Croney has only been in the CEO seat at Comcast’s Connectivity & Platforms for a few months, taking over the role in January from Dave Watson, who moved to Vice Chairman. But he started making his big moves early last year when he was promoted from CFO to COO Connectivity & Platforms, accelerating wireless and expanding the nation’s largest converged footprint, which reaches 65 million homes and businesses in the U.S. In 2025, he implemented a new go-to-market strategy that included national consumer-friendly packaging and pricing that simplified how customers do business with the operator. This new structure included five-year price guarantees for Xfinity Internet, a free mobile line and the introduction of national all-in video packages. During Comcast’s 1Q26 earnings call, we got a better glimpse of the blueprint he’s mapped out, which revolves around three core pillars: network, product and customer experience. Under Croney’s direction, the Connectivity & Platforms unit is working to simplify operations internally and externally. “When I think about what success looks like, it starts with being honest with ourselves and clearly defining our reality. The market is going to remain intensely competitive. Success isn’t about waiting for the environment to change. It’s about how we perform inside of that environment,” Croney said during his first earnings report as CEO.

With a landmark merger looming, Winfrey has Charter firing on all cylinders—ready to welcome Cox Communications and create a 70 million+ home footprint. He’s blazed a new trail for video, inducing a drastic shakeup in how distributors and programmers approach carriage negotiations. The coronation of that overhaul came at the end of 2025 when Charter posted quarterly video subscriber gains for the first time in 5.5 years, adding to a quarter that boosted Spectrum Mobile’s customer base to 11.77 million total lines, a 19.4% improvement compared to the year prior. Winfrey is making sure Charter’s focus on customer experience is felt by Spectrum customers, with the operator set to have half of its network upgraded to symmetrical and multi-gig service by the end of 2026 and the remaining 50% to follow suit in 2027. Winfrey’s also been part of Charter’s charge to bring attention to broadband vandalism, an effort the company has worked on with other industry organizations.

Pitaro’s fingerprints are on the most sweeping transformation in ESPN’s 46-year history. This past year, he oversaw the launch of ESPN’s highly anticipated direct-to-consumer platform, a fundamental repositioning that protects its pay TV presence in a cord-cutting world. Pitaro added to that with a landmark deal with the NFL that gave the league a 10% equity stake in exchange for NFL Network, NFL RedZone, NFL Fantasy and other NFL-controlled media assets. Plus, the agreement extended ESPN’s Monday Night Football rights through 2033. Reinvented partnerships with MLB and WWE rounded out a year defined by a bold mission to grow audiences and keep the worldwide leader’s brand unified in a fragmented environment. With DTC in its early innings, ESPN and Pitaro are gearing up to put on their biggest show yet: Super Bowl LXI in 2027.

YouTube’s presence is felt across the greater media ecosystem, and given Connolly and Oestlien’s leadership, its share has continued to grow throughout 2025. Connolly steered multiple YouTube TV carriage negotiations in recent months, striking renewals with the likes of Fox, Disney, NBCU and TelevisaUnivision that led to enhancements to the vMVPD’s lineup and YouTube Primetime Channels offering. On the field, YouTube’s sports strategy reached a pinnacle when its stream of the Chiefs-Chargers duel in São Paulo drew an average minute audience of 17.3 million viewers from over 230 countries and territories. Oestlien, who began overseeing YouTube’s subscription product portfolio in addition to YouTube TV, navigated the company’s entrance into the skinny bundle game after introducing various plans that are centered on sports, news and/or entertainment, with prices ranging from $54.99/month to $71.99/month. Oestlien also has YouTube TV users getting ready for the long-awaited, fully customizable multiview option soon.

It’s a new era at Paramount, with Cheeks sticking around after the Skydance merger to oversee a wide range of broadcast, cable and studio businesses. And he may get more to play with if Paramount’s combination with Warner Bros. Discovery crosses the finish line. Cheeks made plenty of headlines with the cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” a move blamed on economics rather than the content. He’s also restructuring and looking to reinvent the linear networks, with MTV, BET, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon among the brands added to his portfolio in November. Cheeks is also taking a larger role in the overall industry, joining NCTA’s board as corporate programmer director this year.

Scott grew the news division to new heights and ratings gold, helping FOX News buck linear decline and spur growth across all eight of its platforms as it generated over $500M in revenue. At FOX Sports, Shanks scored massive ratings with a record-breaking 127.7M viewers (across all platforms) for the Super Bowl, plus the most-watched Indianapolis 500 in 17 years and a seven-game World Series that averaged 15.71M viewers. Wade integrated Bento Box Entertainment, MarVista Entertainment and Studio Ramsay Global under the company’s portfolio of studios, invested in incubators like HolyWater and Chain to champion next-gen storytellers and launched the food-content-focused FOX Creator Studios in a push to make it a fully independent, creator-led studio ecosystem.

Greatrex has built the foundation of Cox’s convergence future since succeeding Pat Esser a few years ago, but it means he’s the one to carry the flag through the company’s mega merger with Charter that’s expected to close in mid-2026. Greatrex has guided the operator’s expansion of its mobile base while continuing to invest in video benefits and network enhancements, all in an effort to close the digital divide throughout Cox’s more than 30-state footprint. When the 15-year Cox veteran isn’t leading Cox, he sits as the Chair of NCTA’s Board and serves as a Board Member for American Rivers, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring rivers and clean water projects.

Warner Bros. Discovery is in a period of transformation, first navigating a potential spinoff of its linear portfolio and now negotiating a proposed merger with Paramount. At the negotiating table alongside CEO David Zaslav is Wiedenfels. WBD’s CFO was tapped to lead Discovery Global as its CEO-elect and shape the new company’s vision, including the digital expansion of legacy brands. Now he’ll be instrumental in preparing WBD for the PSKY combo. Of course, Wiedenfels has accomplished quite a lot at WBD already, including reducing the company’s debt load by roughly $20 billion, securing multiple sports rights deals and launching a CNN DTC streamer.

Netflix has become one of the louder players in the sports media ecosystem, and that’s thanks largely to Spitzer. One of the streamer’s guiding pillars in live sports is its NFL Christmas Day slate, and the most recent edition set the record for most-streamed NFL game in U.S. history with 27.5 million viewers. Viewers from more than 200 countries also tuned in to one of the two Christmas games. Netflix’s sports prowess extends beyond football, with the streamer striking a deal with MLB for one Opening Night game per year, in addition to becoming the exclusive home of the annual Home Run Derby. And Netflix is winning in the ring with its new WWE and MMA properties.

Under Dungey’s leadership, managing a slate of more than 80 series for over 20 platforms across live-action scripted, unscripted and animation, WBTVG has become the home for some of the industry’s most-lauded series. In 2025, this included the launch of hits “The Pitt,” “Running Point,” “Untamed,” “Leanne” and “IT: Welcome to Derry.” At the Primetime Emmys, “The Pitt” became the first WBTVG series to win the Outstanding Drama Series prize since “The West Wing” in 2003 and led WBTV in 60 nominations—the most of any studio. WBTVG’s recent successes under Dungey’s leadership also include landing an official Season 4 renewal for audience favorite “Ted Lasso.”

Prime Video is known for original series like “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” which had over 70M viewers worldwide in its second season, and an increasingly impressive slate of films—“The Accountant 2” and “Heads of State” were among Prime Video’s four most-watched movies of all time. But sports have become a priority for Hopkins. He built on the success of “Thursday Night Football” by launching “NBA on Prime,” which spanned 67 regular-season games and playoff coverage. At Amazon MGM Studios, Hopkins is building on the momentum of the studio’s first CinemaCon presentation by releasing 15 theatrical films in 2026.

Long past its days as a satellite-only pay TV provider, DIRECTV is full steam ahead as a streaming-centric distributor across devices. Morrow has led this shift while positioning the vMVPD as a leader in more flexible and affordable packaging that gives customers more choice. DIRECTV now offers a growing lineup of genre-based skinny bundles. This re-bundling strategy requires a skilled negotiator to get programmers on board, so it’s a good thing Morrow has Thun on the team. From a carriage showdown with Disney in 2024 to continuing to navigate complicated retrans consent negotiations at a time when broadcasters are growing in size via consolidation, Thun is focused on getting the deals done.

Out with Altice USA, hello Optimum. Mathew led the rebrand of the company as it continued in its larger transformation efforts, creating a united identity across its product lines and decreasing customer confusion. His strategy for a new Optimum continues to bear fruit with its wireless division seeing a 39% rise YOY in mobile lines on the back of a fresh converged product strategy, and he’s embraced localized pricing structures and revamped video tiers that make sense for the modern content consumer. Through it all, he has kept an open communication policy that has seen him participate in small roundtables with frontline employees and listening sessions with larger groups.

Following his first full year as Chairman in 2025, Strauss—who heads business operations for NBC, Bravo and Peacock while also overseeing much of NBCU’s media portfolio—started the new year strong with the company’s comprehensive coverage of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Super Bowl LX and the NBA All-Star Game. And that was just in February. This is due to Strauss’s ambitious strategy to draw live viewers by cornering the market on major live events like last year’s “SNL 50: The Anniversary Special,” which had nearly 23M viewers and won eight Emmys, and also includes the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, in Spanish.

In 2025, Dolan led AMC Global Media’s trans-formation from a cable networks business to a global streaming and technology-focused content company. Recent wins included a streaming revenue growth of 14% in the most recent quarter, solidifying streaming as the company’s largest single source of revenue in 2025. As part of the company’s strategy of super-serving fans of specific genres through specialty streaming services, Dolan and team oversaw the introduction of the service’s first “Murder Mystery May,” a new programming event that delivered Acorn’s biggest viewership month ever and the launch of All Reality, offering the best in unscripted content on Prime Video and Roku.

Commisso assumed the role as chief of Mediacom—and president of Italian soccer club Fiorentina—after the passing of his father, company founder Rocco B. Commisso earlier this year. Those unfamiliar with the younger Commisso got a glimpse of his eloquence when he delivered his father’s eulogy at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, describing his dad’s business philosophy as “profit mattered, but people mattered more.” Commisso is committed to continuing his father’s legacy, and that starts with meeting the goal of offering multi-gig and symmetrical speed services to 1 million households and businesses by the end of 2026. Most recently, Commisso served as Mediacom’s Vice Chairman and Interim CEO as well as GVP, Corporate Finance.

When Feist was named CEO of C-SPAN in 2024, a few industry vets predicted privately that the public affairs network would make big strides within a year or so of him on the job. They nailed it, with Feist bringing C-SPAN into the modern era without compromising its nonpartisan mission and “democracy unfiltered” promise. With long- time distribution head Kiley leading the charge, C-SPAN finally scored carriage for its three linear networks on Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV. Feist promoted Kiley, who is in his forth decade at C-SPAN, with part of his job to expand the net’s relevance among young people. He’s helped drive significant growth for C-SPAN on Instagram and TikTok. Feist upped Weinstein to his new role last year, and he’s also delivered. C-SPAN added 27% more hours of live public-affairs television over the past year and he launched two original series, “Ceasefire,” which brings together political figures from opposite sides of the aisle for respectful, solution-focused conversations, and the weekly “America’s Book Club,” featuring authors, policymakers and cultural leaders.

Buccieri has steered A+E through a pivotal digital transformation. Under his guidance, it continues to attract top-tier talent, including Kevin Costner, Tom Hanks, Henry Winkler, Lebron James and Queen Latifah, across its portfolio. He has expanded A+E’s footprint with direct-to-consumer streaming services—Crime 360, History Vault and Lifetime Movie Club—while bolstering each brand’s digital presence. And he has transformed A+E into a content supplier to third parties, including Netflix, Hulu, Apple and Amazon. In 2025, Buccieri was awarded the NATPE North Star Award, which recognizes individuals whose strong leadership has had a bar-raising impact and provided guidance as the industry navigates change.

Charter customers have DiGeronimo to thank for how easy it is to access their favorite content via their Spectrum account. He brought The Spectrum App Store to life, crafting a destination for streaming apps and digital services like Peacock and ESPN Unlimited. Traditional video customers have also seen their viewing transform following the growth of his Seamless Entertainment experience initiative that makes it easier than ever for those viewers to access streaming content alongside their channel lineup. Through it all, he’s been able to celebrate the explosion of interest in Spectrum Mobile, which counted more than 11.7 million active mobile lines as of 4Q25.

In March, Dana Walden outlined her executive team, upping OConnell to Chairman of Disney Entertainment Television, where she oversees TV brands across ABC, Hulu, NatGeo and 20th Television. It comes after her successful run as President of ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks, where she was the architect behind uniting ABC News and ABC Owned Television Stations. It positioned the news operation incredibly well to broadcast critical news and information during the 2025 L.A. fires. Meanwhile, FX is keeping the hits coming under Landgraf’s leadership, including last year’s “Alien: Earth,” which received over 9 million views globally in its first six days. This followed the previous year’s big win, which saw “Shogun” become the first Japanese-language program to win the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series.

Holanda bade Astound adieu after more than 15 years for his new seat, where Cable One faithful Johnson showed him the ropes in his first couple of months on the job. Holanda has a playbook to pull from when it comes to managing the decline in Cable One’s broadband subscribers and maximizing opportunities to sell converged offerings in the markets in which it faces the least amount of competition. Johnson, who will be exiting the company in May, played a key role in the launch of Sparklight Mobile in December. He’ll stick around as a senior advisor to help ensure Cable One is on the right path. Meanwhile, we’ll be watching to see how Holanda puts his personal sparkle on Sparklight and Cable One’s family of businesses.

As NBCUniversal spinoff Versant Media sets its own course, it’s Lazarus steering the ship. Under his leadership, the linear-heavy company moved quickly to expand its OTA and FAST portfolio through the acquisition of Free TV Networks and is now focused on building up its DTC streaming offerings sans Peacock. This year, Lazarus will lead the launch of an MS Now streamer, a Fandango AVOD and a CNBC DTC service tailored for retail investors. This DTC push is key to Lazarus’ plan to further diversify the company’s revenue streams beyond linear pay TV distribution and direct it toward sustainable growth.

There’s no technological advancement at Comcast that Herrin doesn’t have a hand in. He led the development and launch of XER10 gateway powered by WiFi 7, the deployment of Full Duplex DOCSIS 4.0 and so much more. Schwartz has taken lessons learned from his time in converged products and brought them to a new role focused on sourcing and developing partnerships that lead to the development of products Xfinity customers will come to love. Gieselman has been a connector of brand and product over the last year in his current role, launching the “Xfinity. Imagine That” campaign to grow awareness of the MVPD’s research and next-gen ideas. Ensuring the dollars make sense is Nester’s responsibility, and he oversees a segment of the company with more than $80 billion in revenue. He’s also been a key voice at the table during the launches of products like Comcast’s NOW portfolio.

Jain has kept his foot on the gas pedal, expanding GFiber to cities like Las Vegas while also making multi-gig speeds the standard in markets like Des Moines. Then there’s that deal that will merge GFiber with Astound later this year. Ensuring customers get the most out of the GFiber network is his mission, and that led to the introduction of the provider’s Multi-Gig Wi-Fi 7 Router and its inclusion in its Home 3 Gig and Edge 8 Gig plans at no additional cost. He hasn’t left MDUs behind, striking partnerships with the likes of Quext to ensure property managers have a unified platform that makes access control, IoT and managed internet as simple as possible.

Fischer’s eagle eye and sharp mind are major contributors to Charter’s M&A successes in recent years. She helped negotiate not only Charter’s acquisition of Liberty Broadband in 2024, but also the combination of Charter with Cox Communications that is set to close later this year. She’s passionate about using AI to unlock efficiencies and synergies across the business and sees opportunity in leveraging the technologies to enhance the customer experience for all Spectrum customers. Fischer continues to manage capital planning for Charter’s ongoing $7 billion rural construction initiative while ensuring there’s plenty left in the tank for infrastructure upgrades to multi-gig speeds.

Preparing to separate WBD into Warner Bros. and Discovery Global while also facing a pending acquisition by Paramount has kept Campbell and Aiyar busy, especially on top of a year with blockbuster hits like “Superman,” “Sinners” and “One Battle After Another.” Campbell’s team bolstered revenue streams for those films with cross-portfolio promotions that leveraged the company’s IP. His organization is responsible for driving over 60% of the company’s overall revenue. Aiyar meanwhile safeguarded the company’s IP by joining copyright infringement suits against the AI companies Midjourney and MiniMax.

Not only is this dynamic duo driving NBCU’s business, they’re shaping pop culture. Igbokwe led NBC—the only broadcast network to grow year-over-year for the first week of the 2025-2026 season—to retain its position as the top network in Primetime, but her influence also extends to streaming and cable with lauded series like “Hacks,” “The Gilded Age” and “All Her Fault.” Berwick is the brains behind the company’s reality fare including Peacock’s Emmy-winning “The Traitors” and Bravo’s iconic “The Real Housewives” franchise, currently celebrating 20 years of watercooler moments, and oversees the annual BravoCon fan experience that draws thousands of fans; BravoCon 2025 content was streamed by 3M Peacock accounts and generated over 385M social media engagements.

At a time when traditional broadcast is often underestimated, Mitchell is leaning into innovation to deliver historic growth at CBS. As president, she led the rollout of AR/VR technology across CBS Stations in nine major markets. Flagship streaming program “CBS News 24/7” integrates AR/VR technology to deliver immersive, real-time news at scale. The first-of-its-kind initiative, the program has achieved 14% year-over-year growth in minutes viewed (as of Nov. 2025) and held the No. 1 ranking on Pluto TV’s news channel rankings for 17 consecutive months.

It’s hard to find anyone more passionate about the cable industry than Commisso Weinand, who is in her 49th year of working in the industry. “I believe that what is old is new,” she says, in reference to some of the creative video packages out there, “but what has evolved is how the cable industry has served people in ways that were once unimaginable, including AI. As my late brother and CEO Rocco stated on numerous occasions, all the present sciences, businesses, etc. take a ride on our broadband networks.” That same enthusiasm carries over to Mediacom, where she champions employees across the company and helps solidify its standing as the fifth-largest cable operator in the U.S. She has a fitting partner in Pascarelli, who ensures that vision is matched with disciplined execution. That was on full display in September with Mediacom’s first live DOCSIS 4.0 deployment in Moline, Illinois. He’s committed to making sure Mediacom delivers on a promise to upgrade its network to multi-gigabit, symmetrical broadband speeds to 1 million homes and businesses by year-end.

Jenkins oversees the business strategy for NBCU’s unified content hub‚ and Storms heads strategy, integrated marketing, media and consumer engagement for all the company’s entertainment and sports content, including Peacock. Guiding the greenlight process, Jenkins started 2026 strong with scripted fare including “PONIES,” “The ’Burbs” and “The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins,” a strong unscripted slate and theatrical releases like “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and the upcoming “Minions & Monsters.” Storms led the marketing strategy for NBCU’s Legendary February, a 17-day stretch that brought the Winter Olympics, Super Bowl, and NBA All-Star Game to NBC and Peacock. Legendary February became more than a series of tentpole events - it was a coordinated, month-long cultural phenomenon that engaged 225 million Americans, delivered 9 billion impressions, and drove unprecedented streaming and entertainment consumption on Peacock.

No task has been too tall for Feehan during his stint as interim CEO of Astound, but it helps having an industry stalwart in Murphy at his disposal—even when a merger with GFiber gets revealed. Murphy’s credited with fostering enhanced leadership practices at Astound, which has translated into tangible success as the company continues to grow. Over the past 12 months, Astound expanded its fiber network in Oregon, California, Illinois and elsewhere, bolstering its 11-state footprint that serves eight of the top-10 metropolitan markets in the U.S. Murphy was a focal point in Astound bringing back its “Price for Life” promotion, allowing eligible new customers to choose between a lifelong price commitment of $40/month for 1 Gbps speeds or $60/month for 1.5 Gbps.

In recent months, Silberwasser proved that innovative thinking combined with premium sports programming can create massive cultural impact. That’s precisely how he attracted a younger and more diverse audience to TNT Sports. By securing key rights deals he tripled TNT Sports’ college basketball and football slates and doubled its women’s live sports offerings. He also oversaw an NFL and Bleacher Report partnership that resulted in new digital storytelling opportunities and delivered 30M video views in its first month alone. Through acquiring rights and elevating talent and production standards, Silberwasser has reshaped TNT Sports’ position in all areas.

Under the leadership of Wood, Roku further cemented its reputation for affordable, accessible entertainment with the launch of Howdy, an ad-free premium subscription streaming service priced at an industry-low $2.99. While other companies saw an advertising fall from last year’s political campaign-heavy ad spending, Roku scored a fifth-straight quarter of double-digit growth. Collier, who joined the company as president in 2022, was the driving force behind Roku’s integration with Amazon DSP that allows Amazon advertisers to connect with users on the Roku platform across major streaming apps. Under their leadership, Roku has been the most-watched FAST Channel in the country for more than a year.

While Durant shapes ESPN’s strategic direction, Magnus focuses on creating engaging content for today’s sports fans. Significant media rights deals with the NFL, MLB, the WWE and other premier sports organizations form the cornerstone of Durant’s success, and those agreements help Magnus deliver programming that drives huge ratings. Combining sports with Disney IP for events like “Monsters Funday Football,” which was telecast on ESPN+ and Disney+, and premiering series, including “SC+” and the female-led “Vibe Check” on Disney+, elevated the brand to new audiences. The ESPN App hit 29M unique monthly users, ESPN Social surpassed 1 billion engagements and ESPN.com saw 63M monthly visitors.

Former Breezeline CEO van der Post is still getting used to the view from his new seat at WOW!, but he’s ready to go with lessons learned from his transformation of other cable systems. He’s well-versed in the aspects of a typical WOW! market, having led Breezeline’s $1.13 billion effort to acquire WOW!’s Cleveland and Columbus markets in 2021. Van der Post is a fan of converged offerings, meaning it’s likely we’ll see WOW! continue to invest in network enhancements and FTTH deployments while also taking a closer look at the mobile product it launched in partnership with Reach in 2022.

It’s been a busy 12 months and beyond for Gupta and Bonnell as Comcast moved through transformation efforts and decided to spin off a number of its cable and digital properties. They had something to celebrate in January as the effort to craft Versant Media Group made it across the finish line. Meanwhile, Kiriacoulacos has continued to negotiate all procurement deals and found synergies across all Comcast NBCU properties. He can answer all your questions on everything from software licenses to service level agreements and point you in the direction of suppliers that are sure to get the job done.

After stepping into one of the most influential leadership roles in entertainment, Holland has made an immediate, industry-wide impact as Paramount’s Chair of Direct-to-Consumer, overseeing both Paramount+ and Pluto TV and steering Paramount’s streaming business through a groundbreaking merger and broader corporate restructuring. Under Holland’s leadership, Paramount+ secured exclusive streaming rights to UFC events, including numbered events and “Fight Nights,” marking one of the most prominent sports streaming deals in recent years. On the scripted content side, she guided a four-year exclusive film, television and streaming deal with “Stranger Things” creators the Duffer Brothers.

With the perspective of a businessman and a performer, media titan Byron Allen leads Allen Media Group through a changing mediascape. Following the successful refinancing of AMG’s $100 million revolving credit facility in early 2025, the company’s television networks are some of the fastest-growing among all basic cable network portfolios, with seven AMG cable networks boasting year-over-year ratings growth. As Allen’s longtime de facto chief of staff, Arouh spearheads worldwide distribution growth and revenue, retransmission consent and network renewals, streaming negotiations, content licensing deals, partnerships and business development. Recent wins include successfully negotiating an incremental distribution deal with Cox to launch five Allen Media Networks on its new OTT service, Cox TV Light.

Jenckes’ journey leading Xumo continues to be full of wins, and everything is coming up FAST. It now touts more than 2,000 FAST channels across 30 platforms worldwide as the Xumo Stream Box continues to gain traction with subscribers. The segment’s enterprise division was trusted by Hisense to launch and monetize the initial offering of Hisense Channels, a FAST service crafted specifically for Hisense smart TVs. You can find Rigdon burning the midnight oil as he negotiates programming agreements for Comcast’s cable systems and sets the content strategy for the future. Agreements with RSNs continue to be among the toughest to hammer out, but he found a path to making Chicago Sports Network available in June for the area’s subscribers.

Espinosa’s vast industry knowledge, strong negotiating skills and unifying leadership are valuable assets that help fuel Fox Corporation’s sustained revenue growth. He’s constantly encouraging his team to find innovative ways to strengthen and modernize relationships with national distribution partners across all of the company’s brands—FOX Entertainment, FOX News Media, FOX Sports, Tubi and FOX One—while securing high-profile carriage renewals with major distribution partners. Espinosa is also focused on nurturing strong relationships with FOX affiliates at TV stations serving over 200 U.S. markets.

Miller’s strategic dealmaking for the Warner Bros. Discovery portfolio helped it land bragging rights as the most-watched TV portfolio in 2025, reaching over half of television households per week, or an average of 36 million. This past year, Miller and his team were pivotal in negotiating critical multi-year distribution agreements, including renewals with Verizon and Philo. He has a reputation for working hard to maximize value to all parties across streaming, linear networks, advertising sales, business affairs, news and sports within WBD.

As Disney Entertainment and ESPN’s chief negotiator and dealmaker, Zasowski and his team have strategically crafted agreements that not only reflect a deep understanding of the evolving media landscape but also anticipate the evolving needs of consumers and the industry as a whole. His visionary approach has driven direct-to-consumer subscriber growth and brought Disney’s portfolio of networks to the widest audience possible. Appointed as President of Platform Distribution in January 2026, he now leads global distribution across Disney’s entertainment and sports media businesses.

In 2025, Schnaars’ leadership was crucial in securing a long-term distribution agreement between NBCUniversal and Google. The multiyear carriage agreement expanded the reach of NBCU’s media portfolio to millions of YouTube TV subscribers. He also oversaw an extended agreement between Comcast NBCUniversal and Amazon, spearheaded the launch of 24/7 linear network NBC Sports Network and led NBCUniversal in a new partnership with Walmart, bringing Peacock Premium to Walmart+ subscribers at no additional cost. In 2026, Schnaars looks forward to launching Peacock on YouTube’s primetime channels.

Hopkins added another chapter to his distribution success playbook last year when after several days of negotiations, YouTube TV reupped its carriage of CBS stations nationwide along with the cable network portfolio. He’s been an integral part of helping to develop the new distribution model, with the YouTube deal including the right to bundle Paramount+ to select customers. Hopkins’ philosophy has been to work with distributors to stem cord cutting and keep the video business as robust as possible—something that takes on even greater importance as Paramount looks to acquire WBD’s vast portfolio.

Under Fernández, Telemundo’s wins keep piling up—from Sunday primetime dominance to “Dinastía Casillas” leading Spanish-language dramas among 18–49s and topping Peacock. Its NBA All-Star Game broadcast was also the most-watched Spanish-language NBA game in 20 years. Over at NBC News, Blumenstein is championing “NBC Nightly News,’” which saw strong 1Q26 gains (+12% in total viewers; +23% in 25-54s) while guiding the org through the spin-off of MSNBC and CNBC into Versant. Both report to Conde, who has driven cross-platform collaboration that has paid off in viewers and journalistic impact. He’s working to drive even more collaboration with the midterm elections and Telemundo's Spanish-language rights to the FIFA World Cup this summer.

This trio is powering the explosion of GFiber’s growth story. Keib has mandated automatic upgrades to new 20 Gig optical network terminals while driving a migration of 90% of GFiber’s footprint to infrastructure capable of 25G speeds. Laurenzano has pushed GFiber to continue growing while optimizing, tripling the company’s rate of expansion over the last six years while overseeing the largest systems overhaul in the provider’s history. As GFiber’s first CGO, Griffith has focused on removing friction points frustrating customers. That led to the launch of a new GFiber app, which delivered a 50% drop in support calls. She’s also partially to thank for the company’s new lifestyle-based product portfolio, designed to easily match families with the performance they need.

Comcast CFO since January 2023, Armstrong oversees all financial functions for one of the most profitable companies in the U.S. Under his leadership, Comcast reported consolidated adjusted EBITDA of $37.4 billion for 2025, with $19.2 billion in free cash flow for the year. Over on the NBCUniversal side, Culbertson oversees the finance and strategy functions across the company, working closely with leadership teams across the Media, News, Studio and Universal Destinations & Experiences divisions. In 2026, Culbertson looks to use his expertise in financial strategy to push NBCUniversal’s continued success during a landmark 100th anniversary year.

Breaux and Langner have kept a steady hand as Cox works toward its $34.5 billion merger with Charter. For Breaux, that included installing 6 GHz WiFi at the Honda Center in Anaheim, making it the first indoor venue in the U.S. to do so. At CES 2026, he made sure Cox shined by providing the Vegas Convention Center with 5 GHz wireless and redundant, dedicated fiber that brought dual 40 Gig connections. On the residential side, Langner oversaw the introduction of subscriber authentication into DTC apps like ESPN, Fox One and HBO Max. She also ushered in StayConnect WiFi, a backup internet service equipped with unlimited 4G cellular data and a four-hour battery.

Programming on WBD’s domestic networks reflects Lee’s mission to prioritize content that depicts and celebrates marginalized people and groups. Ratings indicate that mission is succeeding. One of TLC’s newer series, “Baylen Out Loud,” about a young woman with Tourette Syndrome, became cable’s number one freshman series in all key demos and drew over 28M total viewers across all platforms. Annual events like “Puppy Bowl” and “Shark Week” continue to bring in viewers and social impressions, and WBD’s U.S. Networks nabbed five Primetime and 13 Daytime Emmy nominations, with Discovery’s adventure series “ExpeditionUnknown” winning a Daytime Emmy.

These two are the left and right hands of the cable industry—with Gardner lobbying for more spectrum for WiFi and McKinney helping deliver on all the innovative ways it will be put to use. Gardner joined NCTA in September and just days later found himself on stage with McKinney at CableLabs subsidiary SCTE’s TechExpo. He didn’t miss a beat, walking his former Congressional colleagues through NCTA’s Continuum exhibit on the floor, showcasing cable’s innovations. McKinney was right there too, championing DOCSIS 4.0. The CableLabs chief had a successful year that included rallying the industry around the R&D lab’s Technology Vision and Innovation Roadmap for guiding the evolution around seamless connectivity, platform evolution and pervasive intelligence.

Bohigian has been on the road for the last 12 months, guiding her federal and state teams through the review processes needed to get the Charter-Cox merger across the finish line. Ray was not only a key player behind the launch of The Spectrum App Store in 2025, but also developed marketing bundles to inform prospective customers on how they could save when pairing Spectrum Mobile with connectivity and content offerings. Underpinning everything Charter undertakes is Haughton’s legal expertise. He supports major transactions like the Cox combo, but also takes a fine-tooth comb to every regulatory matter and product or programming happening that crosses his desk.

This trio fuels Comcast innovation. Nafshi guided the launch of a dedicated Quantum Lab aimed at exploring how quantum computing can address traffic management and other problems. Rioboli is an agentic AI pro, finding ways to introduce the tech into the Xfinity Assistant while also injecting all forms of AI into the software development lifecycle. Introducing fresh products to Comcast customers is Stirling’s game, and his year has been marked by the launches of the company’s first WiFi 7 and DOCSIS 4.0 gateway as well as Sky Glass Gen 2.

Since being named President of Entertainment for Versant in early 2025, Boreland has had a direct hand in taking the company public. In just over a year, she has created a high-performing leadership team that oversees content strategy, creative development, production, marketing and acquisitions across USA Network, Oxygen, E! and Syfy. Under her leadership, legal drama “The Rainmaker” launched to become USA Network’s most-watched freshman original series in seven years and was the #1 new cable original scripted series on linear television in 2025.

Given the Hallmark brand’s pedigree as a greeting card company, building the network’s brand around Christmas movies made perfect sense, but Abbott is expanding holiday content to include year-round occasions. Last year, he capitalized on the popularity of their “Haul Out the Holly” franchise with “Haul Out the Halloween.” The company’s distribution footprint has grown domestically and internationally, and Abbott has created fun fan events like the Hallmark Christmas Cruise and the Hallmark Christmas Experience. Right now, Hallmarkers are busy preparing to celebrate Hallmark Channel’s 25th anniversary in 2026.

Ramos is future-proofing Optimum, signing partnerships with Google Cloud, Cresta and Amdocs while also developing new platforms like OneAgent to give frontline workers the tools they need to attract and retain subscribers. Edwards is transforming customer perception of the brand by enhancing network reliability. Thanks to his efforts, 40% fewer customers experienced degraded service compared to 2023. He’s also on track to meet the company’s goal of delivering 1 Gig speeds to 100% of its footprint by the close of 2027.

Spellmeyer carries the torch of America’s small- to mid-size operators, delivering messages of affordability to Capitol Hill. He advocates for policies that keep the cost of providing broadband and video low and that would lead to the repeal of retransmission consent. Borrelli keeps expanding initiatives that give NCTC members competitive toolsets. NCTC’s AI Center for Excellence has four pilot projects underway and his work to expand mobile through a partnership with Reach means operators can evolve their product offerings and offer refreshed bundles at a reasonable rate.

Ross is committed to bringing the finest service to every location within Armstrong’s footprint. He led the way as the company surpassed a 70% milestone in the company’s FTTP upgrade and expansion initiative. At the same time, he’s been dedicated to providing locally produced content to customers 24/7 via the revitalized Armstrong Neighborhood Channel. Available on YouTube and to Armstrong subscribers, the channel shines a light on everything from local events to original music from across the provider’s service area. Armstrong is set for continued growth over the next 12 months after announcing a deal to acquire MCTV. The acquisition, which will add more than 96,000 passings to the Armstrong footprint, is set to close in 2Q26.

There’s no rock left unturned for Charytan and Reid as she covers the full range of legal affairs for Comcast’s product and services portfolio and he manages all corporate governance functions. It is all gas, no brakes, for Harris. She not only paved the way for the grand opening of Universal Epic Universe in May, but was also a key player in the signing of the agreement that saw NBA games return to NBCU platforms in October. There has been no time to breathe for this trio as it was all hands on deck when Comcast NBCU executed the spinoff of cable networks and digital assets into Versant in January.

It’s safe to say Sling TV’s most recent pay TV innovation—the short-term subscription pass— has both its fans and detractors, but there’s no question that the vMVPD is driving a different way of thinking about video. Van Sickel is the champion of this new “Day Pass” strategy, guiding the development of a product designed to attract cordless viewers with plans that offer more flexibility than even Sling’s standard no-contract packages, while focusing marketing around challenging norms. Sling also recently launched a skinny bundle that packages live news, sports and entertainment as well as local broadcasters.

Two of Fox Corporation's top platforms, Tubi and Fox News Media, cater to different demos by adapting to ever-changing audience behaviors. Wallace expanded FOX News' audience in 2025 as “Special Report with Bret Baier” challenges broadcast network newscast ratings and “The Five” routinely draws 3-4M live viewers, while Lewinson keeps expanding Tubi Originals by taking creative risks—from the YA romcom “How to Lose a Popularity Contest” to the animated comedy for grown-ups “Breaking Bear”—that are based on data-driven insights. Meanwhile, Lewinson positioned AVOD Tubi, already boasting 100M+ monthly active users, as a leader in discovering new talent.

Dixon is nearing one year at TDS, but he’s already helped the organization navigate the full launch of TDS Mobile while continuing to grow its footprint and reinvest in its network. He’s guiding a complete upgrade of its Michigan and Kentucky area footprints to speeds of up to 8 gigabits symmetrical as well as fiber expansions in areas like southeast Wisconsin. He has the support of veteran Petersen, who has been on the ground for everything from scholarship award events to disaster relief efforts following events like Hurricane Melissa. Petersen puts a face to the TDS name while also helping the company achieve milestones like the surpassing of one million fiber addresses.

Optimum customers are getting more options thanks to Parker, who was able to finally make seamless subscription billing for OTT partners like Disney a reality. He also led the launch of Whole Home WiFi while driving a 39% YOY rise in lines at Optimum Mobile. Bowen represents Optimum at the carriage negotiation table, most recently going toe-to-toe with TEGNA and fighting back against oversized price hikes. In his time outside the ring, he led a multifaceted campaign around September’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. He had a hand in everything from subscriber watch parties to retail activations and special features across News 12.

Over the past year, Marshall has led NBCUniversal through one of its most successful and transformative periods in advertising. As Chairman of Global Advertising & Partnerships, he delivered record-setting results across every major tentpole, strengthened the company’s leadership in live sports and accelerated innovation that is reshaping the future of premium video. Marshall closed NBCUniversal’s 2025–26 Upfront with the highest ad sales volume in company history, fueled by demand across news, entertainment and sports.

During a transformative time in advertising, Ferro has leaned into the shifting landscape. Her leadership has modernized how brands engage audiences by advancing AI-driven creative solutions, data-led planning and real-time measurement capabilities. As Disney’s ad-supported footprint expands, Ferro remains focused on simplifying the buying experience, deepening fan engagement and delivering measurable, long-term value for advertisers. Outside of the office, she serves on the boards of The Ad Council, the American Advertising Federation, The V Foundation for Cancer Research and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

Altafiber is making moves and, with his promotion to COO in July 2025, Wheeler is a vital part of the leadership team making the company’s fiber market buildout across the Midwest and Hawaii so successful. As President of Business Markets, Wheeler oversaw business practices and sales across all of altafiber’s operating territories, business market expansion and product, customer care and operations. Now, as COO reporting directly to President and CEO Leigh Fox, his focus is on continued business simplification and accelerated network transformation.

Good things come in threes, including this power trio leading AMC Global Media in an evolving industry. McDermott oversees the development, production, acquisition, scheduling and release of series and films, including the launches of “The Audacity” and “Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat,” as well as the return of “Dark Winds.” Kelleher builds and maintains strong relationships with the company’s key affiliate partners. In 2025, this included the extension and expansion of AMC’s successful first-of-its-kind distribution partnership with Netflix. Mitchko is the whiz behind all technical and engineering aspects of AMC, working closely with her fellow senior leaders to grow the company using technology resources.

It’s no fluke that Collins and his team delivered double-digit revenue growth in back-to-back upfronts. He inspires and empowers team members to achieve strong results for advertisers, be it on linear FOX channels or streaming on Tubi. Last year, Tubi’s volume grew over 35% YOY; FOX Sports experienced recordbreaking growth and over $2B in upfront revenue, excluding the World Cup; FOX News saw double-digit volume growth and category-leading pricing growth; and FOX Entertainment had sell-out levels. Collins keeps his team ahead of the curve and simplifies the ad-buying process for advertisers by continually improving the OneFox media platform.

Voltaggio’s analytical rigor and operational discipline perfectly complement Gould’s collaborative and forward-thinking mindset. As joint leaders of Warner Bros. Discovery’s full U.S. sales portfolio, Voltaggio focuses on maximizing value of the company’s networks and streaming services while Gould unifies those networks and streamers under a datadriven go-to-market strategy. Together—through innovative advertising solutions like NEO and DemoDirect and via strategic partnerships with tech leaders including FreeWheel and Magnite—they’ve streamlined the ad-buying process and maintained WBD’s reputation as a premier advertising destination in an increasingly fragmented industry.

In February 2025, Rice and Strong both stepped up as Co-Presidents and now jointly oversee all distribution operations for A+E Networks’ domestic, Caribbean and Canadian portfolios, including platform distribution, partnerships and marketing. In her new role, Rice has been instrumental in broadening A+E’s reach on emerging platforms and spearheading new distribution partnerships. Meanwhile, Strong has led several high-profile distribution deals and strategic initiatives that have reinforced A+E’s market position. Together, they are steering A+E through the next wave of distribution evolution.

Boyers acts as a megaphone for the issues ACA Connects members face each day, speaking out against rising costs tied to retrans consent, barriers to broadband buildout and federal policy objectives that could harm investment. Reardon is her right-hand man as Vice Chair of ACAC, but he’s also had his hands full managing the launches of Flight Fiber multi-gig internet speeds. Schurz has also begun offering managed cloud and data protection services through its sister company, Otava, keeping customers safe from ransomware events and other cybersecurity risks.

In his first year as president and his 15th year at Midco, Dold’s leadership of Midco’s Fiber Forward initiative continued to transform the company. In 2025, this included the launch and scaling of symmetrical gig services that offer 1GB upload speeds to more than 100,000 homes and businesses across five states. The growth of Midco’s 400G wavelength service positioned the company as a leading service provider for hyperscalers and data centers. Dold also became the first person at Midco to port his wireless number to Midco Mobile, the company’s new mobile service.

Content and corporate strategy converge in the work of Mathers and DiGioia. They have been the quiet architects behind Fubo. Mathers spearheaded the launch of Fubo Sports—the vMVPD’s first-ever skinny sports offering—assembling ESPN, FS1, local broadcast affiliates and a bundled ESPN Unlimited plan, while also rolling out standalone premium subscriptions via the Fubo Channel Store. DiGioia also plays an instrumental role in carriage negotiations, but was tasked this past year with helping close the biggest deal in Fubo’s history. Its combination with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV created the sixth-largest pay TV provider in the U.S.

Under Sharenow’s purview, A+E’s flagship networks all ranked among Nielsen’s top 15 entertainment cable channels, and boasted three of last year’s five most-watched nonfiction miniseries among total viewers: “Sitting Bull” “The West” and “The Judd Family: Truth Be Told.” Scott’s A+E Factual Studios is a key part of the company’s winning formula, remaining the #1 provider of unscripted series for A+E’s own networks while also becoming a go-to supplier of hits for major platforms. The studio’s partnership with Hulu has yielded six series to date, including “Cold Case Files: The DNA Speaks” and “Rachael Ray’s Rebuild.”

With cooking competition shows like “Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas” and the kidfocused “Baking Championships: Next Gen,” Ayala led Food Network to be 2025’s number two ad-supported non-news, non-sports cable network in prime. At OWN, Perry created more opportunities for Black storytellers and maintained OWN’s position as the destination for African American women. “Ready to Love” celebrated its 150th episode, OWN for the Holidays had another strong Christmas movie event and the new series “Heart & Hustle: Houston” grabbed viewers. TNT and TBS are thriving under Sarlanis’ care—TNT’s “The Librarians: The Next Chapter” debuted as 2025’s top new original cable drama series— and ID’s “docbuster” “The Fall of Diddy” saw nearly 10M viewers across linear and streaming. Page is expanding Magnolia’s programming in unexpected ways that stay true to the network’s brand, from the cooking show “Magnolia Table: At the Farm” to the reality series “Back to the Frontier,” where three families forsake modernity to live like 1880s homesteaders.

Torres and his teams have had a defining impact on the broader industry by helping establish genre-based packaging. This vision first came to life in 2025 with the launch of MySports, a contract-free pack designed to deliver the content fans care about most. Concurrently, Leifer has led the digital transformation of DIRECTV Advertising with the programmatic enablement of its linear satellite inventory. Powered by the company’s proprietary ad tech stack, DIRECTV Axis, it gives buyers access to increased inventory, scale and untapped audiences across satellite and streaming.

Boarding Paramount in 2025, Wiseman has hit the ground running to usher in a new era of exciting original content at Paramount+. Working alongside longtime colleague Cindy Holland, Wiseman’s major greenlit projects include “9/12,” a six-episode limited series starring and executive produced by Jeremy Strong, and the Anne Hathaway limited true crime series “Fear Not.” Under Wiseman, Paramount+ also announced that it will be the exclusive new home of all animated content from Avatar Studios and its fanfavorite “Airbender” universe.

It’s difficult to talk about the broadcast industry without mentioning the U.S.’ largest station owner: Nexstar. Biard and Zimmer have the behemoth functioning at a high level, with the tandem helping navigate the uncertainty swirling around its Tegna deal while overseeing the complex web of retransmission and carriage negotiations. In 2025, distribution made up over 52% of Nexstar’s full-year net revenue ($4.95 billion), and Zimmer led the charge on growing Nexstar’s TV assets like NewsNation and the CW Network. She’ll have her hands full planning for a company that could grow to own 265 stations across 44 states, but Zimmer remains prepared, given she and her team already juggle hundreds of contracts each year in an era where the economics of TV are being rewritten.

Busby and Hoffman both played key roles in STARZ’s 2025 transition from being a Lionsgate property into its own standalone publicly traded company. In a push to prioritize STARZ-owned IP that represents women and underserved audiences, Busby opened four writers’ rooms within two months of the separation and completed production on Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s new high-stakes boxing drama, “Fightland.” Meanwhile, Hoffman expanded the “Outlander” universe with the prequel series “Outlander: Blood of My Blood,” while also positioning the company as a leader in partnership bundles with deals with Hallmark+ and Prime Video.

After nearly eight years of development, Aguiar led the successful launch of ESPN’s full direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2025. Her role in the service’s development spanned from early-stage research and financial modeling to pricing, tier structure and long-term profitability planning to rollout. On the marketing side, Thornton generated momentum for ESPN DTC with a multi-month, multiplatform campaign anchored by celebrity talent, including John Cena as the face of the campaign; immersive experiential activations; and cross-industry brand partnerships with Walmart, Lyft, Samsung and Complex.

This duo is spreading the message of Comcast’s strategic priorities from Wall Street to Washington, D.C., ensuring the company’s efforts to push connectivity and content to new heights are known far and wide. Ryvicker has been busy fielding investor questions around the spinoff of a majority of Comcast’s media properties into Versant, a separation that was completed earlier this year. Meanwhile, West has been leading Capitol Hill conversations around everything from spectrum policy to the ways broadband and content providers can be active participants in the evolution and implementation of advanced AI technology.

Amazon MGM Studios is in the business of making star-studded hits for screens big and small. On Valenti’s film side, the Will Ferrell-Reese Witherspoon comedy “You’re Cordially Invited” drew over 50M viewers, Viola Davis’ “G20” hit the top of Nielsen’s Movie Chart in its debut week, as did Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal’s “The Accountant 2,” which also nabbed SXSW’s Audience Award. Former Netflix exec Friedlander brought his A-game when he joined Amazon MGM Studios in September. He’s currently supporting the studio’s scripted and unscripted originals like “Fallout,” “The Boys” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” while seeking additional premium programming that will resonate with viewers around the world.

Ardizzone has shaped INSP into a premier brand in the Western and Western-adjacent space. Over the past year he’s helped expand INSP with its very first FAST Channel, Western Bound, and launch two international FAST Channels, a pair of mobile apps and the ShopINSP retail store. Of special note, INSP’s original series and movies are gaining traction as well, with “Elkhorn” and “Blue Ridge: The Series” entering their second seasons while “Wild West Chronicles” is already in season four. In early 2025, INSP received a Will Rogers Medallion Awards’ Golden Lariat award for its dedication to Western storytelling.

Hotwire’s unique strategy of striking bulk billing agreements that supply fiber to entire homeowner associations is built on a long-term, inflation-linked contractual framework with an astounding renewal rate. Not long ago, Johnson and Bullock fought an FCC proposal concerning bulk billing that could have undercut their proven strategy. That effort, combined with significant growth potential (over 12M homeowner association units exist under the company’s current footprint), helped draw the attention of Brookfield Infrastructure, which made a strategic investment in the provider last year.

This powerhouse trio helped turn WBD into the company that spurred a historic bidding battle. Verveer represents WBD in all governmental interactions; her team proved vital in paving the way for HBO Max’s recent expansion in multiple international markets. Bronzo’s strategic branding efforts delivered over 141M total viewers per month in 2025, thanks to events like Discovery’s “Shark Week” and Animal Planet’s “Puppy Bowl XXI.” Last year, long-time WBD vet Girdwood brought a people-first approach to her new role as Chief People & Culture Officer by instituting new programs while planning for the impending acquisition and the transition of Warner Bros. and Discovery Global into separate companies.

Universal Ads has been Rooke’s passion project over the last 12 months. The cross-publisher buying platform has continued to evolve and now more than 15 publishers have inventory on UA. Those that utilize the platform can also access AI tools to fast-track ad development, and Zimmermann has championed agentic AI as a technology that could automate media buying in the near future. Since the closing of the acquisition of network-as-a-service firm Nitel in April 2025, Zimmermann has done all he can to ensure Comcast Business is a leader in its space. Secure networking and cloud services solutions have received meaningful upgrades and he has begun rolling out symmetrical speeds powered by Full Duplex DOCSIS 4.0 in select markets.

Marine’s fan-first philosophy helped him prove that Prime Video can match, if not exceed, linear television’s ability to reach sports viewers with premium content. In the past year, Thursday Night Football had its most-watched season ever, reaching 122M unique viewers; he brought NASCAR to Prime with the sport’s first exclusive streaming package, resulting in NASCAR’s youngest audience in over a decade; and he launched a new global NBA package complete with interactive features. Marine also debuted opt-in personalized bet tracking with FanDuel and other customizable functions to further enhance fans’ experiences.

In 2025, Granito and her team spearheaded promotional and marketing campaigns for AMC Global Media’s most successful series and films, including “The Walking Dead Universe” franchise extensions “Dead City” and “Daryl Dixon,” IFC Entertainment Group’s smash hit film “Clown in a Cornfield” and “Anne Rice’s Talamasca: The Secret Order.” Meanwhile, Juvelis continued to be a key architect of AMC’s corporate story, culture, brand and reputation. She oversaw the campaign for the third season of “Dark Winds,” helping to boost premiere viewership on AMC+ by more than 50% and doubling subscriber acquisition over the previous season.

Davis is responsible for setting up frontline cyber defenses for the MVPD, crafting the Comcast Threat Research Lab to quickly detect and address large-scale threats early. She’s sharing her findings at conferences like AWS re:Inforce and via publications like the newly launched Comcast Business Cybersecurity Threat Report. Meanwhile, all questions AI head to McMeley, who examines the subject with a focus on responsible data use and risk governance. She’s also a connector, bringing together stakeholders across government affairs, public policy and legal to ensure all sides of the business are aligned in their operational goals and addressing roadblocks that may stand in the way of achieving them.

In 2025, Byrne and his team expanded A+E’s advertising reach beyond traditional TV into streaming, social media and direct-toconsumer. Their custom campaign with Chili’s generated five billion impressions and 34M TikTok views. On the content side, MacDonald has guided A+E Global Media’s continued evolution into a multi-platform content provider and IP factory. He helped A+E push further into FAST with the launch of multiple international channels in markets including the U.K., Canada, Germany, Australia and the Netherlands.

Lins and Popo lead associations that keep the industry a step ahead. At CTAM, Lins is focused on challenges such as piracy and customer retention. CTAM’s consumer education initiative StreamSafely.com and ByeScammer.com are responsible for $1.75 million in protected revenue across the industry. Its long-running SmartMove marketing co-op generated almost 5M leads in the last year. At SCTE, Popo ensures the workforce is highly skilled and ready for what’s next. Accomplishments include forging a complimentary broadband education program with NCTI so members can explore courses and founding an executive-level coalition to address network sabotage and cable-cutting incidents.

Telemundo is hitting the pitch this year as the exclusive Spanish-language broadcaster of the biggest FIFA World Cup ever—more national teams will compete in more matches than any previous edition of the tournament, and it’s all happening on the network’s home turf. Pons Tubio, Gil and Duro make up the dream team driving the programming and marketing strategy in 2026, which includes over 700 hours of World Cup content across broadcast, cable, streaming and FAST channels, experiential activations, a thought leadership platform about the future of sports and impactful cultural storytelling across the network’s daytime and primetime blocks.

The CFX 100 is primarily made up of operator and content executives, but there are a few vendors that show up in such a big way, we had to find a place for them. Whether it’s volunteering for association boards, sponsoring industry events or showing up on exhibit floors and industry panels, these four stand out. Their impact goes beyond participation—they help shape the conversations and momentum driving the industry.

If you heard about the Winter Olympics across Peacock, NBC and more, you have Khoury to thank. She’s a communications powerhouse with a hand in everything from advertising and corporate marketing to financial and government functions. Strahan has been doing his part to build the next generation of Comcast leaders, leading the expansion of the company’s partnership with Drexel and creating an MBA in Artificial Intelligence for Executive Leaders. Wilson-Scott’s commitment to Project UP is unwavering, and she experienced another milestone in November when the program dedicated to giving back committed $2.5 million to growing digital opportunity in rural communities.

Hannasch has made re-energizing Vyve’s technical field operations her mission since being elevated to COO last year. She’s getting results with a 97% technician satisfaction score and a 50% drop in outages compared to the prior year. She’s a proponent of proactive customer service, and she and Parrott have worked together to be guiding lights internally as Vyve prepares to become a part of Cable One later this year. Parrott has been dedicated to bolstering Vyve’s infrastructure ahead of the deal’s closing, striking an agreement with fiber infrastructure company Accelecom to bolster its network across Georgia.

Through his efforts at YES, Litner is changing how executives, leagues and stakeholders perceive premium sports production and fancentric distribution strategies. His redefinition of what a modern regional sports network can be resulted in YES winning 10 New York Emmys last year, and he’s investing in exclusive app programming for YES’s Gotham Sports App. Last year Litner launched two new linear series, “The Stadium” and “Sportico Sports Business Presented By Genius Sports,” and even gave fans a fresh perspective on Yankees’ home games via drone coverage.

Cone’s first year at Optimum has been marked by metamorphosis as she set the stage for the company’s next era. She took a hard look at staffing, crafting a refreshed employee value statement and rethinking the organization to ensure it aligned with those expectations. Cone and Anselmo have partnered on cultural reform, hosting employee engagement surveys and CEO roundtables to ensure team members feel heard. Anselmo has also spread the word of Optimum’s transformation far and wide, and her work has elevated Optimum’s brand awareness. The results? Increased engagement on social platforms and a rise in earned media coverage and positive brand sentiment.

Through a unique combination of HBCU programming, DC-area high school and college sports and events like the Hoop Culture Capital Classics, Leonsis propelled Monumental to new heights. Viewership of Capitals NHL games rose 37% locally in its 2024-25 season while streaming unique users were up 90% YOY, and MNMT’s local broadcasts frequently outperformed national networks and earned 12 Capital Emmys. Leonsis also launched the interactive Monumental Game Center viewing experience that integrates real-time sports betting data and gamification into live streams on the Monumental+ app.

Moline has had to make tough staffing calls over the last year to keep ALLO’s bottom line stable, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t found ways to continue growing the company’s connectivity offerings and community connections. He led the creation of the Smart Schools initiative designed to allow Lincoln Public School students in Nebraska to connect their schoolissued devices to thousands of access points across ALLO communities, eliminating barriers to broadband access. ALLO also provides a free first year of service to participating school districts to encourage program expansion. The broadband provider has also continued expansion efforts, growing its network to Colorado’s Frederick, Fort Lupton and Dacono, among other locations.

Christman and Formica are guiding the Syndeo Institute through a time of transition as The Cable Center is sold to the University of Denver. Through it all, they’ve continued to give back to the larger cable community. They teamed up for the development and hosting of two Customer Experience Collaboratives for Cox and CSG, kickstarting discussions about the intersection of innovation and customer care. Christman is also continuing to celebrate the industry’s history with “Hotwired,” an upcoming documentary, while Formica has grown the influence of Syndeo internationally.

Cohan had the world talking about hockey this year, and it wasn’t because of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games. Bell Media’s “Heated Rivalry” is among the company’s most widely licensed series after catching the world by storm, and it was Cohan who took the leap to fully finance the series. The success of originals across Bell Media’s CTV, Crave, TSN and the company’s FAST channels comes on the back of its 2025 acquisition of a majority stake in content distributor Sphere Abacus. Cohan led the deal to its finish line, building a combined catalog of more than 5,500 hours of premium content.