Alma mater Princeton University Education Princeton University Role Business executive | Name Garth Ancier Occupation Media executive | |
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Born September 3, 1957 (age 66) ( 1957-09-03 ) Perth Amboy, New Jersey, U.S. TV shows The Ricki Lake Show, Ricki Lake Nominations Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Similar People Gary Goddard, Jeff Herman, Marc Collins‑Rector, Ricki Lake, Bryan Singer | ||
Garth Ancier (born September 3, 1957 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey) is a media executive best known for being one of only two people (the other being Fred Silverman) to have programmed three of the five US broadcast television networks (Founding Programmer at Fox, Founding Programmer at The WB (now The CW), and NBC Entertainment).
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Ancier is also well known for being the NBC executive to cancel the beloved 1999 teen drama-comedy Freaks and Geeks.
Early life
Ancier graduated from the Lawrenceville School in 1975 and Princeton University in 1979.
He began his broadcasting career as a high school sophomore in 1972, working as a reporter for NBC radio affiliates WBUD-AM and WBJH-FM in Trenton, New Jersey. In radio, he created American Focus, a weekly national interview program carried by over 200 radio stations in the U.S., including New York's WNBC. Ancier served as executive producer and host of over 250 episodes through 1979, each featuring a full-length career retrospective interview with guests ranging from Ayn Rand to Henry Fonda to David Brinkley. The show continued production for 17 years, and many of the programs are part of the permanent collection of the Paley Center for Media.
Career
Ancier's network television career began in 1979 when NBC Entertainment President Brandon Tartikoff hired him as a program associate. He rose through the ranks and supervised production of the network's top comedies including The Cosby Show, Cheers, Family Ties and Golden Girls.
In 1986, Barry Diller, Jamie Kellner and Rupert Murdoch tapped the then 28-year-old Ancier to be the founding Entertainment President for the new Fox Broadcasting Company, where he put 21 Jump Street, Married... with Children, The Simpsons and In Living Color on the air.
Ancier went from Fox (resigning March 1, 1989) to Disney as president of network television for Walt Disney Studios on April 18, 1989. He developed Home Improvement and oversaw Disney's signature franchise The Magical World of Disney, hosted by Disney CEO Michael Eisner.
From October 1991 through July 1992, Ancier served as the Television Consultant to the Democratic National Committee, specifically to advise on the television presentation of the Democratic Convention in New York City and reporting to DNC Chairman Ron Brown. In that role, Ancier introduced political convention format innovations, such as a 56-screen "videowall" integrated into the convention podium and program, to such forums for the first time.
Also in late 1992, Ancier co-created and executive produced The Ricki Lake Show (with former Donahue producer Gail Steinberg), which aired for 11 seasons from 1993-2004.
In 1994, Ancier re-teamed with Fox colleague Jamie Kellner and Warners Bros. CEO Barry Meyer to launch The WB as its chief programmer from 1994–99, where he helped put 7th Heaven, Dawson's Creek, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Steve Harvey Show and The Jamie Foxx Show on the air.
Beginning in May 1999, Ancier served as President of NBC Entertainment, where he helped put The West Wing and Law & Order: SVU on the air. Ancier was forced out from NBC in November 1999.
Ancier returned to Time Warner in 2001 as EVP, Programming for Turner Broadcasting (including the WB) and programmed CNN, TBS, TNT, etc., where he launched CNN's American Morning and its signature 10PM newscast with Anderson Cooper, as well as expanded Adult Swim on Cartoon Network by acquiring the then-cancelled Family Guy series from 20th Century Fox.
Ancier returned to The WB as Co-Chairman in September 2003, then became the Chairman of the WB Television Network from May 2004 until its merger with UPN to form The CW in September 2006, during which Supernatural and One Tree Hill were launched. He was transferred to run In2TV, the Warners/AOL broadband television network. Through Garth Ancier Company, he was developing a talk show at the pilot stage while negotiating a potential network, cable and first-run syndicated shows deal with Telepictures and Warner Horizon as of October 2006.
He served as first President of BBC Worldwide America from February 2007-March 2010, where he launched Top Gear, Torchwood, and DC produced BBC World News America (BBC's first US produced daily newscast) on BBC America. Ancier also moved BBC's iconic Doctor Who series from the Syfy network to BBC America and prepared CBeebies for a US launch. Ancier was able to increase by 78% BBC Worldwide America's profit and will hold a director's seat on its board.
In April 2013, Ancier formed Zeus Media Partners, Inc. as a retro cable network company to provide four decade focused channels (1960s-1990s), later called The Quad.