13 | Ready for Round Two
Rocco Commisso
Title: Chairman/CEO, Mediacom
Age: 59
Education: BS, MBA,
Columbia University
12 | Let George Do It
Steve Koonin
Title: President, Turner
Entertainment Networks
Age: Man of a Certain Age
Education: BA, U of GA
Why Him? He’s not MIT
physicist/Under Secretary for Science Dr Steve
Koonin, yet Turner’s Koonin
is no slouch, named one
of TV’s 25 smartest by
Entertainment Weekly.
Koonin’s smart ’09 suc-cesses included seven eps
of The Closer that averaged
6. 11, among cable’s best
in Q3 and more Tyler Perry.
A late-night talk show with
George Lopez seems another excellent move.
Proud Moment: A laudatory piece in The New York
Times (11/2/09) hailing
Koonin for nabbing NBC’s
critically acclaimed but cancelled Southland and growing TNT into “a financial
powerhouse.” Indeed, SNL
Kagan sees TNT pulling in
$884mln in ad revenue in
’09, up 6% vs ’08.
Year Ahead:
The vagaries of ratings for
Lopez’s talker and comedy
Men of a Certain Age (with
Ray Romano) will have
much to do with the state of
Koonin’s well-known sense
of humor in ’ 10, yet steadies
like Tyler Perry, The Closer,
and Saving Grace should
produce grins.
Why Him? Commisso led Mediacom to
one of its best performances last year,
earning CableFAX: The Magazine’s ’09
top MSO award. This year, Mediacom’s
on track for record-setting free cash flow
and the company’s first wideband launch,
to 25% of the footprint. And then there’s
retrans, which Commisso continues to rail
against. More than two months before the
expiration of Mediacom’s retransmission
consent deal with old nemesis Sinclair, the
MSO filed a complaint with the FCC and is
seeking help getting interim carriage with
the broadcaster during negotiations.
Worth Watching: Satellite ratcheted up
marketing in the MSO’s footprint in Q3.
Mediacom has opted not to play the deep
discounting game on video-only services.
Will churned subs return once their DBS
promos expire?
The Year Ahead:
Win or lose, another battle with Sinclair likely
will be messy.
Why Him? In late October, just as the
White House was inexplicably attacking
Fox News, boosting buzz if not ratings
for the fair and balanced network, word
was that friends were urging Ailes to run
for president in ’ 12. As The Nation’s John
Nichols put it, “Ailes had enough of a
sense of humor, and marketing, to let the
talk swirl for a day.” His ultimate answer
was priceless: “I can’t afford the pay
cut.” Indeed, the former political strategist reportedly pulls down $8mln/year to
captain the cable news ratings leader.
Polls Closed: While MSNBC posted
strong ratings on Election Day ’09 (Nov
3), Fox News almost doubled its prime
time numbers. Bill O’Reilly at 8pm added
1mln+ viewers, but later Sean Hannity
(9pm) and Greta Van Susteren (10pm)
added nearly 2mln each. CNN was down
12% in prime, while MSNBC and Fox
were up 18% and 84%, respectively.
The Year Ahead:
Fox News will continue its ratings lead
and its financials are strong, too. In Q1
its operating income rose 80% through
increased affiliate revenue and lower political coverage costs.
14 | Mr President?
Roger Ailes
Title: President, Fox News Channel
Age: 69
Education: BA, U of OH
16
cablefaxmag.com
December 2009
CableFAX: The Magazine
