Cablefax The Magazine - June 2018 - 8

THE TOP10
1. REWRITING THE SCRIPPS
David Zaslav
President & CEO
Discovery
Years in Cable: 29
Education: BS, SUNY Binghamton; JD, Boston
University Law School
Zaslav's empire just keeps expanding. At a time
of increased scrutiny on industry mergers and
acquisitions, Discovery's $14.6 billion purchase
of Scripps Networks Interactive sailed through,
bringing greater scale and programming breadth.
Plus there have been new ventures such as the
automotive digital media company Motor Trend
Group. Beyond linear, Zaslav pushed Discovery
this year to make its greatest strides to date in
attacking direct-to-consumer, short-form and
mobile platforms. The company's investment in
sports has been of particular focus with Eurosport's
2018 Olympic Games debut, and Zaslav is
spearheading further investment in an increasingly
local, premium and exclusive package of
sports rights across Europe.
Last show I binged not on my network(s):
" The Crown "
What's the first thing you read in the
morning? The Hive
Favorite short-form content? Everything on
our Group Nine platforms... NowThis is the No.
1 social news brand with more than 2.5 billion
monthly views!
What does the future look like for skinny
bundles and flexible packaging? Expect to see
a big increase in genre-specific SVOD services for
enthusiast audiences... like Motor Trend, Discovery's
newest digital destination for auto fans.
The biggest innovation in cable over the
last year? Recognition that the overstuffed
sports bundle is a heavy lift... and consumers
want and need a $15-$20 skinny bundle (and
it's good for us!). ■
Steve Burke
CEO
NBCUniversal
EVP
Comcast Corp.
Education: MBA, Colgate University;
Harvard Business School
2. REACHING FOR THE SKY
The house of Comcast-NBCU remains on
rock-solid foundation and is looking to
expand, thanks in large part to this power triumvirate.
Comcast's bid for Rupert Murdoch's
Sky speaks volumes about the company's
future ambitions. Under Burke's leadership,
NBCU entered this year's upfront season
in its strongest position of the past eight
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cablefaxmag.com
Michael Cavanagh
Senior EVP & CFO
Comcast Corp.
Years in Cable: 3
Education: BA, Yale University; JD,
University of Chicago
years, with cable growth not to mention the
broadcast net leading in ratings for a fourth
consecutive year. Watson is adeptly steering
customer growth expectations through the
relentless headwinds of cord-cutting-no
small task given Comcast's 22.4 million video
customers, 25.9 million high-speed internet
customers and 11.6 million voice customers
as of the end of 2017. The upcoming year
June 2018
Dave Watson
President & CEO
Comcast Cable
Senior EVP
Comcast Corp.
will see him continuing to improve customer
experience and scaling services such as
Xfinity Mobile, now fully deployed in Comcast's
retail stores. There's no question that
Comcast's Sky bid will continue to be top of
mind for Cavanagh, who's been instrumental
in pivotal moves, including Comcast's $3.8
billion acquisition of DreamWorks Animation
in 2016. ■
Cablefax: The Magazine
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Cablefax The Magazine - June 2018

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