Ed Carroll
Chief Operating Officer
Rainbow Entertainment Services
Ed Carroll has built some of the most successful brands in television and has overseen the development of some of television’s most successful series, including Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Bridezillas, Inside the Actors Studio and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Mr. Carroll was named chief operating officer of Rainbow Entertainment Services in January 2009. In this role, he has operating responsibility for Rainbow Media’s national entertainment networks AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel and WE tv.
Under Mr. Carroll’s leadership, AMC, a network available to more than 95 million households, has seen its greatest period of viewer gain and garnered unprecedented critical acclaim for its originals. AMC’s original drama series Mad Men made television history as the only television series ever to win the Golden Globe® Award for three consecutive years for Best Television Series - Drama and as the first cable network to win the Primetime Emmy® Award for Outstanding Drama Series for two years in a row. AMC’s other premier original drama series is Breaking Bad, which made television history as the first basic cable network to win the Primetime Emmy® Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series (Bryan Cranston) for two consecutive years. AMC’s first original mini-series Broken Trail starring Robert Duvall is also a Primetime Emmy® Award-winner and the two-night premiere ratings for the mini-series earned the distinction as the most watched scripted program in all of cable television in 2006.
Mr. Carroll has overseen IFC since its inception, a network that offers viewers original programming, including non-traditional comedies and irreverent non-fiction, alongside a comprehensive independent film library of award-winning titles and cult classics. The IFC series and documentaries developed under Mr. Carroll’s direction include Dinner for Five with Jon Favreau and Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession, an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival directed by Xan Cassavetes. He has executive produced movies that have premiered at festivals at Sundance and Cannes.
In 2008, Rainbow Media acquired Sundance Channel and Mr. Carroll added oversight of the network to his responsibilities. Harnessing Rainbow Media’s resources, Mr. Carroll has strategically positioned Sundance Channel for continued growth both domestically and abroad. The network continues to receive critical acclaim and awards for its engaging selection of films, documentaries and original programs, including Spectacle: Elvis Costello With... and Brick City. Sundance Channel recently began its global expansion with channel launches in Belgium, Canada, France, Korea and Singapore.
Under Mr. Carroll’s direction, WE tv has become one of the fastest growing networks for women. The network’s increased focus on original programming, among them the breakout hits Bridezillas and The Locator, is also garnering WE tv significant ratings success. WE tv has begun its global expansion with launches in Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore.
Previously, Mr. Carroll served as president of Rainbow Entertainment Services for four years. Before that, he served for seven years as general manager of IFC and Bravo, until the latter was sold to NBC in 2002. During that time, Mr. Carroll successfully transformed Bravo from a small pay channel to a commercial network available to more than 68 million subscribers and oversaw the development of breakout series such as the Emmy® nominated Inside the Actors Studio and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
Mr. Carroll was honored with the Vanguard Award for Young Leadership by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) in 2002. He has been on the CableFAX 100 list for a number of years and most recently was ranked 38. Mr. Carroll is a member of the Cable Advertising Bureau (CAB) and the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM). He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and Political Science from the State University of New York at New Paltz. He recently coached his son’s little league team to a .500 record.