39 | COOL STYLINGS
Frances Berwick
Title: President, Bravo & Style Media
Years in Cable: 16
Education: MA, Modern Languages, Edinburgh University
Best Advice: Surround yourself with smart people.
Why Her? Within a month of adding Style Media to Berwick’s Bravo purview, the network scored its highest launch ever with summer breakout series “Tia & Tamera.” After viewership catapulted 750,000 to 920,000 in one week, the twin-power reality strip has already been renewed. While “T&T” was obviously in development before her promotion, Berwick’s record at Bravo signals more success for Style: After Bravo earned a fifth consecutive record-breaking year in 2010, it rallied with its best 1Q and 2Q ever in 2011, with 23 consecutive quarters of year-over-year viewer growth, according to the company. Berwick increased programming by 21%, adding five nights of original programming in 2010, with an additional 10% in 2011 and a 26% increase slated for 2012. Meanwhile, Bravo scooped up five Emmy nominations this year, including four for “Top Chef.”
Living The Life: Bravo lifestyle branding is thriving with three “Top Chef” cookbooks (two on The New York Times best seller list), a “Real Housewives” franchise book and such consumer extensions as Fashion by Bravo clothing, wine and frozen foods. More opportunities to come with 2012 series “Around the World in 80 Plates” “Shahs of Sunset” “Interior Therapy with Jeff Lewis,” “It’s a Brad Brad World” and “Gallery Girls.”
Biggest innovation in cable over the last year: Social TV and transmedia, engaging passionate viewers around programming and creating a virtuous circle of viewing and connecting across different platforms… The appetite among our audience to have this deeper connection keeps growing, as witnessed by the success of our in-show Facebook credits game, Turtle Time and our “Top Chef” transmedia initiative “Last Chance Kitchen,” where we continue the competition online for eliminated chefs, giving them the ability to get back into the televised competition.
Favorite business and/or motivational book: Being Strategic and Growing Great Employees, Erika Andersen
Guilty TV pleasure: “House Hunters”
When I look at my cable set-top box, I can’t help but think: It’ll be the size of an iPad soon.
If I invented my own app it would: Be the one-hour-more-in-the-day app. ?
