Cablefax The Magazine - November 2016 - 40

More of the Most Powerful Women in Cable 2016
Tracy Pitcher
E!'s " The Arrangement, " Bravo's " My So Called
Wife, " and Syfy's " Incorporated. " She also sealed
deals with improv and sketch comedy troupe
Upright Citizen's Brigade, producers Charlie Ebersol
and Andy Parker, and former USA executive Jackie
de Crinis.
Connie Orlando
SVP, Specials, Music
& News
BET Networks
With Orlando leading
music programming and
news at BET Networks,
the BET Awards in 2016
saw a 16 percent increase in ratings year-over-year,
reaching a total of 22 million viewers. It's ranked as
the No. 1 awards show among African Americans
18-49-and has been for 15 consecutive years.
She's also behind the " BET Truth Series, " a group of
original documentaries including " Katrina 10 Years
Later " and " Muhammad Ali: The People's Champ, "
which won a NAACP award. In the coming year,
she'll focus on tent-pole events such as the Soul
Train Awards and The Hip Hop Awards, and will lead
the news team on an investigative documentary on
race and justice.
Tina Pidgeon
Strategic Leader for
Legal, Regulatory,
Compliance &
Policy Initiatives
GCI
Along with leading
a department that is
responsible for the formulation and implementation
of GCI's legal, regulatory and advocacy efforts,
Pidgeon manages all contract negotiations and
dispute resolutions for the Alaska-based company.
During the past 12 months, she's been instrumental
in seizing opportunities that help further GCI's brand
in the community, including the launch of a new
partnership with the Alaska Community Foundation
that's focused on suicide prevention. The only
female member within GCI's eight-person executive
team, Pidgeon sets an example for all employees
but especially her female co-workers. She created
the GCI Women's Network (GWeN), a forum for peerto-peer
networking, training and discussion for GCI
employees.
Michelle Rice
SVP, Greater Boston
Region
Comcast Cable
Pitcher's accomplishments
since becoming SVP of
the Greater Boston Region
include increased Internet
speeds for Triple Play and Blast, introducing cloudbased
video recording for Xfi nity Home Customers and
launched Tech ETA. Additionally, Pitcher has been the
fi rst regional leader in the company to add a Diversity
and Inclusion VP to her team. She believes listening,
mutual trust and complete confi dentiality are the greatest
qualities of a mentor and brings those beliefs to her
volunteer roles as a board member of the Manchester
NY Boys and Girls Club and the Massachusetts Business
Round Table.
Jill Ratner
EVP, Litigation
Fox Entertainment
Group
Ratner has been a critical
contributor to Fox's television
business strategy, and
she was promoted to her
current position this May. In her new role, she leads the
general litigation team, which oversees litigation and
claims across the Fox companies. In addition to her legal
skills, Ratner has a long history of civic involvement
and continues to serve as a community leader and role
model. She doesn't have to look far when asked to cite
a program that represents strong women. " My favorite
show is FX's 'The Americans' and I think the women's
roles are extraordinary, " Ratner says.
Jane Rice
SVP, Distribution,
Field Sales
A+E Networks
Her ability to stay ahead
of the curve as the
business continues to
advance at lightning
speed is one key to Rice's success driving revenue
and distribution for A+E Networks' portfolio. She's
been adept at managing complex negotiations and
creating new ways to monetize A+E's content over
the long term, including fi nding new avenues in
the mobile and OTT realms. And she also has built
a cutting-edge distribution team with her natural
affi nity for people and her creation of a cooperative
environment.
Adria Alpert Romm
Chief Human
Resources & Global
Diversity Officer
Discovery
Communications
Romm is responsible for
the acquisition, retention,
management and professional well-being of
a global workforce of more than 7,000 employees.
A longtime adviser of Discovery chief David Zaslav,
Romm is committed to providing benefi ts for employees
that go beyond what's traditionally offered,
from the existence of onsite primary care facilities
in four major offi ces, an onsite daycare center at
Discovery's global headquarters and a global 24/7
counseling and support hotline. When asked which
40
cablefaxmag.com
November 2016
Cablefax: The Magazine
Kristen Roberts
EVP, Pricing, Planning
& Revenue
Management
Crown Media Family
Networks
Strategic analysis and
management of all revenue
streams for Crown, including ad sales, digital and
distribution all fall under Roberts' purview as she works
alongside the fellow senior managers to ensure its rocksolid
infrastructure. Each year, Roberts is instrumental
throughout upfront and scatter negotiations, providing
valuable insight to the senior team. It's no surprise she
loves her spreadsheets, but the fact that she also possesses
a great talent for working with people makes her
an invaluable team player.
EVP, Content
Distribution and
Marketing
TV One
Rice is always busy negotiating,
and has closed
several major renewal
deals with some of TV One's largest distributors including
AT&T, Comcast, Charter (TWC/BHN) and Verizon. Her
efforts directly led to getting TV One into several key
African American markets, solidifying it as a one of the
industry's top-growing networks during a year where
many others are seeing negative growth. Rice sees
plenty of positive female role models on TV now-and
behind the scenes, too. " A stand out for me is 'Pitch' for
its strong female lead character and Fox's courage to
put out a family-friendly show that could have tremendous
positive infl uence on young girls. "
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