29 RURAL PIONEER
By | June 1, 2013
Robert Gessner
Title: President, MCTV
Number of Years in Cable: 34
Education: B.A., College of William and Mary
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: Work hard and work smart.
Why Him? Gessner’s tireless work to make TV Everywhere more accessible for small- and mid-sized operators not only ensured that rural areas could access the TVE benefits of the Olympics—but increasingly all the benefits that have followed. He was also one of the first operators to launch the whole house gateway product. As ACA vice chairman, Gessner also works on policy matters and helps facilitate engagement with lawmakers in D.C.
Appetizer or dessert? Take both and skip the entree.
Apple or Samsung? Apple, I guess.
Beatles or The Rolling Stones? Beatles
On a Saturday afternoon, you can find me… hiking with the dog.
Appetizer or dessert? Take both and skip the entree.
Most embarrassing moment? Very loudly stating the wrong name during my daughter’s christening.
Favorite airport? Home
The movie that should never be remade? Casablanca
I watch the majority of programming on this device: TV
Netflix or Hulu? Neither
Celebrity, sports figure or politician I’d most want to have dinner with? Thomas Jefferson
Celebrity, sports figure or politician I’d most NOT want to have dinner with? Any sports figure
I wish Congress would just… resolve their inability to work together. To paraphrase Mark Twain: “They all complain about partisanship, but nobody does anything about it.”
Favorite vacation spot? The next one
The biggest innovation in cable over the last year: A well-designed, affordable whole home TV platform