Abbe Raven

April 2008

A&E Television Networks (AETN) has created a number of brands that have resonated with viewers and consumers around the world, like The History Channel, The Biography Channel and Crime & Investigation Network. It also has the type of content that has adapted itself very well to several platforms, from the more traditional magazines and DVDs to the new-media world of websites and mobile. Abbe Raven, the president and CEO of AETN, oversees all these businesses but stays focused on what drives them all—quality content, whether scripted or non-scripted. She has been with the company her entire career and has a deep understanding of its culture, its capabilities and its potential for future growth. She shares her vision with World Screen.

WS: What has driven the turnaround of the A&E Network?

RAVEN: We have been on an incredible upswing over the past couple of years and if I had to say what contributed to the turnaround it would be one thing and that is content. Great storytelling brings in a large audience and a premium audience. We’ve been able to craft a network that is a terrific mix of cutting-edge, real-life shows matched with first-rate drama. We very carefully mapped out a plan around programming, marketing and public relations over the course of a few years that we felt would get A&E to the place it is today. In doing that we absolutely had to take some risks because we knew that we might alienate some of our older audience. But our average age was going up dramatically so we needed to take some risks to be able to welcome younger viewers into the network.

In the first year, we produced new series that were targeted at adults 25 to 54 and some were groundbreaking shows like Intervention, Criss Angel Mindfreak and The First 48. Then in the second year, along with continuing the development of those series, we introduced acclaimed drama series, such as CSI: Miami, The Sopranos and 24 and we got the message out. As the schedule took shape, we were able to reinforce the network brand and that really set the stage for where we are today, which is introducing original drama to the network. So, it’s been a very interesting couple of years and we are very excited about our results and growth. We just announced our first original drama series in several years, called The Cleaner, with Benjamin Bratt and we’re really pleased that we also have The Andromeda Strain coming out in the spring.

WS: You’ve made a $600-million investment in original programming.

RAVEN: It’s across all our networks. AETN is a global media entertainment company, so I feel it is critical to invest in original programming. It helps us direct our core channels like A&E to be not only a top ten network but a top five network. It helps The History Channel continue to grow and it’s what makes our brands successful around the world. It’s all about being a content company. We’re really one of the few companies that produces and airs both nonfiction and drama. We’re unique in that regard and that has helped brand us as who we are.

WS: What are your priorities for your international channels?

RAVEN: We have a portfolio approach to our channel business. We’re not out there just with one channel. We’re out there with a number of channels, as well as with syndicated product. So, we have a version of A&E in Latin America. We have the Crime & Investigation Network, which is doing very well. It is one of the newest fastest-growing worldwide channels. We have The Biography Channel and The History Channel. So it’s a portfolio approach and our goal is to have a number of channels in every location possible around the world. We had a record number of launches last year—ten channels. We formed a new joint venture in Southeast Asia. We just recently launched The History Channel and Crime & Investigation Network in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Brunei. We also launched HD services for The History Channel. We just see continued growth. We’re looking towards Central Europe, as well as more HD services in Europe and Asia. Along with them we have new digital services, mobile, broadband and VOD as well.

WS: When the U.S. cable industry first started, it offered women more opportunities than the broadcast world had. Is there a level playing field for women in cable today?

RAVEN: The cable industry has been very good to women. This is a wonderful time in our industry to see how women have risen to where they are in cable and in broadcast television. It is important, though, to continue to pay attention to encouraging women, so that we don’t get complacent and we recognize we need to create opportunities for not only women, but for all kinds of people who may not necessarily have been given opportunities. So, do I think it’s hard for women? It’s just as hard as it’s always been, but when it comes down to it, it’s really about who you are as an executive. I personally would like to be remembered as a good CEO, not just a female CEO.

WS: The History Channel has been doing very well. How do you maintain its momentum when you’ve set the bar so high?

RAVEN: You always have to set the bar high to achieve and what’s wonderful is that we have been able to do that. We’ve had an amazing year. We’re thrilled about some of the new shows on The History Channel. About a year ago, I appointed Nancy Dubuc as the [executive VP and general manager], and we are seeing the fruits of her labors. We had a breakthrough hit last summer with Ice Road Truckers. It was the highest-rated series ever to air on the network and we followed that up with other hit series like Cities of the Underworld and The Universe. We had a tremendous hit in January with Life After People, which was the highest-rated special ever on the channel, with over five million viewers. It is those types of quality programs that have broken through on both our networks and it is important for us to continue that tradition of great storytelling. That is how we’ve been able to build our brand and our company and we’re very focused on that.

WS: Are these kinds of breakthrough shows broadening your audience base as well?

RAVEN: Yes, they bring in larger numbers of viewers. The beauty of a special like Life After People is that it introduces more people to The History Channel brand. Once they get there they say, This is a home for me. What else do you offer? It helped promote our other series. I would also mention it helped push people to digital: history.com went through the roof after we aired Life After People.

WS: Broadband and websites have been very important in supporting the channels, haven’t they?

RAVEN: Yes. They’re important for a number of reasons, not only to support the channel, but they’re also integral pieces of our business. We are very focused on producing original content for our sites, so they also find their audience, and we’ve been able to attract unique content as well. We have a wonderful series of programs that came from George Lucas that are on history.com. We have something called Band of Bloggers, which is actually from soldiers who are serving overseas. January was the highest traffic month ever for both aetv.com, which supports A&E, and history.com. They’re not only sites that help support our programs; people are also coming to them for information and entertainment. We have bio.com. We see that younger people in school who are doing research will come to our sites for help with their homework, and in other cases it’s people just looking for interesting information.

WS: This year is the anniversary of 1968. You did a two-hour special 1968 with Tom Brokaw. Would you tell us about that?

RAVEN: We felt, as many people do, that the ‘60s was a defining decade for the U.S., but we really looked at 1968 as a pivotal year and we absolutely embraced working with NBC News special correspondent Tom Brokaw, who published his book last year entitled, Boom! Personal Reflections on the ‘60s and Today. We looked at how Tom captured [the decade] by looking at the stories of people who lived through that time, as well as how younger people experienced that. What was remarkable was that Tom reported through that year and because of his access and his expertise [he can look back and ask,] ‘What have we learned since then? How have we changed as a society?’ And he has the ability to bring people who were icons during that period to our viewers: former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young [who was with Martin Luther King, Jr. when he was assassinated and rushed to his side to try to staunch the wound]; and Rafer Johnson, the Olympic gold medalist [who wrestled Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, to the ground]; and one of my favorite singers, Arlo Guthrie. I remember seeing him in a back-up act in Central Park. Tom was able to capture the essence of 1968. What he did is emblematic of what we do every day at The History Channel, which is immerse you in a particular topic or time. It gets you to understand the personal, as well as the political and sociological ramifications of actions and of events in a personalized way.

WS: AETN’s consumer-products division has been very successful and DVDs are doing very well.

RAVEN: Yes, we have a very robust DVD label called A&E Home Video and our DVDs are in 25,000 retail outlets around the country and that’s not to mention online stores. We release much of our banner A&E, History and Biography programming, and we are also a distributor for licensed partners. For example, we have a partnership with Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, with the Thames library, and with a number of others. In addition, we have a very healthy club called The History Channel Club, which has a members-only magazine. We have a number of branded products for History, for A&E and for Biography.

WS: You’ve been at AETN for a long time. What’s kept you there and what do you enjoy most about your work?

RAVEN: What’s kept me here is that it has continually changed and there were always new opportunities for me. For example, we started The History Channel 13 years ago. That was an enormous challenge and I was very grateful to have been on that team as we launched The History Channel. There continue to be new challenges and I absolutely love this company. I think we are unique in the kinds of programming and products that we distribute. I feel very blessed to be in a company that has an entrepreneurial spirit and I think that the cable industry has fostered that. We are an independent company and that entrepreneurial spirit is extremely important to me. I feel we are very blessed to have the opportunity to be invited into people’s living rooms, to be able to touch people. You don’t get too many opportunities like that in life.

WS: What are your priorities for the next 12 to 18 months?

RAVEN: To continue to grow our business and to grow the

ratings for A&E and The History Channel. To continue to boost the distribution of our other networks like the The Biography Channel, History Channel International, Crime & Investigation Network, Military History Channel and History Channel en Español. Also, to grow our presence online. Our goal is to continue to be a premier global entertainment media company across every platform.