Betty Susan Cohen (born July 27, 1956) is an American businesswoman and media executive. She is best known as the founder
and original president of
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
from 1992 to 2001, the CEO of
Lifetime Entertainment Services from 2005 to 2007, the founder and president of Betty Cohen Media Consulting since 2008, and the founder and CEO of Hearts & Minds Media since 2019.
Early life
Cohen grew up in
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...
.
She was involved in theater in high school and wrote her senior paper on the
Children's Television Workshop
Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-know ...
(now Sesame Workshop).
She attended
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
from 1973 to 1977,
[Betty Cohen](_blank)
on LinkedIn where she majored in communications.
Career
Public Media Center
In 1977, Cohen began her career as a production manager for Public Media Center, an ad agency. She had been tasked with producing public service announcements, and soon came to realize that the "larger picture" was her strength rather than smaller details. Cohen said , "I was the person who had the perspective to see where the project should head, rather than writing the first draft."
Cable Health Network
In 1982, Cohen joined the
Cable Health Network as their first manager of marketing.
Nickelodeon
From 1984 to 1988, Cohen was director of on-air promotion and interstitial programming for
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
. Her marketing at this time yielded the
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite) is an American nighttime basic cable television channel that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon. It typically broadcasts Mondays to Thursday nights from 9 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. ET/ PT, Friday nights fr ...
block, dubbed "the Network for the TV Generation."
Turner Broadcasting System
In 1988, Cohen joined
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (alternatively known as Turner Entertainment Networks from 2019 until 2022) was an American television and media conglomerate. Founded by Ted Turner and based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (lat ...
, where she was appointed as
TNT's general manager and director of marketing.
She was promoted to senior vice president of TNT and tasked her with creating a channel to house
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he ...
's recently-purchased, extensive animation library. Cohen thus founded
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
in 1992
and was its president until 2001. Under her leadership, network brands such as
Toonami
Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...
,
Boomerang
A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning ...
, the
Cartoon Cartoons
Cartoon Cartoons is a collective name used by Cartoon Network for their original animated television series originally aired between 1995 and 2003 and produced in majority by Hanna-Barbera and/or Cartoon Network Studios. Beginning with its incept ...
, Cartoon Cartoon Fridays, and
Cartoon Orbit were introduced, as well as original series such as ''
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
''Space Ghost Coast to Coast'' is an American adult animated comedy talk show created by Mike Lazzo for Cartoon Network and hosted by a re-imagined version of the 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. In contrast to the original ...
'', ''
What a Cartoon!
''What a Cartoon!'' (later known as ''The What a Cartoon! Show'' and ''The Cartoon Cartoon Show'') is an American animated anthology series created by Fred Seibert for Cartoon Network. The shorts were produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions; by ...
'', ''
Dexter's Laboratory
''Dexter's Laboratory'' is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It follows Dexter, a short, enthusiastic boy-genius with a hi ...
'', ''
Johnny Bravo
''Johnny Bravo'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the second of the network's Cartoon Cartoons, which aired fr ...
'', ''
Cow and Chicken
''Cow and Chicken'' is an American animated comedy television series created by David Feiss for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It is the third of the network's Cartoon Cartoons. It follows the ...
'', ''
The Powerpuff Girls
''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Telev ...
'', ''
Ed, Edd n Eddy
'' Ed, Edd n Eddy'' is a Canadian animated comedy television series created by Danny Antonucci for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series revolves around three friends named Ed, Edd (called "Double D" ...
'', and ''
Courage the Cowardly Dog
''Courage the Cowardly Dog'' is an American animated comedy horror television series created by John R. Dilworth for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. It was produced by Dilworth's animation studio, Stretch Fil ...
''. ''Dexter's Laboratory'', in particular, was one of her favorite animated shows.
The network became a global phenomenon during her tenure, with asset value of nearly $3 billion.
Cohen stepped down from her post on June 18, 2001, due to creative disagreements with
Jamie Kellner
Jamie Kellner is an American former television executive. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a division of Time Warner which includes TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network. Kellner took over the post in 2001 ...
, then-head of Turner Broadcasting; she also stated, "I was afraid I would die the queen of cartoons."
She was succeeded at CN by
Jim Samples. Cohen remained with parent company
AOL-Time Warner until September 2002, to develop multiplatform services aimed at adolescents and young adults.
Lifetime
From 2005
to 2007, Cohen returned to
Lifetime Entertainment Services and served as their CEO and president.
Cohen helped the network attract a younger audience.
Betty Cohen Media Consulting
Cohen is the founder and president of Betty Cohen Media Consulting since 2008,
which offers companies advice on brand-building, cable-channel development, and multiplatform programming.
Hearts & Minds
Cohen is the founder and CEO of Hearts & Minds Media since 2019,
a media company that focuses on leveraging social and emotional learning for girls.
Accolades
Cohen was ranked as one of ''
Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
''s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business in 2000.
She was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame and received the
Muse Award
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) is a non-profit membership organization for professional women in film, television and digital media. The organization is an educational forum for media professionals, and a network for the exchange of ...
from NY Women in Film and TV.
Personal life
Cohen currently resides in New York City, New York.
References
External links
Betty Cohen Media Consulting*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Betty
1956 births
Living people
20th-century American businesspeople
21st-century American businesspeople
20th-century American businesswomen
21st-century American businesswomen
Cartoon Network executives
Women television executives
Stanford University alumni