Paul Buccieri, Jana Bennett, Dirk Hoogstra & Rob Sharenow

Jana Bennett
Title: President, FYI and Lifetime Movie Network
Years in Cable:  5 in cable, many more in broadcast media
Education: Oxford University and London School of Economics
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: Don’t be afraid to reinvent—yourself, the business

Paul Buccieri
Title: President, A&E and History
Years in Cable: 20+
Education: California State University of Northridge
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: “Don’t confuse activity for achievement.” – John Wooden

Dirk Hoogstra
Title: EVP & GM, History & H2
Years in Cable: 20
Education: BA, Psychology
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: There are no rules.

Rob Sharenow
Title: EVP & GM; A&E and Lifetime
Years in Cable: 15
Education: BA, Brandeis University; MA (American Studies), NYU
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: Don’t aspire to be good. Aim higher.

Together these network heads have led A+E Networks into the new era of multiplatform content creation. Buccieri is new at the helm of A&E and History since January, after a stint ITV Studios, and brings with him strong relationships with top producers, writers and directors. Bennett is behind the rebrand of Bio Channel to FYI, a transformation that has brought ratings increases of 9 percent with A25-54 and 8 percent with A18-49 during its initial six months. Hoogstra keeps History a top network among men for non-sports programming—with loads of original programming in the pipeline—and, under his watch, H2 has nearly doubled its ratings after its rebrand. Expect more quality scripted programming from the net, following the success of “Houdini” and “Sons of Liberty.” Longtime Lifetimer Sharenow recently took on content creation for A&E as well as Lifetime. At the latter, he’s responsible for many successes, including solidifying the net as the No. 5 basic cable network among women 18-49, ushering in more original content than ever, and growing original movies’ ratings by double digits in all key demos.

Bennett
The day we get multiplatform measurement is the day I… crack open the bubbly.
Apple iWatch or Rolex? Depends on who’s paying….
Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat? Instagram – I am a visual person.
My favorite newfound hobby: Instagram food porn
If Disney hired me to reboot “Star Wars” I would… ask the Jedi masters to really get back into training more than Luke Skywalker.
If my office produced a viral video, the background music would be… something emotional – Sinatra, or Ed Sheeran, anyone?
Which character would I most want to double-cross me on “Game of Thrones” and why? Khaleesi, because who wouldn’t want to be betrayed by the mother of Dragons?

Buccieri
If I had a show on YouTube it would be called… “Monetize Me”
The day we get multiplatform measurement is the day I… celebrate.
Apple iWatch or Rolex? Neither
My favorite newfound hobby: Pining for the L.A. weather I left behind
The last time I had a good laugh was… when I looked at the weather forecast for N.Y. on April 1.

Hoogstra
If I had a show on YouTube it would be called… “Falling Cats.”
Apple iWatch or Rolex? Bell & Ross
Desert island album: Frank Black
My favorite business/motivational book: Desperate Networks

Sharenow
If Disney hired me to reboot “Star Wars” I would… immediately hire J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, and hide the Jar Jar Binks prosthetics.
Which character would I most want to double-cross me on “Game of Thrones” and why? A very difficult question. But I guess I would prefer to be eaten by one of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons. Death by dragon would likely be quicker and less psychologically painful than being double-crossed by some of “Game of Thrones’” human characters.
Who’s on tap for the next big comeback? The character Damien from “The Omen.” I just have a feeling about that one.
Favorite TV show as a kid: A multi-way tie between “Twilight Zone,” “Saturday Night Live,” “M*A*S*H,” “Gilligan’s Island,” “Hill Street Blues,” “Lost in Space,” “Star Trek,” “Mary Tyler Moore,” “The Carol Burnett Show,” “What’s Happening!!,” “Eight is Enough,” “WKRP in Cincinnati,” “Cheers,” “Love Boat,” “Fantasy Island,” “The Krofft Supershow,” Bugs Bunny/Warner Bros. cartoons, “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “Grizzly Adams” and “Happy Days” (and I’m sure I’m forgetting some). I was a total TV junkie.