Monty Sarhan
- Executive
Monty Sarhan is the Executive Vice President and General Manager of EPIX where he is responsible for the day-to-day management and overall revenue, distribution, and growth strategy for the network. He oversees all key functions of the business including affiliate sales & distribution, business development, strategy, operations, programming acquisitions, finance, business & legal affairs, and human resources.
Sarhan leads the network's distribution strategy on all MVPD, OTT, and SVOD platforms, helping to make it the fastest-growing premium network. In 2017, he closed the EPIX's landmark deal with Comcast, which increased the network's distribution footprint by over 50% and made EPIX available to over 70% of the country. Beginning from the time of EPIX's launch, he has handled the network's distribution agreements with DISH, Verizon, Cox, Charter, Frontier, and other providers. Sarhan also worked on EPIX's industry-first digital distribution agreements with Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu and negotiated partnerships that positioned EPIX as the first premium network on Roku, Xbox, and Sony PlayStation.
In 2016, Sarhan was nominated to take part in Viacom's Inspirational Leadership Program, which identifies future leaders of key business groups. Only 35 people from across Viacom's global team of over 10,000 employees are selected each year. He was the first person ever selected from a Viacom joint venture.
Sarhan was tapped to be the point person on EPIX's integration with MGM and oversaw that effort across key areas of the business including operations, human resources, and distribution.
Part of the original team that launched EPIX in 2009, Sarhan was previously the Executive Vice President of Programming, Strategy & Enterprises for the network. In that capacity, he led the scheduling, program planning, operations, and legal affairs teams and was involved in developing the network's overall strategic direction and distribution initiatives. He negotiated the first deals that brought original programming to the network, managed all studio relationships, and negotiated EPIX's output agreements with Paramount, MGM, and Lionsgate.
Under his direction, the network instituted long-term buying that improved library content by over 70%, launched EPIX en Español as a VOD package to select affiliates, relaunched EPIX Drive-In, and launched EPIX Hits as a flagship channel for digital distributors.
Sarhan was previously Senior Vice President and Head of Business Affairs for EPIX. He was one of the earliest employees at EPIX, joining as its first-ever lawyer. Prior to EPIX, Sarhan was Senior Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs at Viacom Media Networks and the General Counsel of WWE. He was also a serial entrepreneur, having founded two separate businesses. A graduate of Duke University's School of Law, Sarhan earned his undergraduate degree from Tufts University.
Sarhan leads the network's distribution strategy on all MVPD, OTT, and SVOD platforms, helping to make it the fastest-growing premium network. In 2017, he closed the EPIX's landmark deal with Comcast, which increased the network's distribution footprint by over 50% and made EPIX available to over 70% of the country. Beginning from the time of EPIX's launch, he has handled the network's distribution agreements with DISH, Verizon, Cox, Charter, Frontier, and other providers. Sarhan also worked on EPIX's industry-first digital distribution agreements with Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu and negotiated partnerships that positioned EPIX as the first premium network on Roku, Xbox, and Sony PlayStation.
In 2016, Sarhan was nominated to take part in Viacom's Inspirational Leadership Program, which identifies future leaders of key business groups. Only 35 people from across Viacom's global team of over 10,000 employees are selected each year. He was the first person ever selected from a Viacom joint venture.
Sarhan was tapped to be the point person on EPIX's integration with MGM and oversaw that effort across key areas of the business including operations, human resources, and distribution.
Part of the original team that launched EPIX in 2009, Sarhan was previously the Executive Vice President of Programming, Strategy & Enterprises for the network. In that capacity, he led the scheduling, program planning, operations, and legal affairs teams and was involved in developing the network's overall strategic direction and distribution initiatives. He negotiated the first deals that brought original programming to the network, managed all studio relationships, and negotiated EPIX's output agreements with Paramount, MGM, and Lionsgate.
Under his direction, the network instituted long-term buying that improved library content by over 70%, launched EPIX en Español as a VOD package to select affiliates, relaunched EPIX Drive-In, and launched EPIX Hits as a flagship channel for digital distributors.
Sarhan was previously Senior Vice President and Head of Business Affairs for EPIX. He was one of the earliest employees at EPIX, joining as its first-ever lawyer. Prior to EPIX, Sarhan was Senior Vice President of Business & Legal Affairs at Viacom Media Networks and the General Counsel of WWE. He was also a serial entrepreneur, having founded two separate businesses. A graduate of Duke University's School of Law, Sarhan earned his undergraduate degree from Tufts University.