December 12, 2007

Fox Hop

Name: Tony Vinciquerra
Title: President & CEO Fox Networks Group
Age: 52
Years in Industry: “Many!”
Years left in Industry: “Hopefully many more.”

Name: Bob Thompson
Title: President, Fox National Sports Networks; President, Fox Sports International
Age: 49
Years in Industry: 27
Years left in Industry: “Ask my accountant.”

Name: Mike Hopkins
Title: EVP/GM, affiliate sales & marketing, Fox Cable Networks

Why Them? It isn’t exactly a calming experience sitting atop the vast and diversified empire that is Fox Networks. But you wouldn’t know it to spend face time with Tony Vinciquerra, who exudes cool confidence even as he juggles more than 30 networks from the powerful Fox Sports Nets to FX and NatGeo. Thompson oversees marketing, advertising, promotion, programming and production—and let’s not forget those key rights agreement negotiations with teams, leagues, and college conferences—for Fox’s sports networks both stateside and abroad. He’s currently coaching his newest team member, the Big Ten Network, with recent carriage deals with Insight and EchoStar. Less than a year into his new gig as Lindsay Gardner’s replacement, Hopkins has been earning props as an innovative force in getting distribution for almost all of Fox Cable’s networks. He has also stepped up collaborations with sister companies Fox Interactive Media, Fox Digital Entertainment and Fox Mobile Entertainment.  CAO

Tony Vinciquerra
The cable industry’s biggest challenge in 2008 is: “Understanding its customers.”
In my free time, I like to: “Chase my girls around the house!”
Favorite city: “Boston”
Favorite TV show: “The Office”
Favorite movie: Blazing Saddles
I wish cable would: “Have fewer industry meetings to travel to…”
Favorite piece of tech: PDA

Bob Thompson
The coolest new cable tech is: “Switched video”
Defining career moment: “Agreeing to move to Denver in 1989 to start the local RSN.”
Biggest cable surprise of 2007: “Subscriber losses for the major MSOs.”
Top personal achievement in 2007: “Seeing the Big Ten Network launched into 30 million homes.”
In my free time, I like to: “Golf”
Favorite restaurant: “Nobu, New York City”
Favorite city: “Barcelona”
Favorite line from a movie or TV show: “Your shower shoes have fungus on them. You'll never make it to the bigs with fungus on your shower shoes. Think classy, you'll be classy. If you win twenty in the show, you can let the fungus grow back and the press'll think you're colorful. Until you win twenty in the show, however, it means you are a slob.” - Bull Durham
Favorite TV show: “Entourage”
Favorite sports team: “Colorado Rockies”
Favorite piece of tech: “Blackberry”
My perfect vacation goes like this: “Ten days in Hawaii playing golf.”

Click here to go to the next entry
Click here to go the previous entry
Click here to return to the 2007 CableFAX 100 list