Cablefax The Magazine - June 2018 - 6

Above it All
It's once again time to recognize those major players who were once part of The Cablefax 100, but have
become so epic, they rise above it all. It's a tough list to make, but we can all dream.
NOMI BERGMAN (ADVANCE/NEWHOUSE)
Bergman may not oversee an empire that rivals that of
John Malone, but mention her name to anyone in cable
and they are likely to speak effusively of the exec. The
industry got a chance to shake her hand in April when
she was inducted into The Cable Center Hall of Fame.
In her role at Advance/Newhouse, she's looking for new
technologies and companies to invest in, which keeps
her out and about.
JEFF BEWKES (Time Warner)
We know this isn't where Bewkes thought he'd be right
now. But with a federal court expected to rule in days
on AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner, he's close to that
next chapter. And sticking around during this nebulous
phase has its benefits-$32 million of them to be
exact. That's how much he reaped in stock awards last
year as a retention bonus.
JEFF BEZOS (Amazon)
Bezos and Amazon may be poised to take over the
world-that Prime shipping is just so darn convenient
that we're turning over the keys to our homes
and vehicles to get our stuff even faster. And though
Amazon's name may be synonymous with those brown
UPS boxes, Bezos is a master of thinking outside the
box. With the company rapidly beefing up video, he has
our attention.
CHARLIE ERGEN (DISH)
In December, Ergen relinquished the CEO title to focus
more on DISH's wireless plans. It sounds like he has
the company on the pathway to meeting a March 2020
buildout requirement for its narrowband IOT network.
In true Ergen fashion, he's keeping things pretty quiet,
which ratchets up the guessing over whether a network
partnership plan is in the works.
RANDY FALCO (Univision)
What a wild ride at Univision of late, but for Falco, it's
nearing the end. He plans to retire at the end of the
year, as he turns 65. He'll have plenty to keep him occupied
until then, including the ramifications of Univision
abandoning its planned IPO, finding ways to cut costs
and continuing to speak out against Trump polices that
negatively impact Univision viewers.
REED HASTINGS (Netflix)
Remember when
Netflix announced
it was moving
into originals and
everyone laughed
and said wait until
Hastings sees how
expensive they are?
He certainly proved
the naysayers
wrong, dumping up
to $8 billion into
content this year as
Netflix racks up a mantel full of programming awards.
Now, he's rapidly expanding the company, taking the
" Netflix and chill " phenomenon global.
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JOHN HENDRICKS (CuriosityStream)
Hendricks' SVOD venture made some real strides over
the past 12 months, inking a deal for distribution via
Comcast. Convinced that viewers will pay for what they
really want to see, he's leading the charge to get more
publicity (and deals) for the service he founded.
BOB IGER (Disney)
Iger is working to convince everyone that Disney's $52
billion Fox deal will close, even as there are rumors
that Comcast is
circling. Then he's
got the balancing
act of administering
to a linear portfolio
while launching a
direct-to-consumer
business. It's got a
feel a bit like riding
Space Mountain.
JAMES COX KENNEDY (Cox Enterprises)
As chairman of Cox Enterprises for the past 30 years,
Kennedy has helped grow annual revenues from $1.88
billion to more than $21 billion while earning the
deserved reputation as a remarkable philanthropist.
This year, he oversaw the transition to a new CEO: Alex
Taylor, a fourth-generation Cox family member leading
the company Kennedy's grandfather started in 1898.
GREG MAFFEI (Liberty Media)
Can anyone keep up with all of Maffei's titles? In addition
to running Liberty, he's chairman of Live Nation
Entertainment, Sirius XM and Liberty TripAdvisor, Qurate
Retail Group (previously Liberty Interactive) and Pandora
Media. Oh, and he's on the board of Charter. Anyone
who has a business card with that many characters
gets our mad respect.
JOHN MALONE (Liberty Media/Liberty Global)
Malone continues to prove he's one heckuva deal
maker. The latest has British telecom group Vodafone
spending some $22 billion on Liberty Global, which
gives him plenty of capital to put together who knows
what with the remaining businesses in the UK.
LOWELL McADAM (Verizon)
The 5G is coming... Verizon hasn't been tied up in
M&A recently, with McAdam spending much of his
time talking up the game-changing potential of 5G.
We should get a taste of what's in store later this year
when Verizon rolls it out to L.A., Sacramento and a few
other cities.
LES MOONVES (CBS)
Anyone on the opposite side of the retrans negotiating
table from Moonves knows he's a tough cookie, but
further proof can be seen by him rejecting attempts to
combine CBS and Viacom for more than a year. It takes
some chutzpah to go against Shari Redstone. At our
deadline, the battle was still playing out. Meanwhile,
Moonves is pleased with the progress of CBS Access
and gearing up to launch another direct-to-consumer
service around its " ET " brand.
June 2018
RUPERT & LACHLAN MURDOCH (21st Century Fox)
We're grouping father and son together, with Lachlan
recently getting the CEO and chairman nod for the
proposed " new Fox. " The elder Murdoch will take the
title of co-chairman. In addition to navigating a change
in leadership, the two will have to figure out just what
the business looks like following Disney's purchase of
various cable networks, its Hulu share and movie studio.
They still will have an enviable empire to run with Fox
News as the crown jewel.
PETER RICE (21st Century Fox)
Fox confirmed its post-Disney management structure,
but there doesn't seem to be any word yet on whether
Rice will stick around during or post transition. Wherever
Rice ends up, he has plenty to hang his hat on. Fox
Networks Group programming earned 113 Primetime
Emmy nominations last year, an all-time high, and FX
set a new record for basic cable with 18 nods.
BRIAN ROBERTS (Comcast)
Expect the unexpected from Roberts, who bleeds
Comcast, having worked for the company his father
co-founded since graduating from The Wharton School
in 1981. He turned heads recently with Comcast's Sky
bid and tongues are wagging over a potential counter
to Disney's offer for Fox. Roberts has always been
about taking Comcast beyond what anyone dreamed,
with annual revenue growing from $657 million when
he was named president in 1990 to more than $84.5
billion last year.
RANDALL STEPHENSON (AT&T)
Say what you will about Stephenson, but he certainly
hasn't been in the shadows. He went to court to defend
the Time Warner merger. He spoke out publicly when
it came to light that AT&T had hired Trump lawyer Michael
Cohen. And he's made news with further pushes
into a video streaming world, revealing offerings at both
ends of the price spectrum.
OPRAH WINFREY (OWN)
She's no longer in a 50-50 joint venture with Discovery
for OWN, but she's still the Queen of All Media. In fact,
Discovery increasing its stake in the venture to 75%
while keeping her as CEO and tied to the net exclusively
until 2025 is a vote of confidence. And Winfrey hasn't
lost her gift for inspiring us all to be better. " Put your
honor where your
mouth is, " she declared
recently in her
USC commencement
speech, reminding us
not to confuse what
is legal with what is
moral. " Do not equate
money and fame with
accomplishment and
character, because I
can assure you based
on the thousands
of people I've interviewed,
one does not
automatically follow
the other. "
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Cablefax The Magazine - June 2018

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