Cablefax The Magazine - April 2017 - 17

21. BEYOND THE MADNESS
John Martin
Chairman & CEO
Turner Broadcasting
Years in Cable: 22
Education: BS, Economics,
Wharton School/University of
Pennsylvania; MBA, Columbia
Business School
One Word that Best Describes
Me: Competitive.
David Levy
President
Turner Broadcasting
Years in Cable: 30
Education: Syracuse University
In 2016, the Turner portfolio
reached an average 79 percent
of adults 18-plus each month,
including 73 percent of millennials,
across distribution platforms
including its sizable TV Everywhere
platform. To boot, its full-year top
line was up 7 percent in Q4 year
over year. Levy and Martin are gunning to top these stats this year. In 2017,
Turner is on track to have more premium video content across brands
including TBS, TNT, truTV, Adult Swim and Cartoon Network across every
platform. TBS is returning its six hits from 2016 while also launching new
scripted comedy, TNT has expanded its originals slate, and the company is
making big moves on the sports front including the continuation of NCAA
22. RAISE THE ROOF!
Ken
Lowe
Chairman of the
Board, President
& CEO
Scripps Networks
Interactive
Years in Cable: 23
Education: BA,
University of North
Carolina-Chapel Hill
Burton Jablin
COO
Scripps Networks Interactive
Years in Cable: 23
Education: BA, Harvard University
One Word that Best Describes Me: Thoughtful
Cablefax: The Magazine
Men's basketball championship coverage, launch of a Bleacher Report
Snapchat Discover Channel, and push behind the ELeague e-sports league.
Martin Q&A
What inspires you most about this industry? It is our job to entertain
and inform the world. That's an exciting and awesome responsibility that
I take very seriously, now more than ever. The choices we make, big and
small, day in and day out about who we hire, the content we create, the
talent we put on our air, all communicate something to our global, multigenerational
audiences.
The biggest innovation in cable over the last year? Mobile has already
changed our business forever, and video over IP will revolutionize the entire
way content is consumed in the future.
What are the top three qualities you look for in a hire? Agility, integrity
and curiosity.
My OTT prediction is... It's real and it is coming-but that isn't the challenge.
While the types of content provided via OTT will be important, the
experience will be everything. Just a year or so ago, if you were pivoting to
a mobile first experience you were in a good place. But now we absolutely
need to layer in a fan centric approach. Being on mobile won't be good
enough-it will have to be unique and engaging as well. Whoever does
that well, will be in a good place...
How long is your morning commute? When I'm home in New York City,
my commute is less than 5 minutes-and I walk.
Favorite Saturday morning cartoon from your childhood? Anything and
everything on Boomerang...
What does the future look like for skinny bundles and flexible packaging?
A fan centric experience that allows individuals to create not just
personal packages but personal channels. That is the magic of video over
IP. It will enable us to transform consumers into fans in ways we were never
able to do before. ■
Unlike most other cable portfolios, the Scripps
stable (headed by flagships Food Network and
HGTV) has put up durable ratings and isn't panicked
about time-shifting since its live viewership
in many time periods rivals that of ESPN. A
study in March by the company showed the ads
airing during its lifestyle programming scored 22
percent higher engagement than the same ads
elsewhere. Lowe, whose run at Scripps began
in 1980, will step down in 2019. But he will
leave a company worth about $8 billion and with
plenty of digital upside. Jablin was one of the
programming execs who launched HGTV in 1994
and became COO in 2013. He also championed
Scripps Lifestyle Studios, which helped generate
branded content that netted more than 2 billion
views in Q4 2016, up from 300 million views in
the same period in 2015.
Jablin
Q&A
The best
thing
about fast
broadband
is... It has
expanded
audiences'
ability to access to content, which is a good thing
for a content business like SNI.
My OTT prediction is... Great content will rise
to the surface and remain key to success.
What product or service could you not live
without? A free and fearless news media.
What does the future look like for skinny
bundles and flexible packaging? Consumers
will ultimately decide what works best for them,
and brands that deliver consistently on their
promise will always be in demand. ■
April 2017
cablefaxmag.com
17
http://www.cablefaxmag.com
Cablefax The Magazine - April 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cablefax The Magazine - April 2017
