Cablefax The Magazine - November 2016 - 20

More of the Most Powerful Women in Cable 2016
Kerry Brockhage
its content distributors. Under her leadership, the
Fox Networks distribution marketing team earned
numerous Promax/BDA Awards and CTAM Mark
Awards. Along with a hectic work schedule, Bigalow
makes time to volunteer at her children's school. She
looks no further than her own network to cite an example
of ground-breaking programming for women.
" I am really proud of Fox's new show, 'Pitch,' for
breaking gender barriers and creating a story about
the fi rst female pitcher in the MLB, " Bigalow says.
Maria Brennan
President & CEO
WICT
This year, under
Brennan's leadership,
WICT developed and
implemented a forwardthinking
strategic plan to
help the organization evolve with the ever-changing
industry. She's vocal about the power gender diversity-as
well as diversity in general-can bring to
any business, but especially to the cable industry.
Brennan also welcomed a new Pittsburgh chapter,
WICT's twenty-fi rst, earlier this year. " Fortunately
today, and in large part thanks to cable programming,
there are too many favorite female characters
to name them all, " she says. " I appreciate
women's roles that are multi-faceted-a refl ection
of the full range of women in society. "
Sherry Brennan
SVP, Distribution
Fox Networks
Brennan helps analyze
revenue opportunities
across a wide range of
potential acquisitions
including networks,
sports content and company investments. Additionally,
she produced many reports and summaries to
help educate senior management on the topic of
changes in video consumption, tech developments
and emerging second screen experiences. She has
the ability to translate complicated technical concepts
into " layman's terms. " Brennan is happy to see
strong female characters on FX's " American Horror
Story " and NBC's " This Is Us " but, she says, " My
favorite women on TV have to be the cast of 'Call the
Midwife' [on PBS]. "
SVP & Chief Counsel,
Content Distribution
NBCUniversal
Brockhage's team
shapes the legal strategy
for linear and digital
distribution for NBC and
Telemundo-owned stations, a portfolio of 14 cable
networks, and regional sports networks including
CSN Bay Area, CSN Chicago, CSN New England
and CSN Philadelphia. Her team negotiates and
structures complex distribution agreements-including
for the recent 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games,
which included a robust TVE offering enhanced by
digital distributors such as Snapchat-while ensuring
compliance with regulatory conditions. In the
coming year Brockhage will support the company's
developing emerging platform strategies and deal
making, with a particular focus on broader reach for
the company's short-form content and mobile-fi rst
programming.
Elaine Frontain Bryant
EVP & Head of
Programming
A&E
Bryant was promoted
to her current post less
than two years ago from
her previous role as SVP,
programming & development for History, and already
A&E is benefi ting big-time from her programming
prowess in developing buzzy shows in both the scripted
and unscripted arenas. She's building up the network's
scripted coffers with new shows including dramatic
miniseries " Frankenstein Chronicles, " and unscripted
content including the series " 60 Days In, " a breakout
hit for the network this year. In fact, Bryant thinks crime
programming is one of the biggest stories in cable this
year. " Trailblazing series like the classic 'The First 48'
still rate today and our newest addition, '60 Days In' has
really connected with a large audience, " she says.
Sarah Bryant
SVP, Finance &
Administration.
Central Division
Comcast
Since joining Comcast
Cable's Central Division,
Bryant has partnered
across the divisions and regions to ensure all levers
are being pulled to deliver the budget units, cash
fl ow and capital spend, and the maximum return
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November 2016
Cablefax: The Magazine
on investment. She credits her successful career to
having a great desire to learn and a strong curiosity.
Bryant feels that in starting any new role it's
important to be able to ask questions, understand
what other team members are thinking, and use that
feedback to set goals for the team. Through WICT
and on her own, she is actively involved in mentoring
others in the cable industry.
Karen Buchholz
SVP, Administration
Comcast Corp.
Buchholz is one of the
most senior executive
women at Comcast. As
an offi cer of the company,
she's responsible
for leading a variety of corporate responsibilities
including real estate, facilities, aviation, diversity,
political affairs, corporate services, travel, business
continuity and security. She is the executive in
charge of development of Comcast's new Innovation
and Technology Center, a sustainable $1.5 billion,
60-story building to house Comcast's technologists,
engineers and software architects in Philadelphia.
She's received numerous awards throughout her
career, including the 2015 Champion for Girls award
from Girls Inc.
Vera Buzanello
EVP & GM, Discovery
Networks Iberia
Discovery
Communications
Recently promoted
to her current post,
Buzanello is responsible
for Discovery networks in Spain and Portugal. In
just four months of leadership, the Spanish team
achieved full distribution of its portfolio with pay
TV providers and launched a new FTA channel with
a key partner in the market. She also leads the
integration of Eurosport in the Iberian market and the
launch of Eurosport 2 Xtra as a premium network on
all affi liates across the Portuguese region. Although
she's proud to say 49 percent of women working at
Discovery hold management positions, " Two aspects
that society must continue working on are gender
salary equalization and women's access to management
positions. "
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Cablefax The Magazine - November 2016

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