42. Comcast’s Content Bosses

Jeff Shell
Title: President, Comcast Programming Group
Age: 41
Years in Industry: 12

Ted Harbert
Title: President, CEO, Comcast Entertainment Group
Age: 51
Years in Industry: 29

Matt Bond
Title: Executive Vice President of Content Acquisition
Age: “44 (and not going any higher).”
Years in Industry: 13
Years left in the industry: “Hopefully, all of them”

Why Them? Comcast and content seem to mix well these days. Jeff Shell and Ted Harbert ooze power as the uber-bosses of strong content assets that ride on the back of the nation’s biggest MSO. Harbert’s recent move to head the newly formed Comcast Entertainment Group should help grease the gears. Matt Bond, meanwhile, continues to strike forward-looking content deals with VOD and broadband components. These guys are good. - MG

Jeff Shell

What is your favorite word? “Go-Bears”
What is your least favorite word? “Synergy”
What turns you on? “Winning”
What turns you off? “Hypocrites”
What sound do you love? “The sound of my daughter coming down the stairs in the morning when I’m drinking coffee and reading the paper.”
What sound do you hate? “The pause before a telemarketer comes on the line.”
What profession other than yours would like to attempt? “Elected Office”
What profession would you not like to participate in? “Acting”
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? “Hello, Mr. Shell. Unfortunately, your family won’t be joining you for quite some time.”

Ted Harbert

Person I most admire in the cable industry and why: “Steve Burke, because he is smart and honest and he took a chance on a broadcast guy.”
Top personal achievement in 2006: “That E! is up YOY even though we canceled Howard Stern, our highest rated show.”
Favorite line from a movie or TV show: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” — “Apocalypse Now”
Favorite TV show: “Hill Street Blues” or “Soul Train”
Favorite piece of tech: Slingbox

Matt Bond

I knew the cable industry was for me when: “My first month was negotiating a groundbreaking deal with a major programmer… quite a change from being a bankruptcy lawyer.”
Defining career moment: “Deciding to leave the glamorous practice of law.”
In my free time, I like to: “Be outdoors doing just about anything.”
Favorite restaurant: Matanzas Innlet, St. Augustine, Florida (“Bikers Welcome!”)
Favorite city: Crested Butte, CO
Favorite line from a movie or TV show: “Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now, about to become the Masters champion.” – Bill Murray, “Caddyshack”
Three things I would take with me to a deserted island: “Wife, dog, and sailboat.”
Favorite TV show: “The Shield”
Favorite movie: “Double Indemnity”
Favorite piece of tech: BlackBerry
Least favorite piece of tech: BlackBerry

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