theatres . amc networks inc. type public traded as nasdaq amcx industry specialty television independent film distribution movie theater management founded 1980 1980 as rainbow media holdings llc a division of cablevision 2011 2011 as amc networks headquarters 11 penn plaza new york city u.s. key people charles dolan executive chairman josh sapan president & ceo revenue us 2.58 billion 2015 1 operating income us 582.2 million 2013 1 net income us 290.2 million 2013 1 total assets us 2.6 billion 2013 1 total equity us 571.5 million 2013 1 owner dolan family 67 % voting stake 2 number of employees 2 197 feb 2014 1 divisions amc ifc we tv sundancetv ifc center ifc films bbc america 50 % bbc worldwide amc networks international website www.amcnetworks.com amc networks inc. is an american entertainment company headquartered in 11 penn plaza new york that owns the cable channels amc ifc we tv bbc america with bbc worldwide and sundancetv ; the art house movie theater ifc center in new york city and the independent film company ifc films . the company was originally launched in 1980 and formerly known as rainbow media holdings llc a subsidiary of cablevision but was spun off as a publicly traded company in july 2011 . the company is majority owned and controlled by the dolan family 3 contents 1 history 1.1 2012 dish network carriage dispute 1.2 acquisitions and joint ventures 1.2.1 amc networks international f k a chellomedia 1.2.2 bbc america joint venture 1.2.3 mit 2 channels 2.1 domestic 2.2 international 2.3 joint venture 3 references 4 external links history edit when rainbow was formed in 1980 it originally included bravo and sportschannel new york . as sportschannel expanded by adding other regional networks these also became part of rainbow see sportschannel america . when sportschannel was merged into fox sports net all of these networks except sportschannel ny then fox sports new york were gradually sold off . fox sports new york was then transferred to the msg media and rebranded msg . rainbow originally started the playboy channel in 1982 as a joint venture with playboy ; cablevision would later sell its share back to playboy . in 1988 cablevision merged their cable networks with nbc giving nbc 50 % ownership in rainbow . 4 through a series of transactions 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 . rainbow ran the local minded msg metro channels which launched in 1998 before folding them in late 2005 . the company had also founded orlando florida station wrbw in 1994 which it eventually sold to chris craft in 1998 ; it was affiliated with the since defunct upn which chris craft owned half of at the time . chris craft later sold its stations including wrbw to fox television stations who currently operates wrbw as a mynetworktv station . in 2005 cablevision considered spinning off its content subsidiary rainbow media as a publicly traded company and making their core cable business private but withdrew the plan . 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 . rainbow media also formerly owned the music channel fuse ; the channel became a part of msg media in 2010 as madison square garden was also spun off as a public company . rainbow media also owned wedding central which was shut down the same day amc networks went public . 5 on march 10 2011 cablevision as approved by its board on december 16 2010 announced that rainbow media would be spun off as a publicly traded company amc networks later in 2011 and as said in 2005 making their core cable business private . rainbow media s former president josh sapan serves as the president and chief executive of amc networks 6 which went public on july 1 2011 . 7 2012 dish network carriage dispute edit on may 4 2012 dish network announced that it would no longer carry the amc networks family of cable channels upon the expiration of the satellite provider s distribution agreement with the company at the end of june 2012 citing that amc networks charged an excessive amount in retransmission consent payments from the service for their carriage and low audience viewership for the channels . 8 amc networks responded to dish network s announcement of its pending removal of the channels as being related to a 2008 breach of contract lawsuit against dish network by former company parent rainbow media s voom hd networks which is pending trial in the new york state supreme court in which it is seeking more than 2.5 billion in damages against dish network for improperly terminating its carriage contract ; voom s high definition channels were carried on the provider from may 1 2005 until may 12 2008 when dish removed ten of voom s fifteen channels from its lineup and the five remaining channels the following day . dish network stated that the lawsuit is unrelated to the decision to remove the amc networks channels and that it ended the carriage agreement on its own terms . 8 on may 20 2012 dish network removed sundance channel from its channel lineup . two weeks later on june 4 2012 dish relocated amc wetv and ifc to higher channel positions with amc being split into two separate standard definition and high definition channel feeds amc moved from channel 130 to channel 9609 for the sd feed and 9610 for the hd feed wetv moved from channel 128 to channel 9608 and ifc was moved from channel 393 to channel 9607 ; the former channel lineup spaces occupied by the three channels were respectively replaced with hdnet style and movieplex multiplex channel indieplex . the move is believed to be in response to an ad run during a june 3 airing of an episode of mad men urging dish network customers to inform the company to keep the three amc networks channels on the satellite provider with dish network stating that the relocated channel positions better reflect the channels ratings . 9 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 . 10 dish subscribers can register online starting july 13 for the show which airs on july 15 . we want to give dish customers an extra week to switch providers so they can enjoy the rest of the season . 11 on october 21 2012 amc networks announced a settlement was reached between them cablevision and dish in which dish was forced to pay up to 700 million in damages to cablevision for damages from removing voom owned channels off the dish lineup back in 2008 and in return dish signed a new agreement to bring the amc networks owned channels back on the dish lineup with amc returning october 21 and the rest on november 1 . 12 13 acquisitions and joint ventures edit amc networks international f k a chellomedia edit on october 28 2013 amc networks announced it would acquire most of chellomedia an international operator of cable networks from liberty global for around 1.04 billion . the acquisition did not include chello benelux owners of film1 and sport1 . 14 on february 2 2014 the transaction was completed . 15 what was formerly chellomedia will now be known as amc international and will allow amc networks to distribute its programming worldwide . 16 bbc america joint venture edit on october 23 2014 amc confirmed it had purchased a 49.9 % stake in bbc america with bbc worldwide retaining the remaining share of the network . 17 the joint venture will also give amc operational control in bbc america which will be managed as a stand alone from amc s other channels . 18 19 20 mit edit in 2015 amc networks along with upfront ventures daher capital northgate ventures invested a round of funding in the latin youtube network mit . 21 22 channels edit domestic edit amc ifc sundancetv wetv international edit amc networks international joint venture edit bbc america 49.9 % stake references edit a b c d e f form 10 k amc networks inc. . edgar securities and exchange commission . december 31 2013 . retrieved october 24 2014 . http deadline.com 2012 08 amc networks charles dolan stock sal 319245 http deadline.com 2012 08 amc networks charles dolan stock sal 319245 fabrikant geraldine december 23 1988 . the media business ; nbc and cablevision plan joint programming venture . the new york times . umstead thomas july 8 2011 . amc networks divorces wedding central . multichannel news . archived from the original on october 30 2013 . retrieved october 24 2014 . james meg march 10 2011 . cablevision moves forward with spinoff of amc networks . los angeles times . retrieved october 24 2014 . lieberman david june 30 2011 . amc networks goes public with hot shows and analysts looking for a sale . deadline.com . retrieved october 24 2014 . a b baker liana b. ; adegoke yinka may 4 2012 . corrected dish subscribers could lose mad men in dispute . reuters . retrieved may 4 2012 . lieberman david june 4 2012 . dish network kicks amc networks channels to nosebleed section of the dial . deadline.com . retrieved october 24 2014 . blessing kelly july 12 2012 . amc to stream breaking bad premiere to dish customers . bloomberg businessweek . retrieved july 16 2012 . de moraes lisa july 12 2012 . amc vs. dish viacom vs. directv brawling satellite providers and cable companies take different tactics . the washington post . retrieved july 16 2012 . cablevision and amc networks announce settlement in voom hd litigation with dish network . amc networks . october 21 2012 . retrieved october 28 2013 . dish network and voom reach settlement . dish network . october 21 2012 . retrieved october 28 2013 . chatterjee soham october 28 2013 . amc to buy most of liberty global s international content unit . reuters . retrieved october 28 2013 . the deadline team february 2 2014 . amc networks completes acquisition of liberty global s chellomedia . deadline.com . retrieved october 24 2014 . molloy tim february 3 2014 . amc networks completes chellomedia purchase for 1 billion . the wrap . retrieved december 9 2014 . amc networks and bbc worldwide enter partnership . bbc america . october 23 2014 . retrieved october 24 2014 . lieberman david october 23 2014 . amc networks pays 200m for 49.9 % of bbc america . deadline.com . retrieved october 24 2014 . steinberg brian october 23 2014 . amc networks to operate bbc america after 200m investment . variety . retrieved october 24 2014 . szalai georg october 23 2014 . amc networks bbc america deal is about premium content executives say . the hollywood reporter . retrieved october 24 2014 . jarvey natalie february 4 2015 . amc invests in latino youtube network mitu . the hollywood reporter . retrieved february 4 2015 . banks alicia february 4 2015 . latino youtube network mitu closes 15 million in financing hires demand media execs . the wrap . retrieved february 4 2015 . external links edit official website v t e amc networks film distributor ifc films movie theater ifc center us tv networks amc bbc america 49.9 % stake ifc sundancetv we tv amc networks international zone emea amc cbs action cbs drama cbs reality horror