Stephen Friedman & Chris McCarthy
Stephen Friedman
Title: President, MTV and Logo
Years in Cable: 17
Education: Wesleyan University
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: Do well by doing good.
Chris McCarthy
Title: GM, MTV2, Logo TV and mtvU
Years in Cable: 10
Education: BS, Commerce and Engineering, Drexel University; MBA, The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania
Best Advice in 7 Words or Less: Dream big, then believe you can.
While Friedman continues to build on MTV’s legacy as a pop culture touchstone, he has also brought his reputation for creating socially and culturally relevant programming — like the acclaimed documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word”—to MTV2 and Logo. As the head of MTV2, Logo and mtvU, McCarthy has struck a deal to bring former “Doctor Who” showrunner Russell T. Davies’ dramas “Cucumber” and “Banana” across the pond as part of Logo’s burgeoning scripted fare. Like Friedman, McCarthy pursues programming that doesn’t shy away from addressing cultural and social issues.
I watch most programming on this device: TV. But I have three in my office that are tuned to MTV, Logo and MTV2 all day long, so it’s not much of a contest.
The day we get multiplatform measurement is the day I… will finally get a complete and honest accounting of how our audiences are watching our shows.
If I could interrupt Kanye West just once, I would tell him… thank you for interrupting the VMAs! That was the watershed moment in proving how social media could amplify TV. Perfect Kanye – pushing forward the conversation without even trying.
Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat? Twitter. You won’t find me tweeting anytime soon, but as a news feed and real-time indicator of audience sentiment, it’s invaluable.
Desert island album: Far by Regina Spektor
McCarthy
The biggest innovation in cable over the last year: Putting more power in the consumers’ hands with additional platforms.
If I had a show on YouTube it would be called: “New York City at 4 a.m.” It would chronicle all the crazy things I see walking my dog each morning. You truly see a different side of New York: the best, the worst and everything in between.
Favorite motivational book: The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. It’s changed the way I live and the way I work.
If my office produced a viral video, the background music would be: “Victory Lap,” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
