Cablefax The Magazine - March 2017 - 19

Steve Necessary
EVP, PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT &
MANAGEMENT
COX COMMUNICATIONS
Necessary ably ticked off a host of
accomplishments and set new benchmarks
during his fi rst year in his newly elevated post
directing new development and lifestyle management
for all products across Cox's residential and business
portfolios. Among his achievements in 2016 were
completing analog to digital video transition in all Cox
markets, launching new Contour products-powered
by licensed X1 platform-in all Cox markets, and expanding
Gigablast, Cox's residential Gigabit Internet, to
13 states. What needs to happen to move the needle
on multiscreen monetization? " Simple, " he says. " Get
subscription video into more homes. We've got to aggressively
solve the affordability challenge or we'll see
erosion in the category. "
Tonia O'Connor
CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER
& PRESIDENT, CONTENT
DISTRIBUTION
UNIVISION COMMUNICATIONS
Expanding consumer touch points
for both the Univision and Fusion
Media brands on digital and mobile platforms is top
of mind for longtime company champion O'Connor.
As such, she started 2017 with a bang, overseeing
an extensive carriage renewal deal with Comcast
that covers the company's suite, including its
owned stations and Galavision. The deal is a strong
sweetener as Univision eyes its IPO later this year.
O'Connor says the media industry needs to " commit
to equal representation of minorities and women in
mainstream media-in front of and behind the camera
and in the executive suite. "
Chris Pizzurro
HEAD OF BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT, SALES &
MARKETING
CANOE
Pizzurro continues to put his 30-plus
years of experience in national media
strategy, marketing and implementation to great use
at Canoe as the company pushes barriers in dynamic
ad insertion. Canoe generated more than 18 billion
ad impressions through its VOD dynamic advertising
insertion platform in 2016, up from the 11.8 billion the
prior year, and is poised to grow its 35 million-home
footprint with Charter's commitment to roll out Canoe's
VOD ad-insertion platform in its legacy systems. " The
industry has realized that multiscreen is here to stay, "
Pizzurro says. " Now that this has sunk in, there is the
need for having effi ciency across these multiscreen
implementations. But, this effi ciency needs to happen
in a safe, secure manner. "
Rob Rader
GENERAL COUNSEL
OVATION
Is the concept of a renaissance man
too cliched in 2017? How about a
renaissance general counsel? Rader
might fi t the bill, as his experience
extends beyond negotiation and litigation and into
operations, human resources, public service and even
singing karaoke in Santa Monica on a weekly basis.
This breadth of skills will be tested as he helps lead
Ovation through their transformation from a cable network
to a multi-platform digital entertainment company.
Rader's skillset even dips into monetization. He offers
that " even the mediocre metrics now available on
multiscreen are often superior to the numbers you can
get from traditional advertising, so there is no barrier to
monetizing multiscreen. As engagement increases on
screens, the money will follow. "
Birk Rawlings
HEAD EXECUTIVE
DREAMWORKS TV
In just a little more than two years
on the scene, DreamWorksTV has
amassed more than 2 million subscribers
and 1 billion video views.
Credit much of that success to veteran kids and family
entertainment exec Rawlings, who's laser-focused
on accelerating the growth of the YouTube channel's
rabid and reliable fan base. " Rather than any single
advancement, I continue to marvel at the rapid rate
at which consumers are adapting to and embracing
digital innovation across the board, " he opines.
To ensure DWTV's fans keep coming back for more,
Rawlings' team remains dedicated to creating original
entertainment, and using the channel as the fi rst-stop
destination to fi nd this programming. Is the set-top
dead? " Defi nitely not, as choices continue to expand
set-top-boxes (or equivalent tech) is well positioned
to help consumers navigate an increasingly complex
and crowded content landscape. "
Cablefax: The Magazine
March 2017
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17
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Cablefax The Magazine - March 2017

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