32 | Family Time
Cyma Zarghami
Title: President, Nickelodeon/MTVN
Kids and Family Group
Age: 46
Education: BA, U of VT
31 | Sons and Sunny
John Landgraf
Title: President/GM, FX Networks
Age: 47
Education: BA, Anthoroplogy,
Pitzer College
Social Media Quotient: 4
Why Him? Another oops for us. In last
year’s 100 we doubted FX could top its
Emmy wins, cable’s first for best actress
and best supporting actor. We also
wondered if Shakespeare-influenced
biker drama Sons of Anarchy could
replace The Shield. Well, Glenn Close
again took the Emmy for Damages and
Sons’ freshman season won our Best
New Show award and was #2 of all new
shows searched on Yahoo!.
Sons of a B…: The season II premiere
of Sons (9/8/09) popped a wheelie,
grabbing 4.29mln viewers and 3mln 18-
49s, up 95% vs season 1’s opener.
Year Ahead:
Sons will continue to roar, but Rescue
Me is ending. Can Landgraf—whose
sense of humor is apparent (see
below)—add another comedy to It’s
Always Sunny in Philadelphia?
Why Her? When it comes to Nickelodeon hit iCarly, we’ve found
almost as many adult fans out there
as kids. Almost, but not quite. The
series finished Q2 as tops in all of TV
among kids 6-11 and 11-14. This year,
Zarghami ushered in The Penguins of
Madagascar, which is looking like it
may be another popular franchise. The
Dora-loving preschool set is another
focus, ditching the confusing Noggin
moniker for Nick Jr. Oh, and cowabun-ga, dudes! Did we mention Zarghami
snatched up rights to Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles and is working on a
movie/TV franchise that may appeal to
nostalgic parents as much as kids?
Worth Watching? With The N’s recent
re-brand as TeenNick, will Zarghami
be able to find a High School Musical
performance of her own?
The Year Ahead:
Zarghami continues to have a stronghold
on the kids and family market.
Year Ahead:
Ch-ch-ch-changes.
Lifetime is losing staff
and finding its place in
the new AETN structure
post-merger.
Favorite Food: It’s spicy
When I Need to Recharge I: Plug
my Blackberry adapter into an outlet.
Favorite iPhone/Blackberry
App: The “off” button
A Day Without Facebook Is: M, T,
W, Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun.
Trait I Most Admire in People:
Self-honesty
Childhood Hero: Dr Martin Luther
King Jr
Favorite Show Not on FX:
Comedy Central’s It’s Always sunny in
Philadelphia (Jan ’ 10)
Favorite Part of My Job: Working
with my FX colleagues and FX talent.
33 | Project New Way
Andrea Wong (left)
Title: President/CEO,
Lifetime Networks
Age: 43
Education: BS, MIT;
MBA, Stanford
Social Media Quo-
tient:
5
Why Her? In addition to
brokering the high profile
deal to bring Project
Runway to Lifetime (and
enduring the legal wrangling the move brought),
Wong expanded Lifetime’s digital world. She
oversaw its first acquisitions: Roiworld.
com and ParentsClick.
com. Indeed, Lifetime
set records for monthly
uniques ( 3.8mln—more
than double from ’08)
and page views (93mln,
up 353%). With Lifetime
Nets now part of AETN,
we’re anxious to see how
Wong’s role will change—
if at all.
Worth Watching:
Wong brought JoAnn
Alfano on board as EVP,
Entertainment. Alfano’s
eye for comedy is paying
off with dramedy Drop
Dead Diva turning in
strong numbers. Is more
funny on the way?
Favorite Food: White
truffles—just the smell of
them makes me happy.
When I Need to
Recharge I…: Read
to clear my mind, watch
movies to escape, do
needlepoint to relax, and
exercise to blow off steam
before getting back to
work.
Trait I Most Admire in
People: Integrity. Bottom
line: it’s a key cornerstone
of everything in life.
Favorite TV show not
on Lifetime: The Tudors
Best Business Advice:
Being able to say as often
as you can: “yes” and
“thank you.” These simple
words can take you a
long, long way. They show
that you listen, you care
and you have integrity.
24
cablefaxmag.com
December 2009
CableFAX: The Magazine
