The 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Bill Hoffman at the Broadcasters Foundation of America’s annual Golden Mike Award Dinner on Feb. 27, 2017.
Co-Op Scheme A Mother Of An Invention
Meredith and Cox’s decision to form a programming/tech purchasing cooperative is an intriguing model. But we’ll have to wait and see how it works in practice. It’s just too bad Meredith and Cox feel they can’t tackle retrans and reverse comp together as well because those dealings are what is causing the smaller station operators the most trouble.
Making The Most Of Multimedia Synergies
Cox Media Group President Bill Hoffman says his portfolio of 14 TV stations, 57 radio stations and eight dailies is enjoying the fruits of cross-media synergy, a philosophy that’s fallen out of favor at some other media companies. In addition to synergy, Hoffman talks about the need for a TV station ownership limit and possibly an arbitration process to avoid retrans blackouts, the promise of station-produced syndicated programming and the outlook for the TV rep business (he oversees CoxReps) and TV Everywhere.
Starting May 1, veteran broadcaster Bill Hoffman goes from EVP to president of Cox Media Group, which includes newspapers as well as TV and radio holdings. The opportunity was created by a transition plan for parent Cox Enterprises: In preparation for the retirement of CEO Jimmy Hayes in April 2014, CFO John Dyer becomes COO, while current CMG president, Douglas Franklin, becomes CFO.
Station Execs Bullish; Resolute On Spectrum
A NATPE panel says the ad outlook for this year is strong, even without last year’s political spending. When asked about the seemingly slow pace of development of mobile TV, Brian Lawlor of Scripps, said: “This is a massive undertaking for content providers, technology, cell carriers, manufacturers and broadcasters. The better news is that we have 70-something markets lit up, with devices on the market.” Concerns include Aereo and The Hopper, while the panelists emphasized their intentions to keep all their spectrum to continue to innovate and serve their communities.
Exclusives
Bill Hoffman (right) moves from head of the Atlanta ABC affiliate to oversee Cox Media Group’s TV, radio and newspaper operations. He’s succeeded at WSB by Tim McVay, now VP-GM of Cox’s KTVU Oakland.
ABC, Affils Set Up Straight Swap Of Ad Time
WSB Atlanta GM Bill Hoffman, who’s also the chairman of the ABC Affiliates Board, explains the third phase of the ad inventory exchange between ABC and the affiliates. Unlike the earlier two parts of the program, this will involve no cash changing hands. Hoffman says this and other cooperative arrangements illustrate a desire of the network’s management to work toward win-win solutions.
