MARC ETKIND NAMED GENERAL MANAGER OF SCIENCE CHANNEL
September 28, 2015
Rich Ross, Group President, Discovery, Animal Planet and Science Channel, today announced the appointment of Marc Etkind to General Manager, Science Channel. Etkind will report to Ross and oversee all aspects of programming, production, development, marketing, brand strategy and day-to-day operations for the network. Etkind will continue to be based in New York.
“Marc has a strong record of programming successes and a fascinating background in science,” said Ross. “He has an instinct for what audiences want to watch and is well positioned to lead Science Channel.”
Etkind most recently served as General Manager of Destination America where he helped develop and launch the network. As general manager he was responsible for the development and production of network content, logo and branding, marketing and digital assets and launched brand defining content that included BBQ Pitmasters, Railroad Alaska, United States of Bacon, and the Buying franchise, including Buying Hawaii. Under Etkind’s direction, Destination America grew 80% since its 2011 launch.
Earlier, Etkind was Vice President of Development for Animal Planet, responsible for bringing new series and specials to the network while supervising the development and production of concepts to green light. He helped set network development strategy and identified writers and talent necessary to develop new characters and programming that included Pit Bulls and Parolees, the Dogs 101 franchise and Blood Dolphins, the three-part miniseries spotlighting the plight of dolphins worldwide.
Before joining Discovery, Etkind was with History where he developed key programming such as “The Man Who Predicted 9/11” and the award-winning documentary, “Ape To Man”. Etkind earlier founded Pinball Productions and was a producer for the multiple Emmy-Award nominated series, “Discover Magazine”, and “This Week in History”. Earlier he served as a producer, writer, researcher and director with Chedd-Angier for PBS programming that included “Frontline”, “Scientific American Frontiers” with Alan Alda and two math series, “Against All Odds” and “In Simplest Terms”. Additionally, he created scientific exhibits for the Museum of Science Industry in Chicago.
Etkind earned his BA in Biology from Brown University and served as a researcher at The Falkner Island Tern Project for U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Mount Desert Island (MDI) Biological Laboratory and Yale School of Medicine.