Cablefax The Magazine - December 2010 - 34

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WEBMASTER
David Levy
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Title: President, Sales, Distribution
and Sports, Turner
Years in Cable: 25
Education: BS, Syracuse
I Watch TV Mostly: Live
AUTHENTICALLY AMY
Amy Banse
Title: Pres, Comcast Interactive Media
Number of Years in Cable: 20
Education: Harvard
I Watch TV Mostly: Online
Why Him? Levy and his ad sales
team achieved a major goal during
the '10 upfront, earning ad rate parity
with broadcasters for Conan. CPM
increases for TBS, TNT and truTV
were 9-10%, sources say. In April,
Levy spearheaded a 14-yr, $10.8bln
deal with CBS to share the rights to
the NCAA men's basketball tourney in
March '11; Final Four and title game
coverage will alternate between TBS
and CBS beginning in '16.
Digital Dominance: Turner Sports'
expanding digital portfolio features
oversight of some 20 Web sites, including
many like NASCAR.com, PGA.
com and the NBA's digital destinations
that align with Turner's linear lineup
to allow for concerted multi-platform
plays. Evidence: on the heels of the
March Madness deal, the NCAA
tapped Turner Sports to manage and
operate its digital portfolio, including
NCAA.com through jv NCAA Digital.
The Year Ahead:
Conan is off to
a great start, excelling in the younger
demos so important to TBS. Turner's
linear/Web foray into March Madness
should be a slam dunk success.
Most Creative Part of My Job: Developing
our digital sports strategy for online
and mobile. And putting it in a position to
sell it horizontally and vertically.
Motto: People eventually get what
they deserve... both good and bad!
Favorite non-Turner TV Show: It's
Always Sunny in Philadelphia
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Why Her? Banse obviously wields
enormous power not just at Comcast
but industry-wide as she implements
the MSO's authentication strategy,
which went out of beta late in '10. Other
distributors that haven't built authentication
sites (or launched swanky apps)
are watching closely. After working out
kinks during the beta, Comcast now
offers an impressive array of nets and
shows through its Xfi nityTV.com site-
and the tech works pretty well. Banse's
job is far from over as Comcast inte52|
GUTSY
INNOVATOR
Joan Gillman
Title: EVP, Media Sales,
Time Warner Cable
Years in Cable: 6
Education: BA, College of the Holy
Cross; MA, George Washington U
I Watch TV Mostly: TiVo/Recorded
Why Her?
As Canoe Ventures begins to
offer advanced advertising
products, cable can thank
Gillman for helping get
the JV off the ground.
Long a champion of interactivity,
Gillman serves
on numerous boards and
foundations, and was named
a Woman to Watch by Advertising
Age. We've watched her for
years. And we're still impressed.
Say What? With Verizon a fi erce
competitor, heads turned when
Gillman brokered a deal to sell
regional TV ads in the NYC, LA and
Dallas markets on behalf of Verizon
FiOS TV. Guess what? The deal's
been a boon for the MSO, which
sells across more than 50 nets
December 2010
grates NBCU content
into its TV Everywhere
universe in '11. And
what to do with all the
NBCU content on Hulu?
Banse faces a busy year.
Padtastic: On Banse's watch, Comcast
in early Nov offi cially launched its cool
iPad app that allows subs to watch authenticated
content right on the device,
as well as control certain TV functions.
Year Ahead : So far, so good-but
so untested. The next year will determine
whether Comcast's bet on authentication
and all of its accoutrements pays off in
the execution.
In '11, Cable Will: Break free of the bigscreen
TV.
Favorite TV Show: Modern Family
Motto: Stay calm and carry on
Favorite City for Biz: San Fran
distributed by FiOS.
Year Ahead: Time Warner Cable is on a
tear. And with advanced advertising starting
to win converts and prove itself viable, '11
looks good for Gillman and her sales team.
On Your iPad: Trees are being saved.
News apps and lots of documents to read.
How Cable Can Improve Its Image: Tell
its story better and continue to bring great
products and services to customers.
Biggest Threat to Cable's Survival:
Not keeping up with or meeting the
expectations and needs of residential,
commercial or advertising
customers.
The New Congress
Should: Recognize the
signifi cant contribution
cable (MSOs, networks),
suppliers (tech and services)
and content creators (writers,
producers, actors/actresses)
make to our economy. The innovation
in connectivity, products,
services and storytelling has created
one of the most vibrant local/
national job machines in the US.
Congress should be cautious in
considering how new policy ideas
could weaken one of its healthy
domestic industries.
CableFAX: The Magazine
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Cablefax The Magazine - December 2010

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