Joshua Sapan
President and Chief Executive Officer
Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
One of the cable industry’s premier innovators and a pioneer in the entertainment industry, Joshua Sapan leads Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation. Mr. Sapan has guided Rainbow Media’s growth and success for 23 years, creating and managing some of the world’s most compelling and dynamic entertainment brands, including AMC, IFC, Sundance Channel, WE tv and IFC Entertainment. Under his leadership, Rainbow Media is now a leading producer of targeted, multiplatform content for global distribution.
Mr. Sapan joined Rainbow Media in 1987 as president of AMC and Bravo. In 1991, he was promoted to chief operating officer, assuming operational responsibility for all Rainbow Media divisions. He became chief executive officer in 1995.
Among Mr. Sapan’s many achievements is the development of AMC and Bravo, two well respected entertainment brands. Launched in 1984, AMC defines what it means to be a classic movie network today. AMC creates a distinctive viewing experience by celebrating classic movies and high-quality scripted series, including Golden Globe® Award and Primetime Emmy® Award winner Mad Men and Primetime Emmy® Award winner Breaking Bad. Launched in 1980, Bravo made arts and culture an essential part of the television landscape, achieving popular and critical-acclaim with series such as Inside the Actors Studio and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Underscoring its value, Bravo was sold in 2002 to NBC for $1.25 billion.
Rainbow Media also pioneered regional sports television with the launch of its SportsChannel brand. During its history, Rainbow Media launched 10 regional sports networks around the country. Mr. Sapan spearheaded Rainbow Media’s partnership with News Corporation in 1998 through which they launched the Fox Sports Net (FSN) brand, comprised of their collective regional sports networks. In recent years, Rainbow Media exited the regional sports business to focus on its entertainment properties.
Mr. Sapan continued to break new ground with the launch of IFC (The Independent Film Channel), WE tv and Fuse. Launched in 1994, IFC uncovers and champions alternative content and makes it available to audiences across multiple platforms. WE tv launched in 1997 as Romance Classics and today is the premier source for women looking to satisfy their curiosity with fascinating, original stories and entertaining, informative content, including the original series Bridezillas, My Fair Wedding and The Locator. Fuse, a music television network, was launched by Rainbow Media in 2003 and quickly became the #1 network in P12-34 concentration. Today, Fuse operates as a division of Madison Square Garden. In 2008, Mr. Sapan spearheaded Rainbow Media’s acquisition of Sundance Channel. Launched in 1996, Sundance Channel is the television destination for independent-minded viewers seeking something different.
IFC Entertainment was developed by Mr. Sapan to bring the best of specialty films to the largest possible audience. Through this division, Rainbow Media owns and manages: IFC Films, a leading U.S. distributor of independent and foreign film with a unique day and date distribution model, "IFC In Theaters," that makes films available to a national audience by releasing them simultaneously in theaters as well as on cable’s On Demand platform; IFC Festival Direct, featuring a wide selection of titles acquired from major international film festivals and initially offering them exclusively through On Demand; IFC Productions, a feature film production company that provides financing for select independent film projects; and IFC Center, a state-of-the-art cinema that shows art-house films in the heart of New York’s Greenwich Village. Notable releases from IFC Films include: Oscar®-nominated films My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Y Tu Mama Tambien, After the Wedding and Transamerica, a co-release with The Weinstein Company; and Golden Globe®-nominated 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. IFC Productions’ critically-acclaimed films include Academy Award®-winning Boys Don’t Cry and foreign language hit Monsoon Wedding.
Mr. Sapan pioneered the original On Demand category with the 2001 launch of Mag Rack (later re-branded LIFESKOOL), the first network to deliver made-for-VOD programming. He continued to forge new ground with the 2004 launch of SPORTSKOOL, an athletic instruction, training and motivation On Demand network. LIFESKOOL and SPORTSKOOL were sold in 2008.
Mr. Sapan serves on the board of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing Education Foundation (CTAM), the International Radio and Television Society Foundation (IRTS), the Museum of the Moving Image and the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) Foundation. He is a recipient of a National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) Vanguard Award, the CTAM GrandTAM Award, the Association of Cable Communicators (ACC) President’s Award, a PROMAX Brand Builder Award, the CTAM Chairman’s Award and was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.
In addition, Mr. Sapan serves on the board of People for the American Way, WNYC Public Radio and The New School University. Mr. Sapan is the author of Cable TV, published by Random House, and is a published poet with his works appearing in more than twenty literary magazines.