Cablefax The Magazine - May 2015 - 52

83. SERVICE MEN
Tom Carson
Title: President & CEO, Rovi
Tom Rogers
Title: President & CEO, TiVo
Years in Cable: 34 years, counting
my time on Capitol Hill
Education: BA, government,
Wesleyan University; JD,
Columbia Law School
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less:
Be the one making change happen.
Brent Smith
Title: President & CTO,
Evolution Digital
Years in Cable: 34
Education: 34 years of on the
job experience, learning to: install
cable, align satellite dishes,
tune bandpass filters, sell cable
and satellite programming,
establish sales and distribution
channels in Europe, Asia and the
Middle East, design and develop
digital video products for North,
Central and South America.
Best Advice in 7 Words or
Less: Surround yourself with
very smart people.
Leaders at the helm of TiVo, Evolution
Digital and Rovi, these trailblazers all
work to improve the customer experience.
TiVo is no longer just a DVR
box; it's now a leader in advanced TV
entertainment for the cable industry.
In the past year, Rogers has grown
TiVo's MSO revenue by 40 percent
and counts 20 of the top 25 global
MVPDs as partners. He also oversaw
the integrations of Neflix into cable
boxes, ending the year with 11 such
integrations in the U.S. At Evolution
Digital, Smith brought the hybrid
set-top box to the U.S. market, created
strategic partnerships with TiVo and
Rovi, and he has developed more than
14 new product concepts, which led
to successful deployments in seven
major countries in the past few years.
Carson has seen Rovi secure major
international deals with América Móvil,
LG Electronics, Microsoft, and Yahoo!;
acquire companies Veveo and Fanhattan;
and with its expansive metadata
archive attain a reach of 70 countries.
Rogers
I watch most programming on
this device: TiVo
I wish Congress would just...
go back to the way it was in the '80s.
Favorite Cable Show memory:
The launch of CNBC on April 17,
1989
Favorite vacation spot: Home
Who's on tap for the next big
comeback? Jay Leno
Desert island album: Anything
Van Morrison
84. SPREADING THE WEALTH
Bob Broussard
Title: President, Distribution,
AMC Networks
Years in Cable: 26
Education: Queens
College; JD, the New York
University School of Law
Arlene Manos
Title: President, National Advertising Sales
Years in Cable: 22
Education: College, Trinity College
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Favorite TV show as a kid:
" Leave It To Beaver "
My favorite business/
motivational book:
Who Moved My Cheese?
Smith
I watch most programming
on this device: Mostly my iPad
Mini, on an airplane, watching
downloaded video content from
Xfinity and my TiVo
The biggest innovation in
cable over the last year:
That's easy. A " Cablecard-less "
Hybrid QAM/IP set-top made
by Evolution Digital, that can
descramble all cable TV channels,
as well as receive OTT and TV
Everywhere content over IP. It has
an advanced user interface that
can universally search all content,
allowing the subscriber to access all
his video content on a single device,
regardless of whether it is directly
from the cable operator, or over the
Internet. (I may be slightly biased!)
Should the industry embrace or
reject " virtual MSOs " and why?
Provided the virtual MSO's are not
given preferential treatment by the
FCC to access to the broadband
pipe, I think they should be allowed
into the market. Consumers are
asking for choice in how they access
video content, and from whom. I
am confident that the cable industry
can more than compete with virtual
MSOs. Perhaps when consumers
start to see the pricing options
Without the distribution and sales efforts of
Broussard and Manos, some " The Walking Dead "
and " Portlandia " fans might be very unhappy.
Broussard oversees multiplatform distribution of
all AMC brands, which now include BBC America
and BBC World News after he led the charge to
acquire the channels. Manos continues to drive
record sales, seeing a 15 percent overall upfront
growth for AMC networks last year. Instead of relying
solely on the popularity of the programming,
Manos looks for integrated marketing opportunities
that involve viewers, like the partnership
between " Talking Dead " and Skype, or WEtv's
Princess Cruises Watch-and-Win sweepstakes.
May 2015
from these vMSOs, and experience
inconsistent video quality for HD and
4K video, due to the fact it is being
delivered over an unmanaged internet
connection, they may realize that
cable does provide value for money.
Apple iWatch or Rolex? Neither,
it's just one more thing I would
have to take off going through
airport security.
Favorite Cable Show memory: It
was at the Western Cable Show in
Anaheim in the mid 80's. I saw a demo
of digitally compressed video and
thought it was the coolest thing ever.
Who's on tap for the next big
comeback? Elvis. I heard someone
saw him at a gas station, so it is
only a matter of time before he is
headlining in Branson, MO.
Favorite TV show as a kid? " Hockey
Night in Canada. " I am Canadian,
so it was mandatory viewing. ■
Manos
I watch most
programming
on this device: TV
Apple iWatch or
Rolex? Rolex
Favorite Cable
Show memory:
Kodak Carousel from
" Mad Men "
Favorite vacation spot:
Symi, Greece
My favorite business/motivational book:
Anything by Atul Gawande ■
Cablefax: The Magazine
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Cablefax The Magazine - May 2015

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