For Immediate Release
AMY WINTER JOINS UP TV AS EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER
ATLANTA – January 12, 2015 – UP announced today that Amy Winter will join the network on February 1 as executive vice president and general manager, a newly created position. She will oversee and creatively guide the network’s brand and programming inclusive of development and production of scripted series and movies, non-scripted series, as well as scheduling and acquisitions; marketing and public relations; and digital and social media properties. Winter will be based in
UP’s Atlanta headquarters and will report to Charley Humbard, president and CEO, UP. Amy Winter, EVP and General Manager, UP TV Winter, a 24-year television executive, joins UP from Discovery Communications, where she most recently was EVP/general manager of TLC. In 2013, Winter led TLC to a record 32 series averaging one million P2+ viewers or more including 11 freshman series and seven series that averaged two million P2+ viewers or more, the most ever in a year: “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” “Sister Wives,” “Long Island Medium,” “The Little Couple,” “Who Do You Think You Are?,” ”Breaking Amish: Brave New World” and “Breaking Amish: LA.”
Humbard said, "Amy Winter is a one of a kind media executive. She combines an intuitive sensibility for understanding what viewers like to watch and how to communicate with them, with a strategic operational discipline for focusing on what drives ratings and revenue. She is a proven winner having created some of the most memorable and noteworthy series and marketing campaigns in cable’s recent history. Amy is the right person to lead our content and marketing areas and to further shape our distinct brand identity which promises to always uplift you and your family.”
Winter said, “I am thrilled to join UP, a network that offers a unique promise to an audience searching for content they can enjoy and feel good about, whether they are seeking stories that matter and add meaning to their lives, or simply want to exhale with something fun. I look forward to working with the talented team at UP to create new series and movies for our viewers and their families.”
Winter, consulting with UP since May, 2014 has already refreshed UP’s on-air look, and brand, including the logo mark. In addition, she has greenlit two new UP original series, including UP’s new break-out reality series, “Bringing Up Bates” and the network’s first scripted series “Ties that Bind,” which is currently in pre-production.
As general manager of TLC, a Discovery Communications network, Winter oversaw all aspects of programming, production, development, digital, branded entertainment, marketing and communications. Under her leadership, TLC was a top 10 cable network for women and solidified itself as a distinctive brand featuring buzz-worthy programming. Winter's marketing background further enabled her to lead a highly nimble cross-discipline team that maximized ratings, engagement and revenue generated around the network’s hit shows.
Upon becoming general manager of TLC in February 2011, Winter greenlit series in new genres with a serialized approach to build appointment viewing. Whether tackling relationships (“90 Day Fiancé,” “Secret Princes,” “Alaskan Women Looking for Love”), exploring subcultures (“Breaking Amish,” “Gypsy Sisters,” “The Sisterhood”), or family shows from the comedic (“Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” “Leave It to Niecy”) to poignant (“Family SOS with Jo Frost,” “My 600lb Life”) or a little of both (“Long Island Medium”), her brand of story-telling comes with heart and humor. She also strengthened and expanded key tent-poles in programming by adding hits “I Found the Gown” and “Something Borrowed, Something New” to pair with top-rated “Say Yes to the Dress” on BrideDay, TLC’s Friday night habit for women and a perennial ratings winner.
Winter joined Discovery Communications in 2005 as TLC’s vice president of creative during a period of tremendous change at the network both on and off the screen. Winter led the creative charge for TLC’s rebrand, taking the channel from its Learning Channel roots into its lifestyle focus under the tagline "Live and Learn." During this era, TLC and The Martin Agency collaborated on the Life Lessons brand campaign, winning many prestigious awards including a Gold Effie, CTAM Mark Gold, BDA Gold and the 2006 AAAA Jay Chiat Planning Award. Winter’s creative and brand leadership helped contribute to unprecedented growth in the ratings and drove record revenue in earned value with branded entertainment partnerships.
In 2008, Winter took the marketing creative lead on the award-winning brand launch of Discovery’s Planet Green network, which the New York Times called “the highest-profile cable channel introduction of the year.” After that successful launch, Winter returned to TLC as senior vice president of marketing, creative/operations, where she drove record numbers to a new mega Monday night for TLC with "Jon & Kate Plus 8" and "19 Kids and Counting," while launching successful new series such as "Cake Boss," "Four Weddings" and "Sarah Palin's Alaska." During this era, she also master-minded the TLC Summer strategy in which TLC became the first cable network to effectively market an all new, all season-long summer approach.
Winter began her career as a freelance promotion producer at TBS in 1994, where she stayed until 2005, becoming vice president/creative director of on-air promotion. She led creative direction over all on-air marketing initiatives, played an instrumental role in the network’s “Very Funny” rebranding and created the successful “Movie and a Makeover” branded entertainment franchise.
Winter is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and resides in Atlanta.
About UP UP is the television network dedicated to uplifting viewers every day with original and acquired movies, reality and dramatic series, comedies and music specials. One of the most trusted family-friendly networks on cable, UP can be seen in 67 million homes on cable systems and satellite providers across the United States in both standard and high definition. Along with its mission to entertain, uplift and inspire viewers, UP’s pro-social initiative “Uplift Someone” reminds and inspires people to do simple acts of kindness. Based in Atlanta, UP is a division of UP Entertainment, LLC and provides sales and operations services to the ASPiRE network.
Follow UP on the Web at www.UPtv.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UPtv, Twitter on @UPtv and Instagram at UP_TV.
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MEDIA CONTACTS Chelsye J. Burrows David Gardner 770.692.4559 770.692.9939 [email protected] [email protected]