Woodbury, N.Y. -- In an effort to better manage its growing
programming and entertainment portfolio, Rainbow Media Holdings Inc. last week named Hank
Ratner as its chief operating officer.
Ratner will oversee the operations of Rainbow's vast
national and international programming networks and production companies. An 11-year
veteran of Rainbow, Ratner was most recently executive vice president, overseeing the
company's partner relationships, supervising major affiliate and programming
transactions and playing a key role in corporate transactions, the company said.
Josh Sapan, president and CEO of Rainbow, said Ratner will
be charged with maximizing the opportunities presented not only by the networks, but by
other entertainment properties owned by Rainbow's parent, Cablevision Systems Corp.
Those include the Madison Square Garden properties, Radio City Entertainment and the
Nobody Beats the Wiz electronic retail stores.
"We need more coordination of all of our operations
and internal synergies, and Hank brings a lot of management expertise to the table,"
Sapan said. "He has tremendous experience and a complete understanding of our
operations."
Ratner said he hopes to take advantage of the various
entertainment opportunities that are not only possible today, but that can be gained with
the advent of new technology -- particularly on the local-system and regional level.
"We think that we're at a crossroads right now,
and we're looking to get the maximum leverage of our core assets," Ratner said.
"We have an incredible opportunity to deliver entertainment that hasn't been
delivered before, both through our national and local services."
