CableFAX: 53. That’s Power: Madison Bond
Madison Bond
Title: EVP, Content Acquisition, Comcast
Last Year: #15
Age: 46
Education: U of Denver, BS, BA, Marketing and Finance; U of Colorado, JD
Why Him? The chief gatekeeper at the top MSO — that’s power. One expression of this might is his enabling Comcast to acquire and offer more than 1K HD programs. His goal is to offer more than 3K HD movies on VOD. His deal with MGM for an exclusive action-adventure channel and with Warner Bros Pictures for exclusive Batman content based on The Dark Knight are merely steps toward that goal. Comcast passed 7bln VOD views earlier this year, with an average of 275mln VOD picks/month (100 picks/second).
Worth Watching: Comcast is moving further into interactive services through a deal with Intel to deploy the Widget Channel framework starting in ’09.
Year Ahead:
Comcast is the top dog and will remain so. Still, remaining flat will be a victory.
Favorite Food: Oysters on the half shell
Drink of Choice: Gin gimlet
Favorite TV Show: Mad Men
Last Book Read: The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
Cable’s Biggest Challenge: Competition
Least Favorite Phrase: That will take 18 months
Trait I Most Admire in People: Optimism
KF