December 10, 2008, Hollywood, CA –
In an aggressive move aimed to build on the already significant strength of
its alternative production company Fox21, Twentieth Century Fox Television
Chairmen Dana Walden and Gary Newman have chosen marketing specialist and
film and television executive Chris Carlisle as its first President. The
move comes on the heels of the young company’s recent string of successes
which include a renewal for FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” and an order of a new
celebrity-themed installment of the reality hit “Beauty and the Geek” for
MTV. Carlisle’s appointment is effective immediately and he joins Jane
Francis who will take on the position of Senior Vice President, Creative
Affairs, where she will continue to focus on the company’s day to day
development and current programming slates.
In this newly created position of President, Fox21, Carlisle takes the reins
of the company founded by Newman, Walden and TCFTV Executive Vice President
Howard Kurtzman in 2004. Designed to champion edgy, creatively adventurous
fare and produce quality programming on a more aggressive economic model,
Fox21 has produced a gamut of programming from scripted dramas to hybrid
comedies to reality series.
As President, Carlisle will be charged with building on the company’s
success, expanding its activities both domestically and internationally. He
will work to hone and articulate the Fox21 brand, and help to give the
company a distinct programming identity through which all its series
development will be filtered. While Fox21’s focus will continue to be
scripted programming for the cable market and alternative programming for
both cable and broadcast, Carlisle and his team will be open to developing
all genres of programming for all outlets.
“Growing Fox21 is one of our top priorities and we think Chris is exactly
the right person to take it to the next level,” commented TCFTV Chairmen
Newman and Walden. “He’s done so much in his career, but we were
particularly impressed with what he accomplished at FX. No one is better at
building a brand and making noise with bold programming in a cluttered,
competitive television environment than Chris. He is an incredibly talented
executive who brings a fresh set of eyes and a fresh perspective to both the
operations of Fox21 and the development process as a whole. We think he’s
going to make a huge impact and greatly enhance the existing business.”
“I am so excited about joining Jane and the team at Fox21, who already have
built a strong foundation of distinctive programming across all genres of
television,” commented Carlisle. “Dana and Gary believe that this company
holds almost limitless potential and I couldn’t ask for a more exhilarating
assignment than helping to build Fox21 into a globally recognized brand and
thriving series programming supplier.” Carlisle joins Fox21 from New Line
Cinema where he served as President of Domestic Theatrical Marketing and
oversaw all marketing efforts for the studio including creative advertising,
media buying and planning, national promotions, publicity and corporate
communications, research, and interactive marketing. Among the notable
campaigns he spearheaded were “Sex and The City,” “Harold and Kumar Escape
From Guantanamo Bay” and “Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D.”
As head of marketing for FOX, Carlisle helped create television blockbusters
out series like “House,” “24” and “American Idol.” He oversaw the formation
of an in-house ad agency dubbed Fox Infinity, programmed original vignettes
to run during ad breaks, launched the first broadcast initiative to offer
free streaming episodes online, launched FOX audio podcasts and created a
groundbreaking sampling program that rolled out more than 2 million DVDs
featuring the pilot episode of “House” through Entertainment Weekly and
People magazines.
As head of marketing at FX, Carlisle led the network's rebranding and
turnaround by overseeing launch campaigns for such breakout and
award-winning series as “The Shield,” “Nip/Tuck,” and “Rescue Me.”
His numerous awards include being named "Entertainment Marketer of the Year"
by Ad Age and "Brand Builder of the Year" by Broadcasting & Cable, nine
PROMAX Awards, five BDA Awards, and Television Week's "Campaign of
Distinction" Award for “House.”
Carlisle also served as a Senior Vice President of Worldwide Creative
Advertising for Warner Bros. Studios where he developed campaigns for
feature films including “Space Jam” and “City of Angels.”
He began his career at NBC and ABC, where he was famous for taking a hand-on
approach that included directing dozens of film shoots for launch and image
campaigns. He launched and marketed hit shows including “Cosby,” “Hill
Street Blues,” “Saturday Night Live,” “NYPD Blue,” “Roseanne,” “Home
Improvement,” “Seinfeld” and “Cheers.” He also wrote and produced a
primetime special for the 15th anniversary of Saturday Night Live hosted by
Dennis Miller and a special based on Tim Allen’s “Home Improvement.”
Contact:
Chris Alexander
SVP, Corporate Communications
310-369-2733