The CableFAX 100—The Greatest Hits of 2008
Thank you for spending some time with the 2008 edition of The CableFAX 100.
As in the past, we’ve ranked the top 100 players in cable. Unlike previous years, this list has only 100 or so names on it, a drop of more than 150 names from the 2007 list.
This year’s rankings were based on several factors. Some, like ratings, revenue, stock price, carriage and subscriber numbers and length of industry service are quantifiable. To a lesser extent we also considered intangibles, like industry wide image, prestige, whether a person appears regularly at industry trade events. I won’t deny that buzz also played a role in shaping our list.
Some of the people on the 100 list were nominated by their colleagues, others were put forward by our editors.
A few new wrinkles in this year’s 100 edition. For the first time we have compiled a ranked list of regional power players. A list of people in cable but who also transcend it are included in a list we call Above It All. To help you learn about the 100 as people, we’ve also included details about their education and the answers to a series of somewhat personal questions.
Whether or not you agree with our rankings or our predictions for the year ahead attached to nearly all the 100 entries, we hope you learn something useful about the business of cable and the people in it by reading this magazine. As always, we encourage your feedback on its contents.
Seth Arenstein
Editor
View the electronic edition of the 2008 CableFAX 100 issue.
Above It All
Paul Allen
Gregory Q. Brown
John Chambers
Charles Dolan
James Dolan
John Hendricks
Bob Iger
James Cox Kennedy
Greg Maffei
Dr. John Malone
Les Moonves
Rupert Murdoch
Sumner Redstone
Brian Roberts
Jeff Zucker
The CableFAX 100
1. Smooth Operator
Steve Burke
2. Jocks ‘n’ Rock
George Bodenheimer, Anne Sweeney
3. Flash Dance Not
Glenn Britt
4. Roto Tom
Tom Rutledge
5. Pet Rock
Phil Kent
6. Rock Steady
Pat Esser
7. Pop Rock
Tony Vinciquerra
8. Peacock Rocks
Jeff Gaspin
9. The Zas
David Zaslav
10. Rockin’ the Bar
Steve Koonin
11. Hammer Time
Bonnie Hammer
12. Right On
Roger Ailes
13. Woof-Woof
Matt Blank
14. McBrand Maven
Judy McGrath
15. Gone Shopping
Richard Plepler
16. Profits’ Prophet
Jim Walton
17. Interventionist
Abbe Raven
18. Life Saver
Andrea Wong
19. Child’s Play
Cyma Zarghami
20. Undamaged
John Landgraf
21. The Nurse Is In
Robert Greenblatt
22. Mr Ubiquity
Sean Bratches
23. A Fox Again
Rich Battista
24. Shake and Bake
Bridget Baker
25. Positive Art
Josh Sapan
26. Dollar Bill
Bill Goodwyn
27. Musical Man
Rich Ross
28. Comeback Kid
Rocco Commisso
29. Insightful
Michael Willner
30. Lady of the Times
Lauren Zalaznick
31. Family Affair
Nomi Bergman, Bob Miron, Steve Miron
32. Building Growth
Jerry Kent
33. Mighty Might
Tom Might
34. It Takes a Seal
Neil Smit
35. Sporting Life
David Levy
36. Obama’s Coattails
Doug Herzog
37. Brand Changers
Bob DeBitetto and Nancy Dubuc
38. Mad Mentor
Ed Carroll
39. The Ring-Masters
Vince and Linda McMahon
40. Cable’s Futurist
Dick Green
41. Trekkie
David Howe
42. Contrarian
Paul Lee
43. Classy Clown
Michele Ganeless
44. Cable’s Hill Water Carrier
Kyle McSlarrow
45. Quiet Class
Bill Bresnan
46. What, Me Worry?
Charlie Collier
47. Billions of Pixels
Mark Cuban
48. Fence-Mender
John Ford
49. Queen of New Orleans
Debra Lee
50. Taste Maker
John Lansing
51. We’re Flexible
Mike Hopkins
52. The Negotiator
Melinda Witmer
53. That’s Power
Madison Bond
54. Compassionate Competitor
Colleen Abdoulah
55. Demo Hunter
Dave Cassaro
56. Stream Team Captain
Dave Juliano
57. Operator’s Operator
Landel Hobbs
58. Trifecta
Henry Schleiff
59. Shelling Out High Def
Jeff Shell
60. Brand Warrior
Sam Howe
61. Joe the Bundler
Joe Rooney
62. Measured Insight
Dinni Jain
63. Green T(LC)
Eileen O’Neill
64. Recipe for Success
Brooke Johnson
65. The Dean
Joe Abruzzese
66. With the Bandwidth
Bob Wilson
67. The Closer
Brian Deevy
68. Trial by Fire
Kathryn Zachem
69. HD Be Free
Mac Budill
70. Hill People
Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain
71. Politic
Johnathan Rodgers
72. The Incubator
Gary Marsh
73. Play Caller
John Skipper
74. Cohencastic
David Cohen
75. Marc’d Improvement
Marc Juris
76. Nostalgic No Longer
Larry Jones
77. The Entertainer
Ted Harbert
78. HD Dog
Steve Schiffman
79. Weather or Not
Debora Wilson
80. The Savior
David Verklin
81. Bridal Sweet
Kim Martin
82. Frei’s Guy
Garth Ancier
83. Independent’s Day
Evan Shapiro
84. Consummate Traveler
Patrick Younge
85. Brian’s Wrong
Steve Bornstein
86. Mind Reader
Susan Whiting
87. Travel Guide
Ryan O’Hara
88. Hired Gun
Tonia O’Connor
89. Programming’s Dean
Patty McCaskill
90. Living the Lifestyle
Susan Packard
91. The Fisher Queen
Denise Conroy-Galley
92. Serious Shopper
Michael George
93. Racing Ahead
Marc Fein
94. Man in Demand
Rob Jacobson
95. Crash Tester
Robert Clasen
96. Mr Persistence
Steve Friedman
97. Ace & Arts
Ken Solomon
98. Paddling the Canoe
David Zagin
99. Sky Pilot
Tom Mohler
100. Retired, Not Retiring
Brad Knight
The Regional 25
1. Randy Freer
2. Jon Litner
3. Tracy Dolgin, Ray Hopkins
4. Steve Raab
5. Patrick Knorr
6. Barry Rosenblum
7. Mark Silverman
8. Pete Cirelli, Josh Jamison
9. Steve Weed
10. William Bridgen
11. Scott Binder
12. Carol Hevey, Stephen Pagano
13. Mike Bair
14. Curt Henninger
15. Fred Lutz
16. Ted Griggs
17. Amy Tykeson
18. Jon Gorchow
19. Gary McCollum, Janet Barnard
20. Jim Liberatore
21. Steve Friedman
22. Elliott Wiser
23. Laurie Giammona
24. Joan Gundlach
25. Mary McConnell