Melinda Witmer

Years in Cable: 20
Education: BS, U. of Arizona; JD, U. of Pennsylvania Law School
Best Advice: Character is everything.

Witmer’s crusade for digital rights ownership came to a head last year in a heated battle with CBS. While fees went up, Witmer ultimately got the rights she wanted, and then some. Known across the industry as a tenacious dealmaker, we can expect to see her continue to dig her heels in against increasingly high programming costs.

I watch the majority of programming on this device: Cable box. Channel surfing remains the domain of cable and Caller ID on TV works on my cable box! How else would you know the solar panel salesman is calling for the 50th time?!

The biggest innovation in cable over the last year: Better navigation and “smart” applications. Cable is a great value, and giving consumers better ways to find the depth and breadth of content that cable provides drives home the incredible value proposition better and better.

TV show I’d most like to have a cameo in: “Undercover Boss”

Cable exec I’d most like to see twerking: Not a one

Cable exec I’d least like to see twerking: All of them, but least of all myself

I wish Congress would just: Get over it and get on with it

My favorite newfound hobby: Playing catch with my husky puppy, Minka. She is tireless and you can’t stress about anything while throwing a slimy chew toy over and over.

The technology that will most benefit from cable over the next year is: Ongoing power of digital cable. Better navigation. Better content. Growing and improving On Demand offerings. Bring the app world into the digital cable world.

Favorite Cable Show memory: At my first Cable Show, it was my job to hand out chocolate chip cookies at the HBO booth.

Justin Bieber or Miley: Well, I was known to teepee a house or two in my youth, so I guess throwing eggs with Bieber would be more up my alley than twerking with Miley.

Oscars or Grammys: Grammys. Love the music and a whole lot less stress and hype.

The day we get multiplatform measurement is the day… We stop calling it “multiplatform.”