Josh Sapan on Precious Storytelling, Global Growth

Josh Sapan, president and CEO of AMC Networks, weighed in on the company’s approach to storytelling at MIPCOM today, where he and Fear the Walking Dead star Colman Domingo were interviewed on the stage of the Grand Auditorium by World Screen’s Anna Carugati.

Sapan talked about AMC’s journey to becoming a premier destination for drama, beginning with Mad Men a decade ago. “Technology invites different ways of telling stories, and if we can marry that with the best storytellers and curate them against a backdrop of many, many more options, the world will pay attention.”

That includes a willingness to take risks. “Almost every show that we’ve done that has worked terrifically seemed like it might not have worked terrifically.”

Domingo talked about what attracted him to Fear the Walking Dead on AMC. “It was about human behavior, it was about survival, all these human issues we’re dealing with it.”

Sapan then discussed the growth of AMC Studios since it launched with The Walking Dead. “We did foresee that there was going to be a series of new entrants into the television world, and those new entrants would produce content for themselves as opposed to buying it externally, and there would be a demand for all this content. So we set up AMC Studios from scratch with one TV show. We now have dozens every year in production” for the services in AMC Networks’ portfolio. “We sell around the globe to our own channels and to other outlets.”

Sapan added, “We have always believed that content is precious, that storytelling can’t be compromised. That informs everything we do.”

On building long-term relationships with talent, Sapan noted, “We treat every show as precious—precious for the creator, precious for the writer, precious for the actors and precious for the audience. That drives our relationship with creators and hopefully with the audience. There are very big companies getting bigger, and they are focusing on facility and accessibility. They want to bring their good mousetrap to everybody. There’s nothing wrong with that. Some material can get lost in that mousetrap. At AMC Networks, we believe that will bring work forward in a way that will give it its best showcase and its best illumination. I hope that when we speak to creative people, they recognize that we’re not just saying yes and saying goodbye, we’re saying yes and saying hello to a process that is ongoing, that will treat it like it sits in the front window of the stores that we operate, not somewhere on a shelf that you can find if you want it, that may be suggested to you but is not in the front window. And the front window is very important. It needs to be in the front window for a period of time for the world to find it.”

Domingo said he’s been a beneficiary of AMC’s approach to working with talent. In addition to starring in Fear the Walking Dead he has begun directing episodes of the series and is developing a TV version of his off-Broadway show DOT with AMC.

Sapan then talked about the growth of AMC Networks International, which is now under the leadership of Eduardo Zulueta. “He is expanding our footprint—we’re moving into Africa and the Middle East.” The company has also extended its streaming services, including Shudder, into New Zealand and Australia.

“We are expanding our distribution, we’re expanding our streaming, we’re expanding our co-productions, we’re expanding our acquisitions, and we’re expanding our partnerships.”