Cablefax The Magazine - December 2010 - 10

5|George Bodenheimer
MIGHTY MICE
6|David Zaslav
ZAS GOOD
Title: Co-Chair, Disney Media Nets; CoChair/
Pres, ESPN and ABC Sports
Number of Years in Cable: 29
Education: Denison U
I Watch TV Mostly: Live
Anne Sweeney
Title: Co-Chair, Disney Media Nets; Pres,
Disney-ABC Television Group
Number of Years in Cable: 29
Education: BA, The College of New Rochelle; Ed. M., Harvard
I Watch TV Mostly: On TV, with a healthy dose of online (via computer
and iPad).
Why Them? Besides helping forge high-profi le distribution deals with
Cablevision and Time Warner Cable in '10, Sweeney's vision for increasing
exposure of content through multiplatform initiatives has borne fruit. Apple
TV now carries some ABC content, while Time Warner Cable, Cablevision
and Insight launched fresh on demand ABC content this year; TWC even
added a special transactional VOD service for select ABC programming.
Overseeing a dominant global sports empire with 5K+ employees, the humble
Bodenheimer must be credited for a raft of successes and innovations.
ESPN launched cable's 1st 3D channel in June, smartly tied to the rollout
of its World Cup coverage for a heavy marketing, er... kick. Soccer viewing
exploded, just weeks after ESPN scored TV rights to ACC football and men's
and women's basketball to augment a long-term rights slate that includes
the SEC, Big Ten and Big East. He was ranked 32 in Vanity Fair's 100 Most
Infl uential People of the Information Age.
The Year Ahead: You never bet against ESPN and broadcast's ad
recovery, and ABC's deft delivery of content across platforms bode well
for Sweeney's future.
Bodenheimer
3DTV Is: An exciting new business opportunity for our company and
the industry.
What Should Cable Do To Improve Its Image With the Public? Continue
to communicate the true value proposition cable offers.
It's hard to fi nd a better deal in entertainment.
In '11, Cable Will: Continue to improve its multi-platform
presence and with it enhance the value of our products
for consumers.
Sweeney
On Your iPad: My most used apps: ABC Player
app, London Tube, Kindle, Talking Tom, ABC News
and Flipboard
In '11, Cable Will: Be even stronger.
Best Business Advice: Find the best people,
give them a mission and resources to achieve it
and then stay out of their way and let them do
what you hired them to do. Also, pay attention
to your customers, every minute, every day.
10
cablefaxmag.com
December 2010
CableFAX: The Magazine
Title: President/CEO, Discovery Comm
Number of Years in Cable: 21
Education: BS, SUNY, Binghamton; JD,
Boston U Law
I Watch TV Mostly: Live. The TV is always on.
Why Him? On the heels of delivering Discovery's
best fi nancial and ratings performance
in history and celebrating Discovery Channel's
25th year, Zaslav fi nally will begin to
see fruit from a partnership with the world's
most powerful woman. OWN is scheduled to
see the light in January with 80mln homes.
Zaslav's also overseeing the launch of one
of the fi rst 3D cable networks in Discovery's
joint venture with Sony and Imax in '11. Another
move on the JV front is the summer '10
launch of kids network The Hub in partnership
with Hasbro. Plus, Zas has the best cuffl
inks in cable and lives in the $25mln Central
Park W digs he bought from Conan.
International Waters: Just as Zaslav has
looked for partnerships to shepherd growth in
the US, he's pushed Discovery into international
waters - business abroad is growing at
four times compared to three years ago.
The Year Ahead: Oprah. Enough said.
In '11, Cable Will: Continue to take market
share from broadcast...
Best Business Book: Winning by Jack Welch
Best Business Advice: Take big swings.
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Cablefax The Magazine - December 2010

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