Michael Wright Named President of Epix
Wright previously headed Turner's TNT and TBS before moving to Amblin, where he stepped down as CEO in September.
Michael Wright is returning to the network space.
The former head of programming at TBS and TNT, who exited the Turner-owned companies to serve as CEO at Amblin, has been tapped to take over for Mark Greenberg as president at Epix.
Epix is the premium cable network now fully owned by MGM after originally launching as a partnership between Viacom and Lionsgate. In a $1 billion deal, MGM acquired full control of Epix in April. Greenberg, who launched Epix in October 2009, stepped down from his role as president and CEO in September.
Wright, meanwhile, stepped down as CEO at Steven Spielberg's Amblin in September. He had served as CEO of DreamWorks since September 2014 and helped forge the company's distribution deal with Universal Pictures. Wright was under contract until 2020, after his deal was renewed in early 2016. Despite serving as Spielberg's No. 2 after the departure of former DreamWorks co-chairman Stacey Snider, sources at the time told The Hollywood Reporter that Wright wasn't the right fit for Amblin.
Wright will begin Dec. 4 in his new post and be based out of MGM's Los Angeles headquarters. He will report to Epix chairman and CEO Gary Barber and will be charged with bringing the network into its next stage of expanding original programming, as well as leading creative and marketing operations. (Business operations will continue to be overseen by Epix GM Monty Sarhan, who will work with MGM worldwide TV distribution president Chris Ottinger on distribution.)
"Epix, under MGM’s ownership, is strongly positioned to excel as a provider of engaging, entertaining original content. This is an exciting time in our business, and I'm looking forward to working with Gary, the Epix and MGM teams, to bring the best storytelling voices to the network and move Epix into the next phase of its growth,” Wright said Monday in a statement. Epix's current roster of scripted programming includes scripted series Get Shorty, Graves and Berlin Station.
“We are thrilled to welcome Michael into the MGM family," said Barber. "His television industry experience and creative instincts are the perfect combination to help us execute on our original content strategy for Epix and drive additional value creation for MGM overall.”Read the full article – Hollywoodreporter.com
