• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, September 6, 2006

With the appointment of Charlie Collier as general manager of AMC, Rainbow Media Holdings rounds out a management team for its cable networks that draws equally from advertising, marketing and programming expertise. Collier, who brings in some advertising acumen, joins Evan Shapiro and Kim Martin, general managers of Rainbow's IFC and WE networks, who have deep backgrounds in marketing and programming, respectively. The new troika reports to Ed Carroll, president of Rainbow Entertainment Services, who will be looking to integrate the networks and to leverage their ability to cross-promote and create new multi-platform packages for advertisers.

"Today the disciplines of advertising, marketing, distribution and programming are more intertwined than ever before, and we need a team that reflects that," Ed Carroll, president of Rainbow Entertainment Services, said Tuesday after announcing Collier's appointment.

While the three channels are positioned to three distinct audiences - AMC to adults 25-54, IFC to men 18-34, and WE to women 18-49, Carroll added that the networks would work more closely to cross-promote and develop advertising strategies that help advertisers and agencies navigate in a "TiVo, on-demand world."

And while Collier comes in with a resume steeped in advertising sales, Carroll emphasized that his main focus would be on developing better programming, marketing and distribution strategies for AMC, and for beefing up its business operations. Toward that end, Carroll sought to dispel speculation that Collier's appointment somehow diminished the role of Arlene Manos, president of Rainbow National Network Advertising Sales, which oversees advertising for the three networks.

That said, during his reign as head of advertising sales at Court TV, Collier was known for developing breakthrough advertising sales strategies, and for assembling a team that developed leading edge research on ROI and engagement metrics. Collier said he hopes to apply those same principles to the general management of AMC.

"The common denominator of what we did [at Court TV] with ROI and engagement was that we were looking to service our customers well," said Collier. "We are absolutely going to bring that same focus on servicing our customers here."