Garth Ancier
Encyclopedia
Garth Ancier 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).
He is the former President of BBC Worldwide
America and continues to be associated with the company in a consulting capacity as a non-executive director and remains a member of the BBC Worldwide America board.
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
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 to Disney
as President, Disney Television, where he developed Home Improvement.
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
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 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 put 7th Heaven
, Dawson's Creek
, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Jamie Foxx Show
on the air.
Beginning in 1999, Ancier served as President
of NBC Entertainment
, where he put The West Wing on the air. 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 it's signature 10PM newscast with Anderson Cooper
, as well as expanded Adult Swim
on Cartoon Network
.
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 is the former President of BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Limited is the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in 1995. In the year to 31 March 2010 it made a profit of £145m on a turnover of £1.074bn. The company had made a profit of £106m...
America and continues to be associated with the company in a consulting capacity as a non-executive director and remains a member of the BBC Worldwide America board.
Early life
Ancier began his broadcasting career as a high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
sophomore in 1972, working as a reporter for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
radio affiliates WBUD-AM and WBJH-FM in Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. 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
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
. Ancier served as executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
and host of over 250 episodes through 1979, each featuring a full-length career retrospective interview with guests ranging from Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
to Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
to David Brinkley
David Brinkley
David McClure Brinkley was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997....
. 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 televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
began in 1979 when NBC Entertainment
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
President Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff was a television executive who was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, ALF, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, Cheers, Seinfeld, Miami Vice, The Golden Girls, Knight Rider, The A-Team, St...
hired him as a program associate. He rose through the ranks and supervised production of the network's top comedies
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
including The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
, Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, Family Ties
Family Ties
Family Ties is an American sitcom that aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. The sitcom reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between young...
and Golden Girls.
In 1986, Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
, Jamie Kellner
Jamie Kellner
Jamie Kellner is an American television executive. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a division of Time Warner which includes TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network. Kellner took over the post in 2001 and handed over the company to Philip Kent in 2003...
and Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
tapped the then 28-year-old Ancier to be the founding Entertainment President for the new Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, where he put 21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street
21 Jump Street is an American police procedural crime drama television series that aired on the Fox Network from April 12, 1987, to April 27, 1991, with a total of 103 episodes. The series focused on a squad of youthful-looking undercover police officers investigating crimes in high schools,...
, Married with Children, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and In Living Color
In Living Color
In Living Color is an American sketch comedy television series, which originally ran on the Fox Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. Brothers Keenen and Damon Wayans created, wrote, and starred in the program. The show was produced by Ivory Way Productions in association with 20th Century...
on the air.
Ancier went from Fox to Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
as President, Disney Television, where he developed Home Improvement.
From October 1991 through July 1992, Ancier served as the Television Consultant to the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
, specifically to advise on the television presentation of the Democratic Convention in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
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
Donahue
Donahue is the Americanized version of Irish surname Donohoe, which, in turn, is an Anglicized version of the ancient Irish name "Donnchadh" ....
producer Gail Steinberg), which aired from 1993-2004.
In 1994, Ancier re-teamed with Fox colleague Jamie Kellner and Warners Bros. CEO Barry Meyer
Barry Meyer
Barry Meyer is an American television producer, currently Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment.-Early life:Born in New York City Meyer holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Rochester and a law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law...
to launch The WB as its chief programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
from 1994–99, where he put 7th Heaven
7th Heaven
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
, Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB Television Network and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. The show is set in the fictional seaside town of Capeside, Massachusetts, and in Boston, Massachusetts, during the later seasons...
, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Jamie Foxx Show
The Jamie Foxx Show
The Jamie Foxx Show is an American television sitcom that aired on the WB Network from August 28, 1996 to January 14, 2001. The series starred Jamie Foxx, Garcelle Beauvais, Christopher B. Duncan, Ellia English, and Garrett Morris.-Synopsis:...
on the air.
Beginning in 1999, Ancier served as President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of NBC Entertainment
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, where he put The West Wing on the air. Ancier returned to Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
in 2001 as EVP, Programming for Turner Broadcasting (including the WB) and programmed CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, TBS
TBS (TV channel)
TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
, TNT
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
, etc., where he launched CNN's American Morning
American Morning
American Morning is the morning television show on CNN. It premiered in 2001.-About the show:American Morning is hosted by Ashleigh Banfield, Zoraida Sambolin & Soledad O'Brien. Others who appear regularly are Rob Marciano with the weather, Sunny Hostin on legal news, and CNN senior medical...
and it's signature 10PM newscast with Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories...
, as well as expanded Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
.
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
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
to form The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
in September 2006, during which Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
and One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
were launched.