40 years. It is not connected to the AMC Theatres cinema chain. It owns the AMC channel, whose originals Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead turned a classic-movie service into a scripted-drama brand, plus BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV and We TV, the AMC Studios production arm, the IFC Entertainment Group film labels and the IFC Center cinema in New York, and seven subscription streaming services. The Dolan family owns all Class B shares and about 79% of total voting power. The company is headquartered in New York City, New York.

Kristin Dolan

Chief Executive Officer

2023 – Present

3 years (current)

Key Decisions & Impact

She took over three months after Christina Spade left and steered the company toward targeted streaming, price increases and cash generation rather than subscriber scale: streaming revenue grew 12% to $677 million in FY2025 and became the largest revenue component of the Domestic Operations segment, free cash flow was $272 million and total debt fell to $1.78 billion. She renamed the company AMC Global Media in April 2026 and licensed co-exclusive global streaming rights to The Walking Dead Universe to Netflix for $500 million over five years in July 2026. Her employment agreement was renewed on October 9, 2025 and runs through December 31, 2028.

Legacy

Kristin Dolan became chief executive officer effective February 27, 2023, after founding the audience measurement firm 605 in 2016 and running it until February 2023, and after earlier marketing, product and cable operations roles at Cablevision. She was a longtime AMC Networks director before taking the job and is the wife of non-executive chairman James L. Dolan.

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Christina Spade

Former Chief Executive Officer

2022 – 2022

0 years

Key Decisions & Impact

Her tenure lasted less than three months. She left in November 2022, and chairman James Dolan told staff the same week that the company would make significant cutbacks, including a large-scale layoff covering about 20% of the US workforce.

Legacy

Spade joined AMC Networks as chief financial officer in January 2021, became chief operating officer, then chief executive officer in September 2022. She had spent two decades at CBS and Showtime, including the 2015 launch of the Showtime streaming service, and began her career in audit at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

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Matt Blank

Former Interim Chief Executive Officer

2021 – 2022

1 year

Key Decisions & Impact

He ran the company through the final seasons of The Walking Dead and Better Call Saul and handed over to Christina Spade in September 2022.

Legacy

Blank, the former chief executive of Showtime Networks, was named interim chief executive officer effective September 8, 2021 in a one-year appointment meant to hold the company steady while the board searched for a permanent successor to Josh Sapan.

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Josh Sapan

Former President and Chief Executive Officer

1995 – 2021

26 years

Key Decisions & Impact

His defining decision was moving AMC from commercial-free classic movies into original scripted drama, ordering Mad Men in 2007 and Breaking Bad in 2008, and backing The Walking Dead in 2010. He also bought Chellomedia in 2014 and took the 49.9% BBC America stake the same year. He stepped down as chief executive in September 2021 and became executive vice chairman, a role that ended at the end of 2022.

Legacy

Sapan joined the Dolan family's Rainbow Media in the 1980s, helped launch Bravo and became chief executive of Rainbow Media in 1995, a job he held for 26 years and carried through the 2011 spin-off that created AMC Networks.

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Challenges & Strategic Context

The pressures are affiliate-fee decline, a weak linear advertising market, competition from far larger streamers, content cost discipline, and debt of $1.74 billion at June 30, 2026 against adjusted operating income of $313 million for the preceding twelve months. Affiliate revenue fell 17% in the second quarter of 2026 and streaming subscribers were flat at 10.4 million through 2025, so streaming growth has come from price increases rather than new customers.

AMC Global Media CEO and Leadership FAQ

Who is Kristin Dolan and what is her background as CEO of AMC Networks?

Kristin Dolan was appointed CEO of AMC Networks in February 2023; she previously served as founder and CEO of data analytics firm 605 and Chief Operating Officer of Cablevision Systems, bringing deep expertise in cable distribution and audience measurement.

Who was Josh Sapan and what was his impact as long-time CEO of AMC Networks?

Josh Sapan served as CEO for 26 years (from 1995 to 2021), transforming Rainbow Media into AMC Networks, greenlighting 'Mad Men', 'Breaking Bad', and 'The Walking Dead', and architecting AMC's early targeted streaming strategy.

Who ran AMC Networks between Josh Sapan and Kristin Dolan?

Former Showtime Networks chief Matt Blank was interim chief executive from September 8, 2021 in a one-year appointment. Christina Spade, previously chief financial officer and chief operating officer, became chief executive in September 2022 and left in November 2022.

What is James L. Dolan's role at AMC Global Media?

James L. Dolan is non-executive chairman and a director of AMC Global Media, representing the Dolan family's controlling stake. He is also executive chairman and chief executive of Sphere Entertainment and executive chairman of Madison Square Garden Sports and Madison Square Garden Entertainment.

What was Charles Dolan's role in creating the company?

Charles Dolan founded Cablevision and, before that, HBO. He created Rainbow Media in late 1980 to supply channels for cable systems, which is where American Movie Classics came from in 1984. He retired as executive chairman in September 2020 and died on December 28, 2024 at the age of 98.

What major operational pivot did Kristin Dolan implement upon taking office in 2023?

Kristin Dolan streamlined executive layers, optimized programming investments, accelerated third-party content licensing partnerships (including deals with Netflix and Max), and prioritized free cash flow generation for debt reduction.

How does the Dolan family control AMC Networks through dual-class share structure?

AMC Networks maintains Class A common stock (publicly traded on NASDAQ with one vote per share) and Class B common stock (held by Dolan family trusts with 10 votes per share), giving the family the right to elect 75% of the Board of Directors.

Who is the chief financial officer?

Hozefa Lokhandwala became chief financial officer on June 16, 2026, reporting to Kristin Dolan. He succeeded Patrick O'Connell, whose departure was announced in January 2026.

Who is the CEO of AMC Networks?

Kristin Dolan, a long-time executive and spouse of the company's controlling shareholder James Dolan, serves as the CEO.

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Content is for informational purposes only. Not financial advice. Data sourced from SEC filings, annual reports, and public records. See our full disclaimer and methodology.