29 Jul Cablefax 100 Top Power Players: Featuring Entertainment Studios/Allen Media Group’s Byron Allen & Janice Arouh and The Weather Group’s Tom O’Brien & Nora Zimmett
#60.
Independent networks always struggle to gain distribution, but Allen and Arouh have worked tirelessly to bring the nine Entertainment Studios Networks and streaming service Local Now to more viewers than ever before. 2020 proved to be a pivotal year with ESN finally gaining carriage on Comcast and the two dropping their ongoing litigation. In addition to launching ESN’s Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV and JusticeCentral.TV, the Comcast deal included renewals for Weather Channel and 14 broadcast stations owned by Allen. This duo is on a roll, having negotiated the return of Weather to Verizon Fios last year after a four-year absence.
Byron Allen
Years in Industry: 40+
Education: USC Film School
The COVID-19 pandemic forever changed my perspective on:
How one can never be too prepared for catastrophic events.
Without sports on TV, I have:
More time to read.
The first thing I’ll do when I’m back in the office is:
Wash my hands.
My prediction for AVODs is:
Global domination.
Working from home has taught me:
I can get a lot more done.
Best TV commercial you’ve seen recently?
Commercials for the free streaming service Local Now.
Janice Arouh
Years in Industry: 20+
Education: B.A., Communications, John Carroll University
Number of subscription streaming services:
2—Netflix and Amazon.
The future of broadband is:
Limitless.
The first thing I’ll do when I’m back in the office is:
Exhale.
My prediction for AVOD is:
It will be a $50bln plus global market by 2025.
Working from home has taught me:
That I can be more efficient while staying engaged with colleagues and clients.
Last show binged not on your network:
“Dead to Me”/Netflix
What product could you not live without:
My iPhone
#91.
O’Brien and Zimmett know how many people rely on The Weather Channel’s content, and their mission is to make it as informative and engaging as possible. They’ve pushed storytelling that leverages weather as a character in each of our lives and pushed technological boundaries by embracing immersive mixed reality capabilities. The Weather Channel is also extending its reach beyond the cable network to younger audiences with the launch of daily show “Weather Today” on short-form streamer Quibi in April.
Tom O’Brien
Years in Industry: 25+
Education: Syracuse University, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
The COVID-19 pandemic forever changed my perspective on:
How great people and teams have the ability to adapt quickly and do exceptional things in a time of uncertainty and crisis.
How has the pandemic shaped the industry’s future?
I believe viewers have a new appreciation for great programming, a frictionless viewing experience, and the value that we as an industry have to offer. How we re-engineer our businesses to take advantage of this opportunity is what’s going to determine who the winners and losers are going forward.
Number of subscriptions to streaming services:
5
Without sports on TV, I have…
Spent a lot more time (successfully) finding interesting things to watch and read. With that said, I’m looking forward to live sports on TV again.
Last content I streamed:
“The Morning Show” on Apple TV
Last show binged not on your networks:
“The Last Dance” on ESPN
Worst job you ever had?
A paperboy with a morning route. Up and out of the house on my bike delivering a stack of newspapers at 5am on cold, dark winter mornings in upstate NY….what more do I need to say?
Nora Zimmett
Years in Industry: 19
Education: B.A., Harvard University
The COVID-19 pandemic forever changed my perspective on:
Leadership in a crisis. When people are in fear for themselves and their loved ones, people can act very differently than they do in a typical work environment. It is critical to be patient and flexible with employees’ personal needs while still protecting the business needs.
How has the pandemic shaped the industry’s future?
It is challenging the idea of in-person work and demonstrating how technology has evolved to allow more industry jobs to be done remotely – including live news anchoring.
Number of subscriptions to streaming services:
I have honesty lost count
Last content I streamed:
“Escape at Dannemora” on Amazon Prime
If I launched my own personal streaming service, it would be called…
I love horses dot tv
Best TV commercial you’ve seen recently?
I saw a WeatherTech commercial including equestrians and their gear getting into a car with WeatherTech floor mats. I am both a fly-by-night equestrian and I own Weather Tech mats and they are the best for muddy boots and dirty horse tack!
Worst job you ever had?
Selling in the silver department at Tiffany’s in New York. It was grueling hours and brutal competition amongst the staff for clients!
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