Tom Montemagno, Lisa Rosenblum, Robert Sullivan & Ben Tatta

Tom Montemagno

Title: EVP, Programming, Cablevison

Years in Cable: 27

Education: St. John’s University

One Word that Best Describes Me: Genuine

Lisa Rosenblum

Title: EVP, Government and Public Affairs, Cablevision

Years in Cable: 20

Education: JD, the Connecticut School of Law; BA, cum laude, Yale University

Robert Sullivan

Title: EVP, Sales & Marketing, Cablevision

Years in Cable: 34

Education: BA, Wesleyan University

One Word that Best Describes Me: True

Ben Tatta

Title: President, Cablevision Media Sales

Years in Cable: 15+ years

Education: BA, Economics, Villanova University

One Word that Best Describes Me: Passionate

Montemagno’s negotiating achievements in the last year include groundbreaking partnerships with HBO NOW, Hulu, CBS All Access and Showtime—as well as new, cheaper packages for those wanting more flexibility. As the company’s sales, marketing and branding lead, Sullivan employs competitive sales tactics and focuses on communicating value to consumers in order to drive customer retention. Rosenblum has been busy in the last year supporting the company’s corporate initiatives, including working with local municipalities and franchise partners to support broad deployment of WiFi hotspots, preventing deployment of disruptive LTE-U technology by cellular carriers and advocating for lower programming costs. And on the advertising front, Tatta is working hard on an audience-based approach to television advertising, including addressable TV solutions and deep data insights.

Tom Montemagno

The biggest innovation in cable over the last year: Cablevision’s census-level viewership analytics portfolio and programmatic capabilities

What does the future look like for skinny bundles and flexible packaging? There is a market demand for this and it needs to happen; programmers need to cooperate with distributors to facilitate this in a meaningful way

Last show I watched not on my network(s): “House of Cards”

Favorite charity I work with: Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research

Last costume I wore and why? No costume, but my hockey uniform is somewhat “loud”

Best way to spend a Saturday night: Restaurant with my family for dinner, followed by a relaxing evening at home watching NY Rangers hockey

My cable industry mentor and why: Mac Budill — during our 20 year partnership, Mac taught me a ton about negotiating and gave me extraordinary opportunities for career development

I watch the majority of programming on this device: 65” TV

Lisa Rosenblum

Favorite charity event I work with: I am engaged with and supportive of Citymeals on Wheels, which is a wonderful organization that delivers hot meals to seniors who have difficulty going out and managing the purchase and preparation of food.

What does the future look like for skinny bundles and flexible packaging? With competition evolving and the presence of over-the-top alternatives, the transition to more flexible program packages and skinnier bundles is underway. The challenge will be to navigate the legacy statutory and regulatory frameworks to be able to achieve the goal of better serving our customers.

My first job: I started teaching tennis in the summers to support winter school expenses and worked as the tennis pro at a small club in Connecticut throughout college.

I watch the majority of programming on this device: A television set.

My typical breakfast: Bran flakes, berries, skim milk, cappuccino.

Robert Sullivan

Favorite charity I work with: Equine Rescue—rehab for abused former racehorses

My cable industry mentor and why: James Dolan. He saw things in me that I didn’t see in myself and gave me a great career and a wonderful life.

Hoverboard, driverless car or drone: Sailboat

My personal theme song is: “One Particular Harbour,” Jimmy Buffet.

Favorite vacation spot: Montauk, NY.

Ben Tatta

The biggest innovation in cable over the last year: Utilizing set-top box data for more granular audience measurement and advanced analytics

My first job: Soccer coach at summer camp / First job out of college: Advertising sales at ABC

If this election year was a reality TV series, it would be called… “The Gong Show”

Best way to spend a Saturday night: Playing with my 3-year-old twins

New favorite binge: “Vinyl” on HBO

My cable industry mentor and why: Kristin Dolan… one of the smartest, most creative minds in the industry. 

The technology that will most benefit cable over the next year is: IP/Wifi

My typical breakfast is: Diet Coke