Cablefax The Magazine - April 2014 - 16

17 | Get Loud
Jeff Wachtel
Title: President/Chief Content Officer,
NBCU Cable Entertainment
Years in Cable: 14
Education: BA in Drama, Yale
University
Wachtel ended '13 in a new role that
has him working closely with all the
NBCU presidents and development
teams. He'll tell you his goal is to bring
smart and noisy content to the portfolio-and
that certainly was the idea
behind his first big announcement:
18 | Education Czar
Bill Goodwyn
Title: President/CEO, Discovery
Education; CEO, Strategic
Distribution, Discovery
Years in Cable: 27
Education: BA, Journalism,
UNC Chapel Hill
Best Advice: Manage the
business, not your career.
Chalk up another impressive year for Discovery's distribution
and education chief. Goodwyn led a bar-raising round of
affiliate renewals resulting in Discovery's first TV Everywhere
deal plus expanded distribution of networks including
Investigation Discovery, Discovery Fit & Health and the Hub
Network, He also spearheaded a major expansion for the
fast-growing broadband-delivered Discovery Education division
with the acquisition of Espresso Education, the leading
provider of primary school digital education content in the
U.K. More initiatives are on the books this year. Discovery
Education's Techbook will once again expand with the launch
of a Math Techbook set for the 2014-15 school year to
complement the science and social studies editions.
I wish Congress would just... Pass term limits so
politics wouldn't be just about politics.
Favorite Cable Show memory: Dinner with Fred Dressler
and Andy Heller annually at the NCTA shows.
Favorite vacation spot: Wherever my wife and kids are.
Beach or mountains? Both-I just wish I could get to
either one.
The day we get multiplatform measurement is the
day... more content companies fully embrace multiplatform
distribution.
Favorite business/motivational book: The Greatest
Salesman in the World written by Og Mandino ■
16
cablefaxmag.com
April 2014
Cablefax: The Magazine
event series " DIG, " an archeological
thriller from " Homeland " creator Gideo
Raff and Tim Kring, and picked up for
six episodes. Something you may not
know? Wachtel has taught a course at
the AFI (American Film Institute) for the
past five years.
John, Paul, George or Ringo?
John. I have two great photos of him
taken by my friend Mark Sennet on
the wall behind my desk.
One thing I would do all the time
if I could: Play tennis
Favorite Cable Show memory:
19 | President of the USA
Chris McCumber
Title: President, USA Network (pictured, center)
Education: BA, Government & Law, Lafayette College
Best Advice in 7 Words of Less: Stay curious.
McCumber became sole president of USA in September, and the network didn't miss a
beat-finishing its unprecedented eighth straight year at the No 1 rated cable network.
It also was USA's most profitable year ever. USA's acquisition of " Modern Family " has
brought in a young and affluent audience that he'll look to capitalize on. Those efforts
include rolling out the net's first original comedies and developing a slate of pilots
across genres. Fun fact: McCumber helmed 14 short films for " SNL " titled " Fuzzy
Memories by Jack Handy. "
I watch the majority of programming on this device: iPad mini on the train, big
screen HDTV at home.
TV show I'd most like to have a cameo in? " Suits " (so I can keep the wardrobe).
Twitter or Instagram? Twitter
Favorite vacation spot: Deer Valley, Utah, in the winter; Martha's Vineyard in the
Summer
Beach or mountains? I'll take both!
Desert island album? The Clash, London Calling
Favorite TV show as a kid? " Saturday Night Live "
If someone forced me to cut the cord and only watch 3 over-the-top shows,
they would be: Force me to cut the cord? Over my dead body! ■
The final episodes of " Monk. " A
beautiful script, amazing performances,
a perfect goodbye to a
classic show.
Favorite vacation spot: The Red
Sand Beach in Hana, Maui.
Desert island album? Sgt. Pepper
or Kind of Blue
Favorite TV show as a kid? " Star
Trek " and " Mission: Impossible "
The last time I had a good laugh:
My son Jesse makes me laugh
every day.
The day we get multiplatform
measurement is the day I... Yell
from the rooftops, " It's about time! " ■
http://www.cablefaxmag.com
Cablefax The Magazine - April 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cablefax The Magazine - April 2014
