December 1, 2008

CableFAX: 41. Trekkie: David Howe

David Howe
Title: President, Sci Fi Channel
Last Year: #35
Age: 46
Education: Reading University, U.K.

Why Him? Yes, the coming season will be the fourth and final one for Battlestar Galactica. But under Howe’s stewardship, Sci Fi is reaching for the stars in other ways. It’s not always been easy to define the network’s essence — and Howe has taken some heat for add-ons like wrestling. But he’s committed to pushing new programming across multiple platforms, including the recent launch of Sanctuary, a TV series-style show for the Web shot entirely with a green screen. Battlestar prequel Caprica should keep longtime fans from going into withdrawal, and anime devotees have noticed a beefing up of the Monday programming block with new series and movies in conjunction with Manga Entertainment.

Worth Watching: The debut of an as-yet-unnamed series Sci Fi is developing with games publisher Trion World Network that will have life on-air and online as a multiplayer video game.

Year Ahead:
Sci Fi is tossing out a bunch of new linear and nonlinear programming, but it remains to be seen how much of it will stick and whether the purported network name change will help or hurt.

Favorite Restaurant: St Alban, London

Unnecessary Luxury I Like Most: Foreign travel

Last Book Read: The Dreaming Void by Peter Hamilton

My Philosophy of Life Is: It’s too short...

My Favorite Word Is: Discombobulated

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