By Joe Flint
Jamie Kellner, a prominent media executive for more than three decades who was instrumental in the launch of two broadcast networks and helmed the all-news channel CNN, died Saturday at the age of 77.
Kellner died at his home in Montecito, Calif. He had been battling cancer.
Kellner was the first president and chief operating officer of the Fox network, which launched in 1986 and was the brainchild of Rupert Murdoch and then Fox Inc. Chief Executive Barry Diller.
At the time, few gave Fox much of a chance to succeed against the entrenched CBS, NBC and ABC. The network's strategy was to target younger viewers who were often ignored by the established broadcasters. Fox also loosened up content restrictions with producers, leading to more risqué fare that helped generate publicity for the upstart network.
During Kellner's tenure at Fox, the network launched several hits that captured the cultural zeitgeist, including "Married...with Children," "The Simpsons," "In Living Color," "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Melrose Place."
Some Fox shows were shunned by many advertisers because of their raunchiness, particularly "Married...with Children," which was the subject of advertiser boycotts in its early years on the air. Ultimately, though, their success in the ratings was too much for advertisers to ignore.
Fox and Wall Street Journal parent News Corp share common ownership.
Kellner left Fox in 1993 and soon after created the WB network in partnership with Warner Bros. While the WB never achieved the same ratings success as Fox, it, too, was a hit among teens and young adults with shows such as "Dawson's Creek," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "7th Heaven."
Prolific television producer Greg Berlanti, whose credits include "Dawson's Creek," said in a statement that Kellner was a "titan and a visionary in our industry" who will be "remembered by anyone lucky enough to work for him as an executive or as a showrunner as a warm, funny, charismatic, creative and kind mentor."
While Kellner championed some shows that were seen as pushing the envelope in terms of language and sex, his personal tastes were more conservative. "He could be a little prudish," Garth Ancier, who ran programming under Kellner at both Fox and the WB, said in an interview.
Ancier recalled persuading Kellner to allow a scene in the police drama "21 Jump Street" that featured two characters engaged in dialogue while at standing at urinals -- with the sound of urination in the background.
After AOL acquired Warner Bros. parent Time Warner, Kellner was promoted to oversee all the Turner cable channels including CNN. While there, he spearheaded an effort to merge the network with Disney's ABC News that ultimately was called off in part because of objections from CNN founder Ted Turner.
Kellner retired from the industry in 2004. He is survived by his wife, Julie Kellner, daughter Melissa Kellner, son Christopher Kellner and three grandchildren.
Write to Joe Flint at Joe.Flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 22, 2024 21:52 ET (01:52 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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