Garth Ancier (born September 3, 1957) is an American film and television producer and media executive.
Early life
Ancier graduated from the
Lawrenceville School in 1975 and
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
in 1979.
He began his broadcasting career as a
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
sophomore
In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...
in 1972, working as a
reporter for
NBC radio affiliates WBUD-AM and WBJH-FM in
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the federal capital, capital of the United States from November 1 until D ...
.
In radio, he created ''American Focus'', a weekly national interview program carried by over 300 radio stations in the U.S., including New York's
WNBC
WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey� ...
, under the non-profit Focus on Youth.
Ancier served as
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
and host of over 250 episodes through 1979, each featuring a full-length career retrospective interview with guests ranging from
Ayn Rand
Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...
to
Henry Fonda to
David Brinkley. The show continued production for 17 years. Other guests included presidents
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
,
Gerald R. Ford,
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
, and
Caspar W. Weinberger,
Lucille Ball,
Howard Cosell,
Henry Fonda,
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...
and
Pete Rose. Five hundred of its programs were given to what is now known as the
Paley Center for Media in 1984.
Career
Ancier's network
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
career
A career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work (human activity), work and other aspects of personal life, life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways.
Definitions
The ...
began in 1979
when
NBC Entertainment president
Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was head of the entertainment division of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with several ...
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
''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...
'', ''
Family Ties'' and ''
Golden Girls''.
In 1986,
Barry Diller,
Jamie Kellner and
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian - American retired business magnate, investor, and media mogul. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of List of assets owned by News Corp, local, national, a ...
tapped the then 28-year-old Ancier to be the founding entertainment president for the new
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, LLC (commonly known as Fox; stylized in all caps) is an Television in the United States, American commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast television broadcaster, television network serving as the flagship proper ...
,
where he put ''
The Tracey Ullman Show'', ''
21 Jump Street'', ''
Married... with Children'', ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'', ''
In Living Color'', ''
America's Most Wanted'', and ''
COPS'' on the air.
Ancier went from Fox (resigning March 1, 1989) to
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
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
Michael Dammann Eisner ( ; born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film ...
.
From October 1991 through July 1992, Ancier served as the television consultant to the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...
, specifically to advise on the television presentation of the Democratic Convention in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
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. Later on, Ancier's production company developed and produced the talk show ''
Jane Pratt'', which debuted in mid-March 1992 on
WNYW-TV in New York City and was intended for nationwide launch. However, despite good ratings, the show ended after only 11 weeks in production, as co-producer and distributor
20th Television felt it was too expensive for them to seek a return on their investment in the program.
Also in late 1992, Ancier co-created and executive produced ''
Ricki Lake''
[ with former '' Donahue'' producer Gail Steinberg. The tabloid talk show aired for 11 seasons from 1993 to 2004.
In 1994, Ancier re-teamed with Fox colleague Jamie Kellner and Warner Bros. CEO Barry Meyer to launch ]The WB
The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...
as its chief programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is an author of computer source code someone with skill in computer programming.
The professional titles Software development, ''software developer'' and Software engineering, ''software engineer' ...
from 1994 to 1999,[ where he helped put '' 7th Heaven'', '']Dawson's Creek
''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college. It aired from January 20, 19 ...
'', '' Charmed'', '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', '' Felicity'', '' 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: Special Victims Unit'' on the air, while conversely being the one who cancelled the 1999 teen ]dramedy
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
series '' Freaks and Geeks'', a move over which in 2014 he wrote that it was "an awful decision that has haunted me forever". Ancier was forced out from NBC in November 2000.[
Ancier returned to what had become AOL Time Warner in 2001 as EVP, Programming for ]Turner Broadcasting
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (later WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. As of April 2022, all of its ass ...
(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
Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
by acquiring the then-cancelled ''Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' series from 20th Century Fox.
Ancier returned to The WB as co-chairman in September 2003, then became the Chairman
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...
of the WB Television Network from May 2004 until its merger with UPN to form The CW
The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
in September 2006,[ during which '']Supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
'' and '' One Tree Hill'' were launched. He was transferred to run In2TV, the Warners/AOL broadband television network.[ Through the 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
Telepictures (also known as Telepictures Productions; formerly known as Telepictures Distribution and Telepictures Corporation) is an American television show and filmmaking company, currently operating as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainmen ...
and Warner Horizon as of October 2006.
He served as first president of BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
America from February 2007–March 2010,[ where he launched ''Top Gear'', '' Torchwood'', and DC produced '' BBC World News America'' (BBC's first American produced daily newscast) on BBC America. Ancier also moved BBC's iconic '']Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...
'' 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 was to continue to hold a director's seat on its board after his departure from management was planned for March 2010.
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.
Ancier has worked for a number of media corporations as a senior advisor to management on digital streaming, SVOD and vMVPD projects. His most notable clients have been Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
Media on a virtual- MSO system,[Wallenstein, Andrew]
"Garth Ancier advises Intel on virtual-MSO plan"
''Variety'', May 8, 2012. Retrieved June 10, 2019. and IAC/Vimeo.
He is also known for being one of only two people (the other being Fred Silverman) to have programmed three of the five American broadcast television networks (founding programmer at Fox, founding programmer at The WB
The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on ter ...
(now The CW
The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
), and NBC Entertainment).
References
External links
"Former NBC official takes job at Turner"
''The New York Times'', March 21, 2001.
*Finke, Nikki
"Garth Ancier Stepping Down As President Of BBC America In U.S.; In Works Since July"
November 19, 2009.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancier, Garth
BBC people
1957 births
Living people
People from Perth Amboy, New Jersey
NBCUniversal people
Warner Bros. Discovery people
Warner Bros. people
NBC executives
Presidents of NBC Entertainment
The WB executives
Princeton University alumni
Lawrenceville School alumni
Presidents of Fox Broadcasting Company Entertainment