December 1, 2008

CableFAX: 38. Mad Mentor: Ed Carroll

Ed Carroll
Title: President, Rainbow Entertainment
Last Year: #32
Age: 44
Education: SUNY New Paltz, BA, Communications/Political Science

Why Him? What a year for Carroll. Mad Men wins numerous accolades, including the first Best Drama Emmy for a basic cable series. Breaking Bad also grabs an Emmy and then Carroll oversees the the integration of Robert Redford’s Sundance Channel into the Rainbow family, the sale of the Lifeskool and Sportskool VOD products, trade skepticism about the viability of Voom and the emotional trials of staff layoffs. Admirably, Carroll has greenlighted bold content development projects, such as a new ecology series for Sundance.

Worth Watching: Will the Dolans accede to the suggestion of Cablevision’s third-largest outside shareholder, Mario Gabelli, and sell off Rainbow Media?

Famous Pals: Jon Hamm and John Slattery. Carroll appeared with the Emmy- nominated actors in a Mad Men spoof that was one of the highlights of this year’s CTAM Summit.

Year Ahead:
If Mad Men isn’t re-signed for season 3 this arrow will point south.

Favorite Food: Lobster

Unnecessary Luxury I Like Most: GPS in the dashboard

Last Book Read: What Makes Sammy Run by Budd Schulberg

Fave Show Not on My Net: Weeds

Best Business Advice: Show up

KF/SA

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