Stephanie Mitchko, former Charter CTO, starts big tech role at AMC

Stephanie Mitchko, an industry veteran who once held exec roles at Charter Communications and Cablevision Systems, has taken a top spot at AMC Networks, the long-time cable programmer that has ramped up its streaming initiatives in recent years.

AMC said it has appointed Mitchko to the role of executive vice president, global media operations and technology. She reports to AMC CEO Kristin Dolan, also a former Cablevision exec.

In her new role, Mitchko will lead several areas at AMC, including information technology, media and broadcast operations, content delivery, cybersecurity, supply chain technologies, products and streaming product operations, and customer service. She'll also head up AMC's data strategy.

Mitchko joins AMC after serving as a tech consultant for the company in recent months. Prior to that, she was EVP and chief technology officer at Charter Communications and served as CTO and COO of ad-tech specialist CadentTV. She is the co-author of a new book titled "Mind Skills: Unleash Your Potential to Lead in the Big Leagues."

Mitchko also worked for Cablevision Systems (now part of Altice USA), where she was SVP of video infrastructure software. During her time there, she led the operator's pioneering work around the "remote-storage" DVR, an offering that helped paved the way (both technically and legally) to the cloud DVRs that are now widely deployed by various pay-TV providers and virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs).

Related:Charter CTO Stephanie Mitchko-Beale sets her exit

Mitchko joins AMC as the company and other programmers seek ways to maintain and grow their businesses amid the decline of traditional pay-TV due to cord-cutting, while also adjusting to consumer adoption of streaming and direct-to-consumer services.

AMC, the programmer behind popular franchises such as "The Walking Dead," has been targeting the streaming world with services such as AMC+, which sells an ad-free version for $8.99 per month and a new ad-supported tier that goes for $4.99 per month. Among other recent moves, AMC has established a presence on Xumo, the Charter-Comcast national streaming joint venture, and enabled programmatic-style ad buying for AMC's linear networks.

In all, AMC operates five linear TV networks, seven streaming services and 19 free, ad-supported streaming TV services across nine third-party platforms.

In Q3, AMC net revenues dropped 7% to $637 million due to lower domestic ad revenues and affiliate revenues, but streaming revenues rose 9% to $142 million. AMC added 100,000 streaming subs in Q3 2023, ending the period with 11.1 million.

Related:Inside Cablevision's 'RS-DVR'

"We worked together closely at Cablevision and I am thrilled to have her [Mitchko] in this key role," Dolan said in a statement. "She will be overseeing a team that is moving AMC Networks' operations into the future, developing technological solutions in an evolving entertainment landscape."