RBR+TVBR 2019 Spring Special Report

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RBR+TVBR’s READER HONOR ROLL

For the first time, Radio +Television Business Report is pleased to present Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders. The list was compiled from nominations made by RBR+TVBR readers — people who know the TV industry from the inside, followed by research and editorial evaluation.

THAN A 18 MORE MEASUREMENT ‘ALTERNATIVE’?

Comscore has aggressively signed on client after client. CEO Bryan Wiener shares how this growth has come thanks to his company’s audience insights built for a crossplatform media universe – one that incorporates digital, linear TV, OTT and theatrical viewership.

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KEYSTONE TOPS

The story of Seven Mountains Media involves all the usual trappings of a newly formed entity seeking to win over listeners and businesses the old-fashioned way.

The CEO’s family ties make Kristin Cantrell’s story unique.

22 A RADIO LEADER’S TV TRIUMPH

SBS’s Mega TV was viewed as a money-losing folly for its first four years. Under COO Albert Rodriguez, it became profitable.

What’s his magic touch?

Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders

Radio + Television Business Report STREAMLINE PUBLISHING Chairman: Eric Rhoads Publisher: Deborah Parenti Editor-in-Chief: Adam R Jacobson Director of Administration: April McLynn 331 SE Mizner Blvd.

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Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders

Introducing RBR+TVBR’s inaugural reader Honor Roll While technology plays a key role in TV’s past, present and future, strong leadership brings revenue and ratings success. That’s why it is now time to acknowledge Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders. These individuals know how to motivate their local and regional teams to success. They are winning at sales, programming and management. They are relentless in what they do, and do not fail. They have emerged as power players in an industry that’s far from fading.

For the first time, Radio +Television Business Report is pleased to present Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders. The list was compiled from nominations made by RBR+TVBR readers — in other words, people who know the television industry from the inside — followed by research and editorial evaluation. This is an alphabetical Honor Roll, with each individual honored equally worthy of their appearance on this list.

JACK ABERNETHY

FOX Television Stations, CEO It’s been quite a year for Jack Abernethy, who has served as Chief Executive of FOX Television Stations since 2004. In September 2018, he was named Broadcaster of the Year at the TVB Forward conference. In his acceptance speech, Jack looked back at his career and highlighted the distinguishing marks of a broadcaster: they guard and value their reputation, understand their obligation to their community and place broadcast accuracy above all else.

Jack also took a moment to address consolidation and ownership caps for TV stations, saying, “If anyone is honest and takes a step back, there is no question that the best thing for our business would be a full relaxation of ownership restrictions; the best thing for consumers, employees and the communities that we serve.

Arguments to the contrary are defensive, self-serving, misinformed or a combination thereof.”

Jack oversees 28 FOX O&Os and is directly responsible for the creation of MyNetworkTV, currently in its 12th season. He has also led the success of syndicated programs such as “Wendy Williams,” “TMZ,” “Page Six TV” and “Divorce Court.”

Abernethy served as EVP of FOX News from 1996-2004, where he was integral to the successful launch of the channel. Prior to his current role, from August 2016 through May 2018 Abernethy served

as Co-President of FOX News Channel and FOX Business Network.

Before FOX, Abernethy had a distinguished 15-year career with NBC, where he held a variety of executive finance management positions for the NBC Television Stations division, driving CNBC’s early growth as VP of Finance and Operations.

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and Portuguese-speaking web users, and a stint in the mergers and acquisitions group at Salomon Smith Barney.

Cesar has been at NBCUniversal since October 2013, and before that was at Telemundo’s primary rival in Hispanic media, Univision, as President of Univision Networks.

Social and community initiatives are core to Conde’s business approach. At NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, he spearheaded the launch of “El Poder En Ti,” the company’s corporate social responsibility initiative. At Univision, he created a national education initiative with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

EMILY BARR

Graham Media Group, President/CEO When it comes to civic involvement, Emily Barr is regularly mentioned before many other broadcast media industry leaders.

There’s good reason for this.

Emily is the 2018 recipient of the Golden Mike Award from the Broadcasters Foundation of America. This honor follows her 2016 induction into the Silver Circle of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Emily was also awarded the 2014 Vincent T. Wasilewski Broadcaster of the Year by the Illinois Broadcasters Association, and she received the 2010 Westbury Leadership Award from the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago for her involvement in a citywide media effort to raise funds for the Haitian earthquake relief effort.

It is this dedication to the community, and to making the world a better place, that perhaps overshadows much of the success seen

by Emily as the head of the TV broadcasting division of Graham Holdings Co. — a role she has held since July 2012.

Emily oversees seven local television stations, located in Houston, Detroit, San Antonio, Orlando, Jacksonville and in Roanoke, Va. Prior to joining Graham Media Group, Barr served as President/ GM of ABC O&O WLS-7 in Chicago, holding the role from April 1997 until July 2012.

CESAR CONDE

NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, Chairman Cesar Conde’s path to leadership of the Telemundo division of Comcast-owned NBCUniversal is rather atypical. But this may provide a good explanation as to why Cesar has been selected as a standout broadcast TV industry leader.

Early in his career, from 2002-2003, Cesar was a White House Fellow for Secretary of State Colin Powell, in the administration of George W. Bush. This followed roles at StarMedia, the first internet company focused on Iberoamerica

DAVID GRIFFIN

Griffin Communications, Chairman/CEO “Griffin Communications is a special place. You won’t find anywhere else quite like it.”

That’s the first thing visitors to this company’s website see. How is Griffin different? “We put people first and are committed to keeping Oklahomans safe, informed and entertained. It starts with David and Kirsten Griffin of Oklahoma City and John and Ashley Griffin of Tulsa, local owners with deep roots and commitment to Oklahoma.”

This explains why David Griffin is among Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders. But much of his success is tied to family enterprises dating back more than a century, with newspapers. In 1953, KWTV-9 signed on. “Television changed everything,” Griffin says.

Today, Griffin Communications comprises the CBS affiliates in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, the MyNetworkTV affiliate in OKC, the CW Network affiliate in Tulsa, and a group of radio stations acquired in 2018 from The E.W. Scripps Co. “We value teamwork, hard work and humility,” the company notes.

“In our fast-paced and challenging industry, we think it’s important for Griffin to be a fun, positive place to grow and learn.”

David graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1988 and began his career with Telerep in Atlanta. In 1990, he returned to Oklahoma to help in managing the family business. In 1992, David was named President/GM of Griffin Television, and in 2001 he rose to President/CEO of Griffin Communications.

When not in the office, David can often be found shuttling kids between soccer, football, basketball and other athletic activities as well as hiking and seeking new adventures.

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KIM GUTHRIE

Cox Media Group, President It’s been a busy few weeks for Kim Guthrie. On February 15, Apollo Global Management said it would take a majority interest in Cox Media Group’s TV stations, the Dayton Daily News and CMG’s radio properties in the Miami Valley. It is a $3.1 billion deal.

While this will see Cox’s TV stations melded with those of Northwest Broadcasting and perhaps another group’s properties, executive changes are not expected — leaving Guthrie in the driver’s seat as a highly admired and respected leader.

As President, Kim oversees all content, sales and operations for not only the 14 broadcast television stations, but also more than 60 radio stations and both the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Dayton Daily News. Additionally, CMG operates the National Advertising Platform businesses of CoxReps — the country’s biggest television rep firm — Gamut and Videa.

Kim rose through the ranks as EVP/National Ad Platforms and President of CoxReps and, before that, as a well-liked EVP/Radio at Cox Media Group. She first joined Cox in 1998 as VP/GM for its Nassau-Suffolk (Long Island), N.Y. radio stations. Guthrie previously held management positions with Hubbard Broadcasting, Heritage Media and All Pro Broadcasting.

Kim started her career as a journalist, having spent several years as a television news reporter, TV news anchor and TV weatherperson. With her career bookended by television industry roles, what one important factor should broadcast TV industry peers think about when it comes to connecting with consumers?

“Good, strong local journalism will always bring value to our communities, and a free, credible press remains an important part of our democracy,” she tells RBR+TVBR. “We need to be mindful of the tone, however, and keep an open mind about how and where we offer access to our local news — leveraging new distribution channels as well as new forms, writing styles and lengths of local news.”

TERRY HURLEY Cordillera Communications, President Terry Hurley is a 38-year broadcast veteran and has led Cordillera Communications since 2000.

This will be his only appearance in his current role as one of Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders.

How so? On October 29, 2018, Hurley signed off on the sale of 15 of its 16 stations

to The E.W. Scripps Company for $521 million. That 16th property, NBC affiliate KVOA-4 in Tucson, is headed to Quincy Media for an undisclosed price.

“Our stations are as strong as they’ve been across any point in our 32-year history,” Hurley said at the time of the sale. “We’ve had a good run, and we’re proud of how our stations have excelled over the years. We’re also heartened to know they’ll continue to be in exceptional hands.”

Noting that the broadcast industry requires an ability to scale for the future, Hurley added, “The two buyers represent the best possible scenario: They are poised to grow the stations and empower them to compete in this changing media landscape, and, more importantly, they will provide a great home and opportunities for the dedicated employees of Cordillera.”

Before joining Cordillera, Hurley was SVP for Benedek Broadcasting Corp. and President/GM of KDLH/Duluth, Minn.

With closing of Cordillera’s stations imminent at press time, what are Hurley’s final thoughts on this group of stations? “We connect with our audiences in the same fundamental ways as we always have: we report honestly and accurately, and we provide content that matters to the people that live in our communities,” he said.

PAT LaPLATNEY

Gray Television, co-CEO While Pat LaPlatney is presently associated with Gray Television, and has been co-CEO alongside Hilton Howell III since the start of 2019, RBR+TVBR readers salute Pat for his previous role, as President/CEO of Raycom Media.

Raycom and Gray merged at the end of 2018, creating a giant among broadcast TV companies. The combination of Raycom and Gray is largely thanks to Pat’s leadership at Raycom, which began with his appointment as VP/Digital Media in August 2007.

Before Pat landed at Raycom’s digital media department, he was SVP of the Television Division at Metro Networks. There, he oversaw the launch of a new national unwired network as well as the introduction of the WebTraffic internet service.

But Pat arrived at Metro after an eight-year run at Raycom, serving as SVP/Programming and Distribution, VP/Affiliate Relations, and Manager, Southeast Region Advertising Sales during his first tenure.

How Gray and Raycom came together was perhaps first observed over cocktails at the Sunday-night chairman’s reception at the 2017 NAB Show. RBR+TVBR saw Howell and LaPlatney engaged in a lively conversation. When the merger was announced in June 2018, Hilton said the talks that led to the $3.6 billion merger announcement amounted to the “smoothest and friendliest transactions that Gray has ever experienced.”

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KEVIN LATEK

Gray Television, EVP/Chief Legal and Development Officer Pat LaPlatney wasn’t the only Gray Television executive to be honored by RBR+TVBR readers.

Kevin Latek was also saluted — much to Latek’s surprise and humility.

Kevin joined Gray as VP for Law and Development and Secretary in 2012. He was appointed to his current position in July 2013 and has emerged as a major face for Gray, offering company news and comments to the media while attending such key conferences as NATPE Miami.

Before joining Gray, Latek spent 15 years with the law firm of Dow Lohnes PLLC, in Washington, D.C., representing television broadcasters in FCC regulatory and transactional matters. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Federal Communications Bar Association and currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the CBS Affiliate Association. He previously served on the Fox Affiliate Board of Governors.

Asked what he believes is the most important factor for over-theair TV in connecting with audiences, in an age where video content can come from anyone, anywhere, Latek says, “We succeed when we deliver relevant content to local audiences when and where and how they want it.”

BRIAN LAWLOR

The E.W. Scripps Co., President/Local Media “Local television is a cornerstone of our local communities, serving an important role in keeping people safe and informed, holding the powerful accountable and creating important discourse in our communities.”

That’s what Brian Lawlor says about the state of the industry today, and the role Scripps’ broadcast TV stations play in their respective communities.

“At Scripps, our founder’s mission commits us to giving a voice to the voiceless,” he continues. “Oftentimes over-the-air consumers are the disadvantaged who struggle to stay informed and find their voice. In today’s world, over-the-top is driving a resurgence in OTA viewing, creating a new generation of OTA viewers. Whether it is a traditional over-the-air consumer or a viewer combining multiple

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services, Scripps’ commitment to provide news and information to keep people informed and safe will never deviate.”

In addition to the company’s 36 television stations, Lawlor also has responsibility for the local digital operations, Scripps’ local programming initiatives and the four Katz Television multicast networks.

Previously SVP of the Broadcast division, Brian has overseen the rapid growth of Scripps’ broadcasting assets from 10 TV stations in 2009.

BRIAN AND KEVIN LILLY

Lilly Broadcasting, CEO and President Brothers and partners, Brian and Kevin Lilly have gained attention — and, perhaps, the ire of MVPDs seeking a retransmission fee agreement to their likely chagrin — over 20 years as TV station owners.

For the Lilly brothers, this journey began in September 1999 with the purchase of WENY-TV and WENY-AM & FM in the Corning-Elmira, N.Y., market. In 2002, Kevin Lilly purchased WSEE-TV in Erie, Pa., and made the property the flagship of an entity that now provides both ABC and The CW Network to the U.S. Virgin Islands, and a unique WSEE feed to Puerto Rico. Also in the mix is WZMQ-19 in Marquette, Mich.

There’s also WICU-TV in Erie, Pa., and ABC affiliate KITV-4 in Honolulu, serving all of Hawaii, which Brian and Kevin manage for SJL Broadcast Management — founded by their father, George Lilly, some 35 years ago.

What led RBR+TVBR readers to select Brian, the CEO, and Kevin, the President, of Lilly Broadcasting? “The contributions of each member of our team are crucial to success. Unlike some mammoth broadcasting companies who report to shareholders, Lilly Broadcasting starts with the proposition that we work for our viewers, readers and users. Our decision-making process begins with that core value.”

In November 2017, Lilly ended a two-month standoff with DISH Network that saw KITV-4 removed from DISH services across Hawaii, due to an ugly retransmission fee renewal fight. Also impacted were WENY and its DT-2 signal, which offer CBS programming to the Twin Tiers, and Erie-market CW affiliate WBEP and NBC affiliate WICU-TV, in addition to WSEE-TV.

“As broadcasters, we have a responsibility to educate and inform our audiences, empower citizens through facts and bring communities together in times of need.”

— Dave Lougee, President/CEO, TEGNA

capital, serves an important role as a key component of the Fourth Estate. “We also serve as a check on those in power and hold them accountable through investigations and storytelling,” Dave says. “It is critical that our stations reflect the communities we serve so that we can tell stories that matter locally and bring change to those who need it most. I am proud of the work we do to engage our audiences across platforms. No other industry has the ability to connect with their community and have the impact we have.”

Prior to becoming CEO, Dave spent 10 years as President of TEGNA Media. During that time, the company acquired Belo Corp. and London Broadcasting, nearly doubling its broadcast portfolio.

Dave came to TEGNA through Belo, where he was EVP/Media Operations.

Dave’s roots are in TV news, and earlier in his career he served as VP/News for NBC O&O WRC-4 in Washington, D.C., and as VP/News Director for KUSA-9 in Denver for TEGNA. Dave serves as Chairman of the NBC Affiliates Board and is the immediate past joint chairman of NAB. He is also on the Board of Directors for BMI and the Broadcasters Foundation of America, and is a past chair of the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) Board of Directors.

STEVE MANDALA DAVE LOUGEE TEGNA, President/CEO “As broadcasters, we have a responsibility to educate and inform our audiences, empower citizens through facts and bring communities together in times of need.”

That’s exactly what drives Dave Lougee, who heads the TV stations owned by the company formerly known as Gannett.

But he believes his company, with a rich history in the nation’s

Univision Communications, President of Advertising Sales and Marketing “For us, it starts with trust.”

That bold statement comes from one of the most passionate, energetic and beloved figures in Hispanic media — Steve Mandala.

Steve oversees advertising sales and marketing for Univision’s suite of media offerings, including Univision Network, UniMás Network; cable networks Galavisión, Univision Deportes Network, El Rey, Univision tlnovelas and FOROtv; and Univision Local Media, S PRIN G 2019 · RB R .C O M · 9

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CONGRATULATIONS from all of us at

Congratulations to Brian and Kevin Lilly for recognition among Broadcast Television’s Top Leaders.

The Lilly family’s dedication to excellence and innovation never fails to inspire us.

Your philosophy of “putting viewers first” always leads to greater success.

From all of your employees at Lilly Broadcasting, we want to say “Thank you!”

TWIN TIERS

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Puerto Rico

U.S. Virgin Islands Guam

U.S. Virgin Islands

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Digital, Political and Direct Response.

Steve is in his second tour of duty at Univision and has been both EVP/Advertising Sales and VP of West Coast Network Sales since he rejoined the company in 2012. He came to Univision after spending 15 years in various leadership roles at NBCUniversal and Telemundo. This includes a five-year tenure as EVP/Cable Entertainment Ad Sales at NBCUniversal. Steve’s television sales career began when he joined Telemundo’s KVEA-52 in Los Angeles as GSM. Speaking to his current role overseeing the top-rated Spanishlanguage TV stations in the U.S., according to Nielsen prime-time ratings for February 2019, he tells RBR+TVBR, “Our advantage is that through our mission to inform, empower and entertain we have cultivated a relationship with our audience that transcends the standard viewer-network experience. This type of brand loyalty can’t be duplicated; however, with this comes the responsibility for us to deliver our content to our audience wherever they may be.

From broadcast to cable and social to mobile, we continue to evolve our strategy of making our programming as accessible as possible to our audience.”

Steve is the recipient of HispanicAd’s “Hispanic Media Executive of the Year.”

PAT McCREERY Meredith Local Media Group, President “The evolution of how people can access our video content has created an exciting opportunity in our industry,” notes Pat McCreery, who oversees Meredith Corp.’s 17 owned- and-operated TV stations. “In all of our markets we have seen an increase in overthe-air penetration due to cord cutting. However, I believe in order to be successful we need to embrace a combination of multiple distribution pathways, including over-the-air TV.”

Pat has more than 25 years of experience in the broadcast industry and in June 2018 was elevated from the role of EVP/ Operations and VP/News and Marketing. He currently serves on the TV Board of the NAB, the CBS Affiliate Board and the Television Operators Caucus. He has also served on numerous non-profit boards, including those of the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the American Heart Association.

GINNY MORRIS Hubbard Broadcasting, CEO Why is Ginny Morris on this inaugural list of Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders?

That’s exactly what Ginny thought, too, when contacted by RBR+TVBR about her honor.

Unbeknownst to readers of RBR+TVBR, who overwhelmingly suggested that Morris be included in our Honor Roll, Morris serves as the head of Hubbard Broadcasting’s radio stations — leading entities including WTOP-FM in Washington, D.C., and WTMX-FM in Chicago.

It wasn’t until we communicated with Hubbard that it became clear that Rob Hubbard, her brother, heads the TV division. As such, Rob is, she insists, the individual who should be honored for oversight of a group of stations that includes WNYT-13 in Albany, N.Y., WHEC-10 in Rochester, N.Y., and flagship KSTP-5 in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Perhaps this is deliberate. With the debut of Hubbard Broadcasting’s sleek new corporate website, there is no list of current corporate executives to be found. Instead, “What our employees are saying” is prominently featured on the homepage.

This says much about Hubbard’s approach to how it runs its media holdings, with the focus on its people and not on its family-run leadership.

Hubbard’s roots date to 1938, when the company led by Stanley E. Hubbard purchased the first television camera from RCA. It came thirteen years after Hubbard launched “The Call of the North” — a tiny 1,000-watt radio station with the WAMD-AM call letters — from Marigold Gardens in Minneapolis.

A decade later, in 1948, Hubbard launched the first TV station between Chicago and the West Coast: KSTP-5. In 1957 came the purchase of KOB-AM and KOB-TV from Time-Life; it still owns the TV station.

Mr. Hubbard died in 1992 at the age of 95. Today, his legacy lives on thanks to Rob Hubbard on the TV side and Ginny Morris on the radio side.

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OTTO PADRON Meruelo Media, President/COO For radio industry executives, the name Meruelo Media means such assets as KPWR-FM “Power 106” in Los Angeles, acquired from Emmis Communications. However, Meruelo is also the owner of two TV stations serving the L.A. DMA. In 2011, a Meruelo Group affiliate acquired KWHY-TV in Los Angeles, one of the oldest independent Spanish-language television stations in the U.S. This began the formation of Meruelo, which in 2017 expanded its TV operations with the acquisition of KBEH-63, an Oxnard-Ventura-licensed station serving the entire Southland.

Overseeing the operations at Meruelo Media is Otto Padron. He’s been in his current role since March 2012 and, before that, spent

nearly 15 years as SVP/Programming and Operations at Univision, doing “everything … and then some!”

From October 1992-July 1995, Padron was Director/Programming for Telemundo.

While this is widely known among Hispanic media executives, many may not be aware of his commitment to the U.S. Army. For nearly 16 years, Padron has held various roles in California for the Army, and he is currently Commander of the First Brigade of the Pacific Division of the 84th Training Command. That’s the U.S. Army Reserve, based in Garden Grove, Calif.

Why did RBR+TVBR readers select Otto? “Under Otto’s leadership of on-air content and promotions, Univision Television Network became the fifth-largest TV network in the U.S. regardless of language,” one reader notes. “Today, Otto has made Meruelo Media the fastest-growing minority-owned media company in California.

For these reasons and more, Mr. Padron is very deserving of this amazing honor.”

Another reader calls Otto a “natural-born leader, excellent motivator and a very trustworthy commander.”

CHRIS RIPLEY Sinclair Broadcast Group, President/CEO One year ago, everyone assumed Sinclair Broadcast Group would be merging with Tribune Media. That’s not happening, for reasons well-reported since summer 2018.

Sinclair hasn’t withered. In fact, it has seen its stock rebound to pre-merger-termination levels. Much of this stability can be attributed to Chris Ripley.

Chris has served in his current role since January 2017, rising from CFO — a position he gained in April 2014.

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Before coming on board at Sinclair, Ripley was a Managing Director at UBS Investment Bank’s Global Media Group and served as head of the Los Angeles office, where he managed, advised and structured various financings and merger and acquisition transactions in the broadcast and entertainment sectors. Before that, this University of Western Ontario business school graduate was a principal in Prime Ventures and an analyst at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette.

Asked where he sees broadcast television’s best and brightest success in the years ahead, Ripley told RBR+TVBR, “The most important factor in an age where video content can come from anyone is to have a unique and defensible user experience, which can be accomplished with exclusive content and/or a best-in-class user interface on an audience’s platform of choice.”

ALBERT RODRIGUEZ Spanish Broadcasting System, COO Albert Rodriguez’s efforts leading Mega TV, the television arm of Miamibased SBS, are documented in this edition of RBR+TVBR. Albert has been associated with SBS’s Miami media properties since fall 1999.

PERRY SOOK Nexstar Media Group, President/CEO If there is one individual who perhaps can be viewed as the leader of broadcast television as a whole, that person may be Perry Sook.

Perry founded Nexstar in 1996 with the acquisition of a TV station in Scranton, Pa. This started a journey that has Nexstar ready to become the nation’s biggest owner of broadcast television properties, once it receives regulatory approval of its merger with Tribune Media.

How did Perry get to his current place in the media world, which includes a just-concluded run as Chairman of TVB? Prior to forming Nexstar, Perry was one of the principals of Superior Communication Group. In 1995, this company was sold to Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Before Superior, he was President/CEO of Seaway Communication, an owner of network-affiliated stations in Bangor, Maine, and Wausau, Wisc. Perry’s early career experience includes five years with Cox Broadcasting, first in local sales in Pittsburgh and then at Telerep, as a National Account Executive. Early in his career, he was involved in local TV sales and radio sales and even in front of the camera: Perry briefly worked as a television news anchor at WDTV-TV, the CBS affiliate in Clarksburg, W. Va. Perry was thrilled to learn of his honor by RBR+TVBR readers.

When asked what, in his view, the biggest factor for broadcast TV owners is today, he readily replied with one word: localism.

He said, “From the very beginning, Nexstar has cultivated an organizationwide commitment to localism through the production of unique local content that is relevant to each of the communities we serve. From breaking news coverage to investigative reporting — our locally produced programming informs, entertains and enriches the daily lives of our viewers.

No other media connects people to their communities more effectively than local broadcast television, and that is why our audiences continue to have closer relationships with our local brands. While technology plays an important role in enhancing viewer reach and engagement across all screens, it is our stations’ innovative local content creation and community involvement that creates lasting connections with local audiences.”

DIANE SUTTER ShootingStar Broadcasting, President/CEO NAB Education Foundation Broadcast Leadership Training Program, Founder/Dean The National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation (NABEF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving broadcasters and the public interest by supporting and advocating community service, diversity, education and broadcasting issues and trends.

Within NABEF is a program that has become highly regarded as an “MBA for radio management” by a host of graduates RBR+TVBR spoke with.

The BLT program is largely thanks to the vision of Diane Sutter.

With Cox Media Group, Fox TV Stations, Futuri, Gray Television, Hearst Television, Legend Communications, Morgan Murphy Media, Quincy Media and The E.W. Scripps Company among the program sponsors in 2018, Sutter has successfully administered a program that targets senior-level broadcast executives who aspire to advance as group executives or station owners. A number of BLT graduates are in varying stages of station acquisition.

Outside of NABEF, Diane has a resume that includes radio and television station management, overseeing a television and radio station group, and owning and operating television stations. Her company, ShootingStar, owned CBS affiliate KTAB-TV in Abilene, Tex., and WZMY-TV in the Boston DMA, branded as “MyTV New England.”

In the 1990s, Diane served as the President of Shamrock Television, owned by the Roy Disney family. She oversaw three network affiliates for Shamrock and was responsible for station operations and acquisitions.

Radio Ink magazine named Diane Sutter one of The Most Influential Women in Radio in 2017 and 2018. She was also named one of the 20 Top Leaders in Radio by Radio Ink. The

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Broadcasters Foundation of America honored Diane as a 2017 Ward Quall Leadership Award recipient in recognition of her career contributions to the broadcast industry and the community at large.

For broadcast TV to ensure its successful future, Diane says it is becoming more evident than ever that all successful businesses now have to lead with purpose. “‘Conscious Capitalism’ builds the case that businesses that are driven by purpose will be the ones to succeed and indeed, thrive in the marketplace going forward.

Focusing on all our stakeholders, not just shareholders, provides better value to our shareholders and creates a healthy environment in which to do business. Who better than broadcasters to be focused on their ‘purpose’ in making their communities better?”

ADAM SYMSON The E.W. Scripps Co., President/CEO Scripps merits two appearances in this inaugural Honor Roll of Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders.

In addition to Brian Lawlor, RBR+TVBR readers salute Adam Symson, who oversees all of the company’s operations.

Much of what Adam sees as Scripps’ strength lies in its news programming. “At Scripps, we believe a commitment to deliver our journalism and programming across every video platform is just the price of admission,” he says. “The battle for the consumer’s loyalty will be won through a dedication to creating products our consumers believe to be necessary and lovable: quality programming and journalism that stand apart from the crowd.”

Prior to becoming CEO in August 2017, Adam was Scripps’ Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the company’s broadcast TV, radio and digital media divisions. As Chief Digital Officer from 2011 to 2016, he was responsible for Scripps’ digital businesses in more than 25 local markets and for national businesses including Newsy and Midroll.

Prior to this post, Adam oversaw the operation, content and revenue for the TV division’s interactive businesses. He also spent a year as Director of Content and Marketing for the Scripps interactive media division (which was spun off into Scripps Networks Interactive in 2008). Adam joined the company’s corporate operation in 2003 as the Director of Investigations and Special Projects for the TV group. Shortly after, he was named Director of News Strategy and Operations. Adam joined Scripps as Executive Producer of investigations and Special Projects for KNXV, the Scripps-owned ABC affiliate in Phoenix.

It all started in radio, at San Fernando Valley-focused KGIL-AM 1260 in Los Angeles. This experience eventually led him to KCAL-9 and KCBS-2 in Los Angeles, and on to his current path.

LARRY WERT Tribune Media, President of Broadcast Media Larry Wert was appointed President/Broadcast Media in February 2013 and at the 2018 NAB Show wondered what he’d be doing today. That’s because Sinclair Broadcast Group was poised to acquire his company.

Today, Tribune Media is likely set to become a part of Nexstar Media Group. Whether that leads Wert to retirement is still the stuff of gossip. But one thing is for sure — Wert as of early March was still responsible for overseeing the strategy and day-to-day activities of Tribune Media’s 42 TV O&Os and Chicago-based WGN-AM. Wert also serves on the NAB TV Board of Directors and the CBS Board of Governors and in 2017 was named Broadcaster of the Year by the Illinois Broadcasters Association.

Larry came to Tribune Media from NBC O&O WMAQ-5 in Chicago, where he was President/GM and oversaw integration of WSNS-TV, the Chicago Telemundo affiliate. A Chicago-area native, Larry has spent nearly 40 years in broadcasting. He started at Leo Burnett Advertising in Chicago in 1978, and moved on to television sales with ABC, working in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, where he became Local Sales Manager at WLS-7.

Radio executives will recall that in 1989, Wert took the role of President/GM of WLUP-AM & FM in Chicago, “The Loop.” In 1996, he was named President of Evergreen Media. When it merged with Chancellor Broadcasting, he became Senior Vice President of Chancellor, overseeing 13 radio properties.

Wert said farewell to radio in 1998, when he joined WMAQ-5.

Larry is very involved in the community and serves as Chairman of the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. He also serves on the Boards of Directors for several charities, including the Children’s Brittle Bone Foundation, Catholic Charities, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the 100 Club. He is a member of the Governing Board of Gilda’s Club of Chicago, an advisor to the Chicago Chapter of Make-A-Wish Foundation and an honorary board member of RAINBOWS, an organization that helps children cope with loss.

Larry Wert’s recognition as one of Broadcast Television Best Leaders may mark his final appearance on this inaugural readergenerated list.

On March 12, Tribune Media shareholders overwhelmingly voted to approve its acquisition by Nexstar Media Group.

“We’re extremely pleased,” said Peter Kern, Tribune Media Company’s CEO. “It confirms that our stockholders clearly recognize the significant value we expect to be delivered by this merger. We look forward to continuing our work with Nexstar to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals that will enable us to close this transaction later this year.”

Once the merger is complete, Wert is expected to conclude a stellar career in media.

ABOUT BROADCAST TELEVISION’S BEST LEADERS: This inaugural Honor Roll is produced from RBR+TVBR reader nominations, which were gathered over a period of several weeks in late 2018 and early 2019. Individuals are represented equally, in alphabetical order rather than by ranking, to demonstrate each honoree’s contributions to the industry. © 2019 Streamline Publishing.

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Comscore: More Than the ‘Alternative’ Measurement Service?

A Q&A with CEO Bryan Wiener It’s been a turbulent 12 months for broadcast television’s main providers of audience measurement and data analytics. Nielsen has new leadership, and with its Q4 and full-year 2018 financial results seems to have stabilized its steep losses in what was its Buy division while reinforcing its Watch division — one that a rival is most certainly eyeing as a growth arena.

The Watch division largely comprises Nielsen’s TV ratings service, which of late has been the subject of concern among several major broadcast television companies. Data accuracy within a shifting television ecosystem is among the key areas of apprehension, with the Media Finance Management CFO Summit in early March the latest venue where such conversations were had.

Enter Comscore, which has aggressively signed on client after client thanks to its audience insights built for a cross-platform media universe — one that incorporates digital, linear TV, over-the-top (OTT) and theatrical viewership.

With the notion of “TV” no longer being about the device and consumers flocking to content in fragmented, blended and platform-agnostic ways, Comscore is advancing on an ambitious cross-platform roadmap to deliver “holistic audience measurement with trusted deduplication” — an ever-important differentiator for buyers. We talked to Comscore CEO Bryan Wiener about these changes.

RBR+TVBR: With seismic changes accelerating in the ecosystem, content providers and advertisers are increasingly exploring alternative measurement currencies to traditional TV ratings and audience estimates. Over the past year, Comscore has stepped up to meet the demand. Is there one thing that sets Comscore apart, based on the conversations with your TV industry clients, that seems to come up in the discussions held ahead of a contract signing?

Bryan Wiener: At the end of 2018, we saw tremendous momentum in the local TV market with expanded deals from The E.W. Scripps Co., Gray Television, Nexstar and NBCUniversal Owned Stations. Our partners in this space told us they decided to deepen their relationships with Comscore due to our ability to provide more stable and accurate measurement in local markets.

The same forces of fragmentation in the modern TV environment are creating momentum elsewhere in our business — specifically around our flagship cross-platform ad measurement solution, Comscore Campaign Ratings (CCR).

Fragmented consumer behavior requires large sample sizes to holistically measure — and deduplicate audiences — across platforms. As the lines between linear and digital television blur, we believe we are advantaged due to our cross-platform data assets and advanced data analytics, which allow us to offer co-viewing lift metrics as well as deduplication.

RBR+TVBR: Videa, the top automated television advertising marketplace, owned by Cox Media Group, is adding Comscore TV data to its local linear TV buying and selling platform. This says a lot about the growing use of programmatic and the need for accurate data for advertisers. Is this core to Comscore’s growth strategy, or just one component of it?

BW: Our goal is to have our data be as useful and accessible to our clients as possible, which is why it’s important to easily integrate into all buying and selling platforms. Comscore has been used by the industry’s leading DMPs and DSPs, as well as industry-wide initiatives like OpenAP to help advertisers more effectively transact on advanced audience insights and granular TV viewing data. Beyond that, our greatest opportunity for growth is around our customers’ biggest challenges — and increasingly on the buy and sell side, those challenges have to do with navigating the advanced TV environment.

RBR+TVBR: Some major players are aligning with Comscore of late — NBCUniversal, Viamedia and Nexstar, a partner for eight years. But the one that grabbed our attention was the Gray deal. Then there is an expanded deal with Scripps. Why now?

What is leading these companies to align with Comscore in bigger ways than before, in particular with Gray?

BW: As I referenced earlier, the adoption of Comscore as currency in local markets signals that the industry overall (inclusive of national networks) is ready to break the inertia of age/gender in favor of more granular insights into what viewers like, how they behave and what they buy. This level of granular targeting — especially at the local level — is only possible with massive-scale measurement.

Beyond that, we believe our customercentric approach to measurement is what helps differentiate us within the marketplace. Within my first 100 days at the company, I went on a listening tour to hear directly from our clients about their biggest challenges and concerns. From there, we have worked internally to develop a

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strong roadmap to ship products that meet real client needs and are working in lockstep with our clients to help inform our development process.

RBR+TVBR: Does Comscore see itself as a competitor to Nielsen, or as an additional data analytics provider that can better serve media as it shifts to a digital universe?

BW: Competition is good for any industry — especially media. Competition benefits content providers, advertisers and even vendors because it pushes for a more customer-centric approach to innovation.

Our biggest competitor is inertia. As we push to continue to modernize measurement and solve important business challenges on behalf of our clients, we’re operating against decades-old systems, processes and standards, which don’t necessarily meet the needs of the modern media environment. But as we’ve seen within the local TV market, and what you’re beginning to see with things like CCR, is that the industry is not only open to but actively seeking new or alternative ad currencies to enable business growth.

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Keystone Tops: Job One for This Growing Radio Company Go to the corporate website for the owner of a group of radio stations across central Pennsylvania, and you’ll see this statement: “We were just minding our own business when the call came in … Communities that we cared about were crying out for good quality radio. Kristin Cantrell and her leadership team responded — from the capital of Kentucky.”

money in developing people and developing stations. Without the work of JC and Dave, this wouldn’t be possible.”

A lot of the “ideation” came from Cantrell’s husband, who helped inject new life into stations in a way that makes one think of a much bigger, publicly traded entity — Entercom.

Cantrell said, “Most of the stations were neglected. They were broken, and a lot of the people were too. No progress. No innovation. Most were the people The story of Seven Mountains left after others left or were Media involves all the usual trapfired. It just wasn’t a good forpings of a newly formed entity mula for success.” seeking to win over listeners and This left Seven Mountains businesses the old-fashioned way with the somewhat trying task — with live and local programming of recruiting people to come to and engaging content that doesn’t areas that were barely known involve piped-in air talent from a to outsiders. The result: staff faraway land. composition of early twentyWhile the tale certainly makes somethings looking to start their a compelling marketing pitch, careers, and seasoned radio were Cantrell, the company’s professionals who may recall AM Seven Mountains Media CEO Kristin Cantrell, Chief Programming Officer CEO, and Chief Creative Officer Stereo, or even CB radio.

JC Burton, and Chief Creative Officer Dave Taylor Dave Taylor really minding their Through these disparate genown business? Or was Seven erations, Seven Mountains is buildMountains sniffing out opportunities to ing a bridge toward a common goal.

Seven Mountains started its march into build a group of radio stations in markets it At the same time, the united staff is workPennsylvania in Lewiston, and then moved to believed it could excel in? ing to bring live back to towns where “big State College, home of Penn State University.

“We were operating in Kentucky,” Cantrell “Literally, when the call came in from the bro- box” stores “invaded” and, as Cantrell said, said of stations serving Frankfort, Ky., and the ker and they had this deal and they wanted “sucked the life and revenue out.” town of Shelbyville, in a rural area between Seven Mountains’ employees are now to sell, they knew my background,” Cantrell Lexington and Louisville. “There are a lot of actively teaching local businesses how to comsaid. This sparked others to call her; the small towns.”

Mexico, Pa., deal then came organically. “That pete with the internet, instead of giving up.

But before Taylor and Cantrell found themPart of the fight to bring local media and just kept happening,” she said, as Seven selves in the Bluegrass State, they were in the Mountains pursued the Selinsgrove stations. local business back involved creating unique Keystone State. There, they worked for two Taylor added, “One thing that Kristin, [Chief brands that spoke to every community Seven companies with names likely familiar to longMountains operates in. C-Suite accessibility Programming Officer JC Burton] and I had a time radio industry professionals — Forever was also key. strong feeling about is that local radio had Media and Keymarket.

“If the client wants to meet with me, I’ll turned its back on what had made it so great, Those two licensees were operated by go. I’m there,” Cantrell said. “When the CEO making it a local community hub. Network Kirby Confer and Don Alt. walks in to say we are here to solve our probprogramming, cutting down on local content, Confer just happens to be Cantrell’s father. lems and we are here to make it right, that [was used] in ways that made the stations But don’t think for a minute that she didn’t goes a long way. We travel to Pennsylvania lesser. We aim to fix that.” earn her wings as a radio industry profesevery four to six weeks.”

BUSTING THE BIG-BOX BEAT DOWN sional. With Taylor at her side, the two traJoining Burton, Cantrell and Taylor on this Today, Seven Mountains has 47 “handversed Pennsylvania working in a variety of journey is Jim Loftus, the radio chairman of crafted” signals, including properties capacities for Forever and Keymarket. the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Community Broadcasters is selling to the For Cantrell, this experience provided and the now-former leader of a Philadelphia company that are located in the Twin Tiers a strong foundation for Seven Mountain’s radio station sold by Jerry Lee to Entercom, region straddling Pennsylvania and Western growth strategy, one that saw deals in such WBEB-FM “B101.1.”

New York.

Pennsylvania towns as Mexico, Huntingdon, Cantrell said of Loftus, “He is very well conHow has this transpired, given the lack of Lewistown, Selinsgrove, Wellsboro and DuBois. nected and well respected. Has a great undersatellite-fed programming and a lack of high What is it about these towns in an area standing of the radio industry and started overhead? rarely mentioned as a high-growth region in a small market. And we are doing things “Who told you we had minimal overhead?” that is so appealing? that, as far as our markets are concerned, are Taylor blurted out to laughter, correcting a “My family heritage goes way back in cutting-edge. It involves a big-market vision, reporter.

Pennsylvania,” Cantrell said. “I grew up in on small-market scale ... and boy, he knows Cantrell added, “We have invested a lot of Williamsport. It feels like home to me. It’s the everybody!” culture I grew up in, so that’s No. 1.”

Confer has been a broadcaster since 1957. One of the first stations he worked at was WKVA in Lewistown. It is now a Seven Mountains property.

Cantrell said, “When I drive into these towns I feel like I have known these people forever. Selling jingles, training salespeople …

Dave and I have driven every back road I can think of.”

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Taylor added, “Jim is one of those guys who understands the programming side and the sales side and a lot of the different aspects of our business. On top of that, he really knows how to drill down on those numbers.”

ENTERING THE EMPIRE STATE Seven Mountains is in growth mode. The year started with the acquisition of Community Broadcasters’ stations in Corning-Elmira and in Olean, N.Y. Why? What’s next?

“Well, it was for sale, and the broker approached us,” Cantrell said matter-of-factly.

“The Elmira market fits very nicely from our footprint in Bradford and Tioga County, Pa. Our ‘Bigfoot Country’ has almost tripled its billing in 18 months. The growth trajectory is incredible, and we don’t see that slowing down anytime soon. When you tie the markets together, there is nothing but upside and a lot of digital potential in Corning and Elmira, and even in Olean.”

By using a “comprehensive multiplatform approach — a one-stop shop and not charging them an agency fee,” huge growth has been seen for Seven Mountains. January revenue is up 21% year-over-year. February was trending up 23% when Cantrell spoke with RBR+TVBR. “This is against digital buys at $30k and $40k a pop, from agencies across the country

— not even knowing what they were buying,” Cantrell said. “It was very eye-opening.”

How does access to capital fit into Seven Mountains’ growth plan?

“It is a combination of family money, my family’s money, and bank financing,” Cantrell said of Confer’s contributions to Seven Mountains’ expansion. “My family has relationships that go way back, and obviously they opened the door for me to even have access. I can’t imagine another scenario where it would have been possible. If my father and his partner hadn’t taught me how to structure deals and put them together, I would have never been able to get the facilities.”

As Seven Mountains grows, Cantrell will be sure communication is fluid — and that impacted staff know before any story gets printed in the trade press. “When a deal is announced, we make sure we are there the day the deal is announced, to make sure staff knows what we’re all about,” she said. “After we close, we sit with every full-timer one-onone and have the ‘dream talk.’”

And they’ll certainly be open to suggestions from local staff that could turn a disastrous decision into a winning one.

Cantrell explained, “In Selinsgrove we had an ESPN Radio affiliate that was losing money. It was dead in the water. We knew a music format was the way to go, but we

couldn’t think of a name.”

The company came up with one and thought it was a winner. It wasn’t. In fact, it was the worst choice Seven Mountain’s C-Suite could have concocted, as the name had an angry place in the heart of half of the community due to a high school merger that eliminated one name while keeping the name that had been selected as the station’s brand.

After further staff consultation, Seven Mountains ended up with an Adult Hits station named “Hanna.” Why? The town is right on the Susquehanna River.

“This is an example of how we thought we were smarter, and they schooled us,” Cantrell said.

With the 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas a gathering place for brokers, investors and individuals who still believe in the power of local media, what closing thoughts do Taylor and Cantrell have?

“Radio that serves the listener will succeed,” Cantrell said. “That’s pretty much it. If you remember the listener is No. 1, you win.”

For Taylor, there’s a philosophy that might lead those P&L watchers to cringe and convulse.

“We ask, ‘Is it the right thing to do?’,” he said. “If the answer is yes, we then ask, ‘Will it cost our company more money?’ ‘Yes ... but it is still the right thing to do.’”

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A Radio Leader’s TV Triumph In March 2006, Spanish Broadcasting System believed it could capitalize on its success in the Hispanic radio marketplace by launching a television operation. There were many skeptics. After four years, it was a loser. Was it time to shut down Mega TV? Nope. Today, it’s a financially sound operation with solid ratings and revenue — thanks largely to a man with family ties in TV who insisted on sticking with radio … until a challenge presented itself.

With much fanfare and an appearance

by Latin pop artist David Bisbal, Mega TV launched in Miami on WSBS-22, a Key West, Fla.-licensed facility with must-carry status across South Florida. In October 2007, what was envisioned as a nationally distributed Spanish-language TV network expanded beyond Miami with distribution via DirecTV’s Latin package. Speaking to Marketing y Medios, a now-defunct advertising industry publication, then-CCO Cynthia Hudson-Fernandez said, “It’s exactly what we’ve wanted since we launched. Our mantra has been that we needed to create an alternative network to the programming offered by Univision and Telemundo.”

Today, that’s exactly what Mega TV has accomplished. Only it took some major retooling and a hard look at expenses vs. profits.

Enter Albert Rodriguez, who joined SBS’s Miami stations at the end of 1999 as GSM and had much success. In 2005, WXDJ-FM “El Zol” broke billing records for all of Florida’s radio stations.

With the South Florida economy in shambles and foreclosures ravaging the personal finances of many across the

region, Rodriguez looked at Mega TV — and thought he had a solution to its moneydraining, Quixotic fight to draw dollars and viewers away from the two dominant Hispanic market players.

“Here was the challenge,” Rodriguez says from his office on the second floor of the Pablo Raúl Alarcón Media Center, named for SBS Chairman/CEO Raúl Alarcón Jr.’s father.

“In the press we were getting hammered that the division had been losing a lot of money — $10 million, $12 million, $18 million. But my mission was clear, and my main objective was that I was going to have to transition everything that was done and change the whole operation.”

Everyone seemed to think turning Mega TV around was an impossible dream — even Alarcón.

“The chairman [Alarcón] said, ‘It would be a major task for you,’” Rodriguez admits.

“He said, ‘I have faith in you, but you’re going to have to do some hard work.’”

Off to work Rodriguez went, and in January 2010 he accepted the role of VP/GM of WSBS-22.

News of Rodriguez’s appointment wasn’t exactly taken seriously. He recalls, “When it was announced that I was going to TV from radio, everybody was questioning why they were going to put somebody from radio that doesn’t have any experience in TV in a position to run a television property.”

It would be incorrect to say Rodriguez has no connection to the television industry. In fact, it is embedded in his roots. Rodriguez’s father is a pioneer as the chief cameraman for WPLG-10 in Miami, the ABC affiliate, working with the late anchor Ann Bishop.

The wife of Rodriguez’s father is Ileana Varela, a former longtime WFOR-4 news anchor. A cousin and uncle are in TV. His brother works for WTVJ-6 and WSCV-51, the NBCUniversal O&Os airing NBC and Telemundo programming in Miami.

“They were always telling me to get into television and I had always said no,” Rodriguez says. When he told them of the Mega TV gig, the response was, “We told you so!”

SALES SHIFT JUST THE START The first order of business under Rodriguez was to “fix” the sales department.

However, after looking more deeply at what ailed Mega TV, he knew he couldn’t stop there. As other areas called for improvement, he started to get involved in things he never thought would become a main focus. That included programming, and license agreements with tower companies and different affiliates across the U.S. “How we went from a division that was a broadcast cash flow deficit to a positive SOI was a huge undertaking,” he says. “On my first day I was going to 100% focus on sales and bring in much higher CPPs. After the first 90 days, we were still losing money, and I knew I was going to have to completely change local sales, change national sales and terminate our national sales representation firm by bringing it in house.”

Paid programming was also brought in house, cancelling an agreement that saw Mega TV time periods being outsourced by a broker.

The all-important evening program slate on Mega TV and on WSBS-22, which has a unique lineup differing from the national feed, was then put under Rodriguez’s microscope. Early fringe and weekend programming were given the heave-ho. Programs with a better return on investment were needed.

This saw a well-established comedian in Miami’s Cuban community, Alexis Valdés, helm a show at 9pm.

The next task: finding a politically minded host, which had proved somewhat successful for two other local Spanishlanguage TV stations. Rodriguez hunted down a highly respected commentator who had been on Mega TV in its early years, but who was now based in Colombia and didn’t have an interest in a return to the U.S. After eight months of negotiations, Jaime Bayly returned to Mega TV. This, along with Valdes at 9pm, helped solidify Mega TV’s

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relationships with AT&T U-Verse, DirecTV, Verizon Fios, Frontier and even Comcast, in certain distribution areas.

Mega TV was suddenly firing on all cylinders. In his 10th month overseeing Mega TV, Rodriguez received a memo from Alarcón.

It was a congratulatory note. For the first time in its history, Mega TV had been turned into a profitable business segment.

The reversal of fortunes for Mega TV led to a promotion for Rodriguez to the role of Chief Revenue Officer for Television, and in May 2012 to COO for all of Mega’s operations.

Today, Mega TV is a survivor much in the way SBS head Alarcón is as Spanish Broadcasting System celebrates its 35th year of operations. Competitors including MundoFox (and, later, MundoMax) are out of business. América TeVé is now trailing Mega TV in key dayparts. Azteca América is struggling with a signal not carried by the region’s dominant cable service provider.

It’s all thanks to an executive who always put FM above UHF. “I’ve always loved radio, and I’ve always wanted to focus on radio,” Rodriguez says. “But when I had this opportunity, TV was the platform to grow company-wide.”

PAINTING A CLEARER PICTURE Mega TV, proving resilient, saw net revenue grow by 9% to $3.78 million in Q3 2018.

Only preliminary Q4 results were available at press time, and breakouts for Mega TV were not given.

It’s a safe bet Rodriguez will be enjoying another healthy quarter. Preliminary Q4 and full-year 2018 results are “excellent,” Alarcón says. “Our 2018 operating results are among the best in the company’s history.”

Helping SBS, and Mega TV, are an

“I’ve always had a good understanding of what the viewers and what the listeners wanted.

Something inside me said, ‘Work on the whole picture.’ When you do that and bring the viewers in South Florida and across the nation what they are looking for, then the sales are going to come in.”

— Albert Rodriguez investigative show, “Escándalos”; “Buena Vida,” a health show featuring Dr. Maritza Fuentes; and the 30-minute news program “Noticiero Sercano,” produced live by a team in Guatemala offering news and features from Central America. “It’s been in the time slot a year, and it’s doing really well,” Rodriguez says of the 5pm offering ahead of its own “Mega News.” “We’re really pleased with it.”

Then there is a program that’s new to the Mega TV lineup that has perhaps cemented its popularity among those who have been viewers of Hemisphere Media Group’s WAPA-4 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the nationally distributed WAPA América cable channel. For nearly two decades, “La Comay” ruled Puerto Rico’s airwaves.

“Anybody who has lived in Puerto Rico and has migrated to the mainland knows what that show is all about,” Rodriguez

says. Today, “La Comay” is in early prime on Mega TV and is seeing significant audience growth across the U.S. How did Mega TV grab it? “We were after it for years,” Rodriguez says.

What is this show, featuring a ventriloquist host and a hand puppet perhaps best described as the felt Rona Barrett of the Latin entertainment world?

“It’s a combination of talk and gossip, with entertainment, politicians and high-profile people,” he says.

With “La Comay” airing at 6pm and Bayly firmly entrenched at 9pm, brand partners and clients are pleased. “In South Florida we compete with all Hispanic programming,” Rodriguez says. “Right now, at 9pm, we are No. 2 across all demos, right under Telemundo. We beat Univision at 9pm.”

What does the future hold for Mega TV? “Major growth plans and expansion will continue,” he says of programming.

With respect to distribution, SBS is still working on getting a signal in L.A., but via affiliation and not through an owned-andoperated situation.

So … is Rodriguez glad he didn’t shut down a losing operation?

“I’ve always had a go-getter approach,” he says. “I’ve always had a good understanding of what the viewers and what the listeners wanted. Something inside me said, ‘Work on the whole picture.’ When you do that and bring the viewers in South Florida and across the nation what they are looking for, then the sales are going to come in. I did the reverse. I said I was going to make sales better. But if I had focused on programming and overall operations, then the sales would go up. And that’s what happened.”

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