Brian L. Roberts (pictured)
Title: Chairman/CEO, Comcast Corp
Stephen Burke
Title: President, Comcast Cable; COO, Comcast Corp
Glenn Britt
Title: President/CEO, Time Warner Cable
and AT&T while Comcast and Time Warner Cable’s stocks
hover at 52-week lows. Blame the telco PR juggernaut, as
well as Direc TV’s ability to convince everyone its HD offerings will kick cable’s keister. And of course, there are those
very real basic sub losses. But fear not: These corporate
cable titans have plenty up their sleeves for ’08, including
more HD channels fueled by capacity-saving technologies
like switched digital video—not to mention the “wideband”
future demonstrated so ably by Roberts during the 2007
Cable Show. It’s going to be a fight for the souls of the galaxy. Use the Force, Master Brian. MG
< >top100_2007
Why Them? It’s no secret that consolidation has concentrated power in the cable industry. And with nemeses attacking from all sides—DBS (Darth Blotting the Sun), telcos,
Kevin Martin’s FCC—the cable universe needs strong leaders to keep the Cable Republic from falling into the abyss.
That’s why we look to the leaders of the top two cable
operators, which together now control about a third of all
U.S. cable households. That’s a lot of influence. And it’s up
to Jedi Masters like Brian Roberts, Steve Burke and Glenn
Britt to keep those subscribers from bolting to the Dark Side,
which now includes not only DBS but the telcos as well.
It won’t be easy. After a nice triple-play-fueled run on Wall
Street in ’06, this year has been more of a challenge with
analysts heaping praise (and higher stock prices) on Verizon
Brian Roberts I knew cable was for me when:
“Customers lined up to buy our products.” In my free
time, I like to: “Watch my kids play squash.” Favorite
sports team: “Philadelphia Flyers” I wish cable
would: “Keep innovating.” The world would be a
better place if: “Everyone was like Jim Robbins.”
Glenn Britt I knew cable was for me when:
“I got a job offer.” In my free time, I like to: “Read,
especially history and bestseller fiction.” Favorite restaurant: “Sistina” Favorite city: “New York” Favorite
TV show: “Anything that is Start Over-enabled.”
