After a year-long run as interim CEO at AMC Networks, Matt Blank is joining the board of directors at the entertainment company.
The New York-headquartered Better Call Saul and Interview With the Vampire programmer has expanded its board from 14 members to 15 members and installed Blank as a director, AMC said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.
Blank was enlisted by the company last August as a temporary replacement for the top executive role after CEO Josh Sapan stepped away from the position following a 26-year run and transitioned to executive chairman. In August, AMC Networks promoted its chief operating and financial officer Christina Spade to CEO and hired former CBS and Goldman Sachs exec Patrick O’Connell as evp and CFO.
In that interim year, AMC Network has grown subscribers to its portfolio of streaming services — AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and ALLBLK — from 7.4 million last June to 10.8 million. (The expectation is that subs will be at 12 million by year end and the plan is to hit 20 million to 25 million by 2025.)
But the company’s domestic and international linear networks, including AMC and IFC, have been subject to broader cord-cutting concerns that have roiled the TV landscape. In October, the network began airing the last batch of episodes from the final season of flagship series The Walking Dead, which concludes in November before more spinoff projects launch.
Blank was compensated about $7 million for his role as interim CEO, the company disclosed earlier this year. The executive, who spent three decades at Showtime, also sits on the boards of radio giant Cumulus Media and documentary-focused video service Curiosity Stream.
Also on Thursday, the company disclosed that it entered into a new agreement with its evp and general counsel, Jamie Gallagher — who has been with AMC since 2008 — through the end of 2025.
Since the first day of trading this year, AMC Networks’ stock has fallen about 40 percent, to $22.05 a share as of Oct. 20. The company will report its third quarter financial results on Nov. 4.