The History Channel general manager Dan Davids will move
over to head up its sister service, A&E Network, replacing Brooke Bailey Johnson, who
is leaving effective March 31.
Johnson, A&E's executive vice president and
general manager, is resigning to spend more time with her family. She will serve as a
consultant to A&E Television Networks.
Johnson, who has been at A&E since 1989, said she has
two teen-age children, a boy and a girl. "As they get older, their need for you
grows," she added. "I wanted to grab the window before they leave forever."
Davids will assume Johnson's titles at A&E,
executive vice president and general manager. In turn, his successor for those same titles
at History will be Abbe Raven, who is getting a promotion after serving as senior vice
president of programming for the network. Neither Davids nor Raven were available for
comment last week.
Both Davids and Raven have been at History since its launch
in January 1995, and they are credited with the service's success to date, which
includes various awards and strong distribution growth. The network now reaches 62 million
homes.
In their new roles, Davids and Raven will be responsible
for the strategic planning, programming, consumer marketing, brand development and
day-to-day operations of A&E and History, respectively.
A&E Networks president and CEO Nickolas Davatzes said
Davids and Raven have done "fantastic jobs" at History. At A&E, Davatzes
said, he expects Davids to continue the network's expansion into more original
dramatic and documentary programming.
Also last week, Ronald Schneier was promoted to the slot of
executive vice president of sales and marketing for A&E Networks. Previously, Schneier
was executive vice president of sales.
