He began his career in broadcasting as an intern at a public television station at the age of 12. Before Ancier turned 20, he had already worked as a radio reporter and producer at an NBC radio affiliate in New Jersey. While in high school, he created and produced a radio show that evolved into Focus on Youth, a program later broadcast when he attended Princeton University. The show, which continued its run at Princeton long after Ancier graduated, became one of the largest nationally syndicated public affairs radio programs in the country, broadcast weekly to more than 300 stations.

Ancier’s involvement in Focus on Youth attracted the attention of People magazine, which ran a profile of him while he was still in college. He later used this article as his ticket into the office of NBC entertainment programmer Brandon Tartikoff. Ancier started in NBC’s executive training program and rapidly rose up the ranks during the early 1980s, eventually becoming the network’s vice president of current comedy. The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls, Cheers, and Family Ties were just a few of the shows he oversaw during his time at NBC.

Although he was quickly moving up at NBC, Ancier could not refuse the request of newly appointed FOX vice president Scott Sassa to become the fledgling network’s first head of programming. Ancier initially struggled to define FOX’s audience and programming strategies. However, a number of hits soon emerged, including 21 Jump Street, Married . . . with Children, and The Simpsons. These were just a few of the programs that helped FOX solidify its image as the “alternative network”—home to edgy comedic, dramatic, and reality fare that couldn’t be found on the “Big Three.” In addition, these shows helped FOX attract advertisers by appealing to the highly desirable audience of viewers aged 18 to 34. Over the ensuing years, Ancier would repeatedly be praised for his success in attracting this demographic group.

Despite his accomplishments at FOX, Ancier left the network in 1989 to develop series programming for Walt Disney Television and Touchstone Television. However, his tenure at Disney was rocky and he left less than two years later amid widespread reports of power struggles between himself and upper management. Though his time at Disney was short, he was nonetheless instrumental in a number of the production company’s early successes, including, most notably, Home Improvement.

Ancier continued to move from position to position during the early 1990s. He briefly returned to FOX before venturing into independent production. He also served as a television consultant for the Democratic National Committee during the 1992 presidential campaign, creating the 56-screen “video wall” that stood behind the podium during the party’s 1992 National Convention. He then produced Sunday’s Best and Jane, a couple of short-lived programs, before finding a hit in the syndicated Rikki Lake show.

In creating Rikki Lake, Ancier targeted young viewers, a strategy similar to the one he had used at FOX. Ancier identified and exploited the lack of talk shows geared to 18 to 34 year olds. Rikki Lake pursued this group with tremendous success, coming in behind only The Oprah Winfrey Show in daytime in the years following its debut in 1993. As Rikki Lake’s ratings rose, Ancier’s 25-percent ownership stake in the show became more valuable.

Even as Rikki Lake continued to ascend in the ratings, another promising opportunity arose for Ancier. His former boss at FOX, Jamie Kellner, was in the process of starting the new WB network. Ancier agreed to come on board as its first head of programming. Ancier came into the job at the WB with the mandate to pursue 12 to 34 year olds.

Upon entering into the position as the WB’s programming head, Ancier initially recruited several individuals with whom he had worked at FOX. For example, In Living Color’s Shawn and Marlon Wayans and Married . . . with Children’s Ron Leavitt and Michael Moye developed the first WB programs, The Wayans Bros. and Unhappily Ever After . . . . Although the WB continued to struggle to find a comedy hit, the network found its niche with dramas targeted to teenagers and young adults. 7th Heaven, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson’s Creek, and Charmed were all developed under Ancier’s supervision.

At a time when the rest of the networks were suffering declines in viewership, the WB continued to grow. In addition, the network was attracting the most desirable demographic groups with advertisers. Ancier was regularly celebrated in the press for these accomplishments and for his skillful programming strategies. He reaped the fruits of his labors through his 2-percent ownership stake in the WB.

These programming achievements did not go unnoticed by the executives at NBC. Scott Sassa, in the process of moving up to the position of NBC’s West Coast president, needed someone to replace him as entertainment president. In May 1999 Ancier thus teamed with Sassa once again and returned to the network where he got his start. This marked Ancier’s third time as head of programming at a network. However, he now was responsible for more than just prime time. Ancier was commissioned to oversee NBC’s late-night, daytime, and Saturday morning hours as well. Further, he assumed control over NBC’s program development, current programming, scheduling, network promotion, and publicity.

Ancier was in his new job less than a week when NBC announced its fall 1999 schedule. Arriving at the network while it was experiencing declining ratings, and with a number of aging programs on the schedule, Ancier found himself confronted with huge expectations. Although the 1999–2000 season emerged with a few hits, including The West Wing and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, the 2000–2001 season was a disaster.

Citing NBC’s status as a quality network, Ancier refused to turn to reality programming and game shows even as ABC hit the jackpot with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and CBS earned high ratings with Survivor. In addition, NBC was faced with a number of expensive, high-profile flops including The Michael Richards Show and Titans. Thus, after only 18 months on the job, Ancier was forced to resign.

Yet as had often proven to be the case before, Ancier quickly bounced back—once again with the help of Jamie Kellner. Kellner, who had recently become CEO of the Turner Broadcasting System, brought in Ancier to serve as executive vice president of programming. Ancier’s mission in this new position was to find synergies among the various Turner and AOL Time Warner holdings, which included CNN, TNT, TBS, the Cartoon Network, and the WB. He was also charged with developing marketing and branding strategies for these divisions. The position had the biggest scope of any Ancier had occupied so far, demanding him to employ the creative and administrative skills he had developed throughout his diverse experiences in the television business.