Spotlight on the CableFAX 100—CBS Sports Net's Bob Rose
By | May 2, 2012
Bob Rose
EDITOR’S NOTE: We continue to spotlight our 2011 CableFAX 100 honorees, who were featured in a special issue of CableFAX: The Magazine published in Dec. 2011. Here is an excerpt from #95.
Title: EVP Distribution, CBS Sports Network
Years in Cable: Half my life
Education: BA Journalism/Communications, University of Wisconsin
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: Sleep with your Blackberry or iPhone.
Favorite meal I can also prepare myself: Saturday morning breakfast: crisp bacon, cheddar cheese eggs, 7-grain toast… works for dinner, too
Favorite “going out” town: New Orleans, hands down (I’m glad my daughter chose Tulane)
One thing I tell my kids about success in life: Be forward-looking and imaginative.
Worst thing I’ve heard in a meeting: I was relentless in my effort to get a launch. To shut me up, the client said, “Bob, my dog just died.”
Acts I would actually pay to see live: U2, Coldplay, Springsteen, Linkin Park
Favorite business and/or motivational book: “Outliers,” “The Story of Success,” Malcolm Gladwell
Favorite sports team: Cleveland Browns (I’m stupidly loyal)
Favorite iPad app: New York Times. I’m not a tree hugger, but come on…
This incident from my youth taught me an important lesson: Adversity makes us stronger. After a family divorce in first grade, I was ending my first week of second grade, pulled off the school bus and asked to go to the principal’s office. Mrs. Van Deusen told me I was being sent back to repeat first grade. I guess it was a lack of focus due to issues at home. I was humiliated, confused and my confidence was shot. I felt like a complete failure; after all, I didn’t pass first grade. Over time, I must have used the setback as a tool to never lose focus. To this day, I utterly fear failure. Five years later, when I was selected by my sixth grade teacher to run for school president, the dots of life connected for me. I had actually become a popular kid, leader and my confidence was soaring. I should have won that election, but they rejected a great marketing tactic… that’s a story for the next CableFAX 100.
When I look at my cable set-top box, I can’t help but think: Why are HD channels located in the 700s? Pressing three different digits on the remote control is difficult. I rarely get it done on the first try. ?
