The Madison Square Garden Company is pursuing a spin-off of its sports and entertainment businesses from its media business and, in line with that mission, announced key executive appointments for what will be the new pure play media company, MSG Networks Inc., once the transaction is complete.Following the spin-off, which is expected to occur on September 30, 2015, Andrea Greenberg will become president and chief executive officer of MSG Networks Inc., while Bret Richter will join the company as chief financial officer. Ms. Greenberg will report to the executive chairman of MSG Networks Inc., James Dolan, and Mr. Richter will report to Ms. Greenberg.
Andrea is a talented executive with more than three decades of experience in growing and managing regional sports businesses, said Mr. Dolan. Over the last five years, her leadership, business acumen and dedication to programming excellence have helped drive the success of the MSG Networks. We look forward to Andrea's continued contributions and are confident that she is the ideal executive to lead the company as it embarks on an exciting new chapter.
In her new role as president and chief executive officer of MSG Networks Inc., Ms. Greenberg will set the company's strategy and oversee the overall management of MSG Network and MSG . This will include identifying initiatives that strengthen the MSG Networks brand and represent new opportunities for growth.
It is a privilege to lead MSG Networks as it begins its journey as a pure play media company, said Ms. Greenberg. I am delighted to be part of such a talented, creative and dedicated team, committed to producing award-winning sports and entertainment television that sets the standard for excellence across the industry.
Ms. Greenberg continued: We are pleased to welcome Bret as the chief financial officer of MSG Networks. Over the last nine years at Cablevision, Bret has played an instrumental role in helping guide the company through a number of strategic initiatives, while consistently focusing on identifying ways to build value for shareholders. We are fortunate to have such a seasoned executive in this important role as we continue to build on our leadership position in regional sports and entertainment programming.
As chief financial officer of MSG Networks Inc., Mr. Richter will be responsible for directing and supervising all of the financial functions of the company. This includes accounting, financial reporting, tax, and financial planning and analysis, as well as treasury, risk management, corporate development and investor relations.
Mr. Richter said: The value of sports programming is undeniable and MSG Networks has created the premier destination for viewers who want the very best in New York sports and entertainment content. I look forward to working with Andrea and the company's talented team to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us.
The pure play media company will carry on MSG Networks' legacy of delivering award-winning sports and entertainment content across multiple platforms, including two of the most successful regional sports and entertainment networks in the country, MSG Network (MSG) and MSG . The two networks are home to eight professional sports teams: the New York Knicks; New York Rangers; New York Liberty; New York Islanders; New Jersey Devils; Buffalo Sabres; Major League Soccer's Red Bulls and Westchester Knicks. Each year, MSG and MSG collectively telecast approximately 700 live professional sporting events, as well as college football and college basketball from top conferences, and a full schedule of critically acclaimed original programming. The gold standard for regional broadcasting, MSG has won 112 New York Emmy Awards over the past eight years, more than any single network or station in the region. MSG, MSG and MSG.com have a combined 129 wins during that time and 232 over their history.
About Andrea Greenberg
Over her more than 30 years in the sports, entertainment and television industries, Ms. Greenberg has built and managed numerous award-winning regional sports networks. In addition, Ms. Greenberg has been responsible for the completion of major key business transactions, including significant rights and partnership agreements, and affiliation and divestiture deals.
Before this new appointment, Ms. Greenberg has been serving as executive vice president of MSG Media at The Madison Square Garden Company. Ms. Greenberg joined Madison Square Garden as executive vice president of MSG Entertainment before the media, sports and entertainment company was spun-off from Cablevision Systems Corporation in 2010.
Prior to The Madison Square Garden Company, Ms. Greenberg spent more than 25 years at Rainbow Media Holdings, the former Cablevision programming subsidiary that spun-off in 2011 to become AMC Networks Inc., last serving as president of Rainbow Media Ventures. During her time with the programming leader, she served as president of Rainbow Sports Networks, where she oversaw strategy and operations for a portfolio of five award-winning Fox Sports Net regional sports networks in Chicago, New England, Florida, Ohio, and Bay Area, including, programming, marketing, content distribution, affiliate sales, advertising sales, finance and administration, and oversaw Rainbow Media's interests in various Fox partnerships including Fox Sports Net. She played a critical role in divesting the Fox regional sports networks to Fox and Comcast. She negotiated numerous long-term rights agreements with professional sports teams and leagues, including the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball, and successfully secured long-term distribution arrangements with key cable and satellite distributors. In addition, she also led content distribution and marketing for Rainbo
