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AMC Networks history
AMC Networks company history timeline
The first service to come out of the partnership was launched on December 8, 1980.
When Rainbow Programing Services was formed in mid-1980, it originally was a joint-venture of four cable television companies: Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, and Daniels & Associates.
By July 1981, both channels expanded their offerings to seven nights a week.
In the years that followed, the three other cable companies would exit the partnership, leaving Cablevision as the sole owner of Rainbow by 1983.
In 1983, three other regional sports networks were acquired: PRISM New England (soon to be relaunched as SportsChannel New England), Philadelphia-based PRISM, and Chicago-based SportsVision.
Near the end of 1984, CBS and Cablevision announced a deal to have CBS take 50% ownership in the Rainbow Service and Rainbow's marketing.
Long Island cable news service News 12 was also launched in 1986.
CBS and Cablevision parted ways in 1987.
In 1988, Rainbow's SportsChannel would make its largest programing deal, gaining national television rights for the National Hockey League.
The partnership also produced the Olympics Triplecast, a pay-per-view service providing additional coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympics.
In 1997, Romance Classics (later WE), a channel that had been in planning for over five year and had its launch date pushed back multiple times was finally launched.
Through a series of transactions, beginning in 1997, NBC's stake was eventually reduced.
In 2002, Cablevision sold its share of Bravo to NBC and as part of the deal, NBC gave up its then 20% share in Rainbow.
2003 saw Rainbow DBS Company launch a DBS satellite service, the HDTV-oriented Voom.
The service ceased operations on April 30, 2005, and instead several of Voom's HD channels were launched on Dish Network and Cablevision, now bannered as Voom HD Networks.
In 2006, a new plan emerged to privatize all of Cablevision, including Rainbow Media.
In January 2007, with no word on if the privatization would go through, Liberty Media expressed interest in acquiring Rainbow Media from Cablevision.
In June 2008, Rainbow acquired the Sundance Channel from NBCUniversal, CBS, and Robert Redford.
Fuse became a part of MSG Media in 2010, and has since been spun off as Fuse Media.
Rainbow Media's former President Josh Sapan serves as the president and chief executive of AMC Networks which went public on July 1, 2011.
On July 1, 2012, Dish Network dropped AMC, WEtv, and IFC from the channel line-up altogether.
On July 12, 2012, AMC said in an e-mailed statement that it would stream over the Internet the season premiere of Breaking Bad to Dish customers. "Dish subscribers can register online starting July 13 for the show, which airs on July 15.
On October 28, 2013, AMC Networks announced it would acquire most of Chellomedia, sans Chello Benelux, an international operator of cable networks, from Liberty Global for around $1.04 billion.
On October 23, 2014, AMC confirmed it had purchased a 49.9% stake in BBC America, with BBC Studios retaining the remaining share of the network.
In 2015, AMC Networks, along with Upfront Ventures, Daher Capital, Northgate Ventures, invested a round of funding in the Latin YouTube network MiTú.
On November 15, 2016, AMC acquired a minority stake in comedy video website and film and television production company Funny or Die, with plans to integrate it with IFC.
In 2016, AMC Networks finalized a partnership agreement with former BET founder Robert L. Johnson's RLJ Company.
On July 30, 2018, AMC Networks reached a definitive agreement to acquire RLJ Entertainment where AMC would pay $59 million for the remaining RLJE shares not owned by AMC or Robert L. Johnson.
For the first time, in 2019, AMC Networks partnered with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to enrichen the content and scope of the campaign.
In 2019, AMC Networks and the New Zealand public broadcaster TVNZ entered into an agreement to jointly produce The Dead Lands, a Māori–theme supernatural series set in pre-contact New Zealand.
In September 2020, executive chairman Charles Dolan retired from his position, moving to a chairman emeritus role.
In early 2020, the AMC Networks involved Switzer Group to lead the redesign of its ten floor headquarters at 11 Penn Plaza, New York.
On February 2, 2021, AMC Networks entered into a strategic partnership with Canadian production company Shaftesbury Films.
On January 5, 2022, AMC Networks acquired Japanese anime company Sentai Holdings, including distributor Sentai Filmworks, and streaming service HIDIVE.
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AMC Networks competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HBO | 1972 | $5.9B | 2,050 | - |
| ViacomCBS | 2019 | $14.5B | 12,700 | - |
| Meredith Corporation | 1902 | $3.0B | 7,915 | 43 |
| Netflix | 1997 | $39.0B | 12,135 | 273 |
| A+E Networks | 1984 | $890.0M | 1,047 | 27 |
| FX Networks | 1994 | $18.1M | 100 | - |
| Usa Networks | - | $10.0M | 3,000 | - |
| Gannett | 1906 | $3.2B | 21,255 | 168 |
| Scripps Networks Interactive | 2008 | $3.6B | 3,600 | 114 |
| Crawford Group | 1997 | $3.1M | 35 | - |
AMC Networks history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of AMC Networks, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about AMC Networks. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at AMC Networks. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by AMC Networks. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of AMC Networks and its employees or that of Zippia.
AMC Networks may also be known as or be related to AMC Networks, AMC Networks Inc, AMC Networks Inc., AMC Networks, Inc., Amc Networks and Rainbow Media Holdings (1980–2011).