85. YES, Indeed

Tracy Dolgin
Pres/CEO, YES Network

Ray Hopkins
COO, YES Network

Why Them? Tracy Dolgin may not be clairvoyant (he predicted a NY Yankees World Series win), but he does form with Ray Hopkins a redoubtable power-pitching duo. Armed with the greatest sports brand in the US, the pair has delivered ratings that continually fire heat past opposing RSNs. According to Nielsen estimates, YES averaged 31K HHs in total day delivery, making it the most-watched RSN in the country. The net also forged with DirecTV this summer an innovative interactive TV initiative that offers free access to player stats and bios, score updates, league standings and more. Next season it will likely be pitched to cable affils. Presumably with slower pitches, if Dolgin and Hopkins in fact have them in their repertoire. – CH

Tracy Dolgin

I knew the cable industry was for me when: “I realized that my mom was wrong when she told me, ‘Nothing good is ever going to come from watching so much TV’.”
Defining career moment: “When FOX got the NFL (while I was at FOX), and I realized I was going to get paid to watch sports.”
In my free time I like to: “Read a great book while falling asleep on my couch, dreaming about actually hitting a golf ball well.”
Favorite restaurant: “Shun Lee Palace in Manhattan, which is a good enough reason to move from LA to NY.”
Favorite TV Show not on your network: “All HBO shows; ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ in particular.”
Favorite Sports Team: “The 2007 World Series Champion New York Yankees.”
Favorite piece of tech: “TiVo. TiVo. TiVo.”
Least favorite piece tech: “My life was better before the Blackberry.”
Biggest cable surprise 2006: “That the NFL Network got the Thursday package, and it hasn’t helped them more.”

Ray Hopkins

I knew the cable industry was for me when: “I realized that my friends and I in college were glued to ESPN hours upon end, and I was thinking, ‘I can’t believe there’s a 24-hour all-sports station!’”
Defining career moment: “When I was handed responsibility for national accounts at the FOX Cable Group in 1997, and I had to make sense of and fuse together a bunch of disparate pieces that made up the Group.”
Biggest cable surprise of 2006: “That the NFL Network would have such difficulty securing distribution this season, given that it now has regular season games.”
Top personal achievement in 2006: “Witnessing January birth of my first daughter (and second child) Grace Margaret. A great way to start the year!”
In my free time, I like to: “Spend time with my family, hit the links, and attend sporting events.”
Favorite restaurant: Morton’s Steakhouse
Favorite city: Las Vegas
Favorite line from a movie or TV show: “Manny, what’s life all about?” - Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface
Favorite TV show: “The Shield”
Favorite movie: “Jerry McGuire”
Favorite sports team: “C’mon! The Yankees!”
Favorite pieces of technology: “DVR, hi-def TV, and my BlackBerry.”

Click here to return to the 2006 CFAX 100 List.