Cable Show 2012: 3rd General Session, Conan O'Brien

Pat Esser

Patrick (Pat) Esser is president of Cox Communications, a multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company serving more than 6 million residential and commercial customers.

Esser brings more than 30 years of experience in cable and telecommunications to bear on his role as Cox's top executive, a position he's held since 2006. He joined Cox in 1979 as director of programming in Hampton Roads, VA., and was part of the original management team that pioneered Cox's advertising sales division now known as Cox Media. Named corporate vice president of advertising sales in 1991, Esser was presented with the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau President's Award just three years later. Esser became vice president of operations for Cox's Western Division in 1999, and a year later was promoted to senior vice president of operations. In 2004, Esser was promoted to executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Cox has earned numerous accolades during Esser’s tenure as president; many tied to his personal passion for diversity and inclusion. In 2006, Cox debuted in DiversityInc's listing of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity; the company has placed in the Top 50 for five consecutive years. In 2009, the Women in Cable Television (WICT) Foundation named Cox the Best Operator for Women in Cable for the seventh straight year. In 2007 Esser was personally distinguished with recognition as Multichannel News' first "Executive of the Year."

Customer service excellence is a Cox hallmark under Esser's leadership. Cox ranks highly in annual J.D. Power and Associates' studies of consumer satisfaction. In 2010, for the eighth consecutive year, Cox received highest honors in their Residential Telephone Customer Satisfaction StudySM in the West. Cox has ranked highest among small/midsize business data providers in J.D. Power and Associates' Major Provider Business Telecommunications StudySM three times, including 2010. To-date, Cox is the only telecommunications and entertainment company to receive top honors recognition from J.D. Power in studies of video, telephone and high-speed Internet satisfaction.

Esser currently serves as chair of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. He also serves on the board of directors of C-SPAN, CableLabs, TCM Parent, LLC and Cable in the Classroom. Additionally, he serves as an adviser to the Association of Cable Communicators and the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications. Esser also serves as a Southeastern Trustee of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and has served on the FCC's Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council.

A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Esser holds a B.A. and M.A. in communications media, and in 2003 was presented the university's Heritage Honors Alumni Achievement Award. In 2009, he was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame.

David Hill

Mr. David Hill has been a Senior Executive Vice-President of News Corp. since July 2012. Mr. Hill serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Sports Media Group (FSMG), at Fox Cable Network Inc. Mr. Hill serves as an Advisor of DirecTV Group Inc. He serves as the President of Fox Sports Networks Inc. He serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Arrow Dynamics, Inc. He serves as an Executive Officer of Fox Networks Group.

He served as the President of DIRECTV Entertainment Group, an operating group of DirecTV Group Inc., and was responsible for all its aspects that define the content and consumer viewing experience. Mr. Hill served as the North American Regional Controller for NuSkin International, inc. He served as Chief Financial Officer of Sportsnuts Inc.

Prior to joining DIRECTV in April 2005, Mr. Hill served as Chief Executive Officer of Fox Sports Television Group at Fox Entertainment Group, Inc., since June 1999, served as the Chairman and Chief executive Officer of Fox from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Hill joined Fox Broadcasting Company in December 1993, and served as President of Fox Sports, a Division of Fox Television, from 1993 to 1999 and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Sports Networks from 1996 to 1997. From 1996 to 1997, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Fox Television and was chiefly responsible for the creation of its powerful sports broadcasting division including Fox Sports Net.

He has five years of auditing and accounting experience with Deloitte & Touche, serving clients in the banking, manufacturing, and retail industries. Mr. Hill has been Chairman of Fox Sports Networks Inc. since 1996. He has been a Director of OPEN Sports Network Inc., since July 2009. He serves as Director of Fox Sports Media Group (FSMG). He served as a Director of STATS LLC since March 31, 2009. He served as Director of Fox Sports Television Group.

He was named outstanding accounting student of the year by the Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant, receiving the highest score in the State of Utah on the Certified Public Accountant exam. Mr. Hill holds a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Accounting from Brigham Young University, graduating summa cum laude.

Phil Kent

Phil Kent is chairman and chief executive officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.). He is responsible for a portfolio of news, entertainment and animation, young adult & kids and sports networks and businesses including CNN/U.S., CNN International, CNN.com and HLN; TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and truTV; Cartoon Network and Adult Swim; and Turner Sports. Globally, Turner Broadcasting operates more than 130 channels in some 30 languages in more than 200 countries.

Kent was named to his current role in February 2003. Earlier, he served as president and chief operating officer of CNN News Group, where he oversaw a strategic reorganization of the news division. His career at TBS, Inc. also includes broad international experience as president of Turner Broadcasting System International (TBSI), the division overseeing Turner's business activity outside the United States. At the helm of TBSI, Kent led a regionalization strategy that introduced local-language versions of CNN and the Turner entertainment networks around the globe, further strengthening the company's position in critical international markets.

Kent joined Turner Broadcasting in 1993 as president of Turner Home Entertainment, the former division comprised of the company's home video, new media, licensing & merchandising, international theatrical distribution and book publishing operations. Previously he spent six years with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) as a packaging agent in that company's television department. In 1981, he helped launch Blair Entertainment, the television syndication division of John Blair & Co., where he began his career.

Kent earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics at Lehigh University. He serves on the board of directors of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association; is a past chair of the board of trustees of Atlanta's Woodruff Arts Center; is a member of the Dean's executive board of UCLA's School of Theatre, Film & Television; and serves on the Atlanta Committee for Progress. He is a member of the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news; entertainment; animation and young adult; and sports media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

David Levy

David Levy is president of sales, distribution and sports for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. In this role, Levy oversees all advertising sales and distribution for Turner’s portfolio of U.S. networks and digital properties, as well as oversight of Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE). As president of Turner Sports, Levy is responsible for overseeing the company’s sports programming acquisitions, production, marketing, league relations and sports ad sales unit. Levy is based in New York and reports to Phil Kent, chairman and CEO of TBS, Inc.

Under Levy’s leadership, Turner ad sales has continually outperformed the marketplace during the annual television upfront, achieving broadcast parity CPMs for the company’s domestic news (CNN and HLN), entertainment (TBS, TNT, and truTV), animation and young adult (Cartoon Network and Adult Swim) portfolio. The division is continually recognized for its creativity in developing innovative, integrated, sponsorship ideas across multiple platforms.

As president of Turner Sports, Levy has been instrumental in deepening and expanding Turner’s programming relationships, while embarking on an aggressive expansion of digital rights and properties. Turner’s digital sports portfolio includes NBA Digital, NASCAR.COM, NCAA Digital, PGATOUR.COM and PGA.com. Additionally, Turner has a strategic content and sales relationship with Yahoo! Sports.

In 2010, Levy was instrumental in orchestrating a landmark deal, partnering with CBS, for the television, Internet, wireless, marketing and corporate sponsorship rights to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship through 2024. Beginning in 2016, the Final Four and National Championship Game will air on TBS. The agreement also includes Turner’s operational oversight of NCAA March Madness® on Demand (MMOD) on broadband, as well as March Madness mobile assets. Additionally, in a separate agreement, Turner secured a deal to manage NCAA Digital – which includes NCAA.com and its 88 NCAA Championships, as well as management of ad sales for its digital platforms.

In January of 2008, Levy led the company’s efforts in developing a ground-breaking expansion of the longest-running league/network programming partnership in professional sports, with Turner assuming joint management of an array of the NBA’s digital businesses including NBA-TV, NBA.com, WNBA.com, NBADLeague.com and NBA League Pass.

In the summer of 2007, Levy led the efforts to extend Turner’s television partnership with the NBA through the 2015-2016 season. TNT airs exclusive Thursday night doubleheaders during the NBA regular season and has exclusive coverage of NBA All-Star Weekend, which includes the league’s annual All-Star Game. Additionally, TNT airs up to 52 NBA playoff games, including exclusive coverage of a Conference Final (which alternates between East and West each year).

In 2009, Levy extended broadcast rights to the PGA Championship and PGA Grand Slam of Golf through 2019. The new agreement with the PGA of America expanded to include licensing, with Turner’s Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE) serving as the PGA’s licensing agent in the youth marketplace.

In 2006, Levy led Turner’s efforts in acquiring exclusive broadcast rights to Major League Baseball’s Division Series and League Championship Series (the network alternates between the National League Championship and American League Championship Series with Fox each year).

Levy was also responsible for bolstering Turner’s on-air talent roster that includes Ernie Johnson, Jr., Charles Barkley, Marv Albert, and Kenny Smith. Levy was responsible for adding Reggie Miller, Steve Kerr, Ron Darling, John Smoltz, Kyle Petty, Chris Webber and Shaquille O’Neal to Turner’s lineup of sports talent.

Levy added to his many industry honors in 2010 when he and Turner Entertainment Networks president Steve Koonin shared the top spot on the MediaWeek 50 list, which recognized the industry’s most indispensable executives. Additionally, Levy was selected as a 2010 AdvertisingAge “Media Maven,” and last year he received a “Brand Builder” award from PromaxBDA.

Prior to assuming his current role, Levy served as president of Turner Broadcasting Ad Sales and Turner Sports. Previously, Levy served as co-president of Turner Broadcasting System International since September 2000 where he oversaw TBS, Inc.’s wide-ranging cable network business activities in Asia, Europe and Latin America, including sales and marketing and distribution; programming and interactive business development; and joint partnerships and business alliances outside the United States.

Levy began his career at Turner Broadcasting in 1986 as an account executive in the entertainment division. He later played an integral role in developing and overseeing the Turner Sports ad sales division and was named senior vice president for international ad sales in 1994, and executive vice president in 1997. In 1998, Levy became Turner’s first president of International Advertising Sales.

Levy is a graduate of Syracuse University. He resides in Westchester, New York, with his wife, Niki, and their two boys, Brett and Jake.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Piers Morgan

Known to United States viewers primarily for his role as a former judge on NBC's No.1-rated America's Got Talent and as the winner of Celebrity Apprentice, Morgan has had a long career in journalism in the United Kingdom as a newspaper editor and, more recently, as the host of the popular television interview program Piers Morgan's Life Stories. He is now bringing his penetrating interview style and gift for unearthing the surprising detail to American television and to CNN viewers around the globe with his primetime interview show, “Piers Morgan Tonight.”

Morgan began his career as a reporter for The Wimbledon News and then as a columnist at The Sun. In 1994, when Morgan was 28 years old, Rupert Murdoch appointed him the youngest ever editor of the News of the World, and the youngest national newspaper editor in Britain for 50 years. Two years later he moved to the Daily Mirror, where he served as editor-in-chief from 1995 until 2004. The paper won numerous journalistic awards including Newspaper of the Year at the prestigious British Press Awards in 2002 for its coverage of 9/11. After his controversial departure from the Mirror, Morgan went on to become a best-selling author, a regular media columnist, and host of his own interview programs on the BBC and ITV, as well as appear as a judge alongside Simon Cowell on the No.1-rated show Britain's Got Talent.

After leaving the Daily Mirror, Morgan began writing a monthly interview column for GQ magazine where he interviewed some of the biggest names in global entertainment and politics. In 2004, he moved into television, co-hosting a Channel 4 current affairs show, Morgan & Platell, and two BBC interview shows, Tabloid Tales and You Can't Fire Me I'm Famous. In 2008, Morgan joined ITV, where he hosted a documentary travelogue show called Piers On!, reporting from cities including Shanghai, Las Vegas and Dubai. He also developed a new talk show, Piers Morgan's Life Stories, where he conducts one-on-one intimate and lengthy sit-down interviews with celebrities, business and political leaders, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown. It has been consistently the No. 1-rated talk show in Britain for the last two years.

In September 2010, CNN announced that Morgan will host a candid, in-depth newsmaker interview program on the network. "Piers Morgan Tonight," premiered on January 17th 2011 and airs weeknights on CNN/U.S. at 9 pm ET/PT and also airs worldwide on CNN International in more than 200 countries and territories.

He will also continue to write his two regular columns for the Mail on Sunday newspaper, and also provides regular columns to CNN.com.

Morgan is based in New York, and will also work from Los Angeles and London.

Conan O'Brien

With “a comic identity as distinctive as his name,” according to The New York Times, Conan O’Brien has firmly established himself in the late night comedy universe. Hailed by The Washington Post as “modest, wry, self-effacing and demonstrably the most intelligent of the late-night comics,” O’Brien’s unique brand of comedy has earned Conan the title “Late Night’s King of Cool” from Entertainment Weekly.

A Harvard graduate and two-time president of the venerable and notorious Harvard Lampoon, O’Brien moved to Los Angeles upon graduation and joined the writing staff of HBO’s “Not Necessarily the News.” During his two years with the show, he performed regularly with several improvisational groups, including The Groundlings.

By 1988 his talents had come to the attention of Lorne Michaels, executive producer of “Saturday Night Live,” who hired O’Brien as a writer in January of that year. His three-and-a-half years on the show produced such recurring sketches as “Mr. Short-Term Memory” and “The Girl Watchers” (first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz). In 1989 his work on “SNL” was recognized with an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series.

In the spring of 1991, O’Brien left “SNL” and wrote and produced a TV pilot, “Lookwell,” starring Adam West. It was telecast on NBC in July of that year but was not picked up as a series. That fall O’Brien signed on as a writer/producer for the Fox series, “The Simpsons,” where he later became the show’s supervising producer. Of all the episodes he wrote, his favorite is “Springfield Gets a Monorail.”

On April 26, 1993, Lorne Michaels selected O’Brien to succeed David Letterman as the new host of “Late Night” on NBC. According to Michaels, O’Brien was selected from among the many talented potential hosts of “Late Night” for his particular and unique mix of “vitality, wit and intelligence”.

From 1993 to 2009, O’Brien combined his talents as writer, performer and interviewer as host of “Late Night,” which The Boston Globe dubbed, “the most consistently funny and original show on late night”. During his years at “Late Night”, O’Brien and his team were consistently honored with Emmy nominations for Outstanding Comedy-Variety Series and, in 2007, the “Late Night” writing team won their first Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series after ten years of nominations. O’Brien and the “Late Night” writing staff also won six Writer’s Guild Awards for Best Writing in a Comedy/Variety Series, including two consecutive wins in 2002 and 2003 and 12 nominations overall.

In 2002, O’Brien brought his signature wit and style to his hosting duties on the 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, garnering big laughs and critical acclaim, delivering “one of the funniest opening monologues in Emmy history” according to The Los Angeles Times. He returned to host the 58th Annual Emmys in 2006, captivating the crowd with filmed pieces and a full-tilt song-and-dance number that prompted many critics to call for O’Brien to be named “Emmy Host for Life.”

In May of 2008 it was announced that O’Brien was going to hand the reigns of “Late Night” over to Jimmy Fallon as he was going to take over hosting duties for “The Tonight Show” from Jay Leno in a deal that NBC worked out in with Conan in 2004. On June 1, 2009, Will Ferrell became Conan's first guest on the couch, and Pearl Jam appeared as the first musical guest with O'Brien as host. O'Brien made his final appearance as host of “The Tonight Show” on January 22, 2010.

On April 12, 2010 Conan hit the road, launching his aptly titled comedy road show, the “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour”. The two-month 30-city tour sold out on nearly every location. Along with starting the tour that day, Conan also announced via Twitter that he had agreed with the cable network TBS, the comedy-oriented cable channel in the Turner network lineup to launch a brand new talk show. The show, appropriately titled “CONAN”, premiered on November 8th, 2010.

Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, O’Brien is married with two children and currently resides in Los Angeles.

Darren Rovell

Darren Rovell is CNBC's Sports Business Reporter. He is responsible for both analyzing and reporting on the sports business world on all of CNBC's programming including "Squawk Box," "Power Lunch" and "Street Signs." He is also author of the "Sports Biz" blog on CNBC.com.

Since joining CNBC in July 2006, Rovell has interviewed many of the world's greatest athletes including Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Phelps and Lance Armstrong. Other interview subjects also include the sporting world's top power brokers including NBA Commissioner David Stern, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry, Major League Baseball President and COO Bob DuPuy, super agent Scott Boras, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank, Nike CEO Mark Parker and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

Rovell reported and anchored the CNBC primetime documentary "Swoosh! Inside Nike," which took viewers through the company's history to the factory floors in Vietnam. It was nominated for an Emmy. He also anchored other primetime documentaries, including "Inside Track: Refueling the Business of NASCAR," "As Seen on TV," an in-depth look at the infomercial business, "Behind the Counter: The Untold Story of Franchising" and "Business Model: Inside the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue." Rovell won an Emmy for his contribution to NBC's 2008 Election coverage.

Rovell doesn't just report, he does. He finished the New York Marathon in 2004, the same year he ate six hot dogs and buns at a hot dog eating qualifier. He finished fifth in the world in the World Championship of Watermelon Seed Spitting in Luling, Texas in 2005, and scored one point in a two-minute stint for the Washington Generals at Madison Square Garden in 2008. He is also on the Green Bay Packers season ticket waiting list, has searched for golf balls in the water of the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass and has been tutored by the Dallas Mavericks free throw coach. In February of 2008, when Shaquille O'Neal was traded to the Phoenix Suns, he gave Shaq the idea to call himself "The Big Cactus." In 2009, he played then No. 2 ranked Andy Murray in a game a tennis and sat in Kyle Busch's car during the Pennzoil Burnout Competition at the Sprint All-Star Race in Charlotte.

Prior to joining CNBC, Rovell served as sports business writer for ESPN.com and reported on the world of agents, stadium deals, endorsements and contracts on ESPN's flagship, "SportsCenter," its investigative show, "Outside the Lines," and had weekly segments on ESPNEWS.

Rovell is also the author of two business books. First In Thirst: How Gatorade Turned The Science of Sweat Into A Cultural Phenomenon and On the Ball: What You Can Learn About Business From America's Sports Leaders. First In Thirst was named by Soundview Summaries as one of the top 30 business books of the year, while On the Ball, co-written with industry insider David Carter, was named to the Top 25 list of "What Corporate America Is Reading" by the Knight Ridder/Tribune News.

In 2004 and 2007, Rovell was named to Newsbios' "30 under 30," a list of the top 30 national business reporters under the age of 30. He is the only sports reporter in the two-decade history of the awards to have been honored.

Rovell graduated cum laude from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he is on the advisory board for graduate programs in sports administration.

Ted Sarandos

Ted Sarandos has led content acquisition for Netflix since 2000. With more than 20 years' experience in home entertainment, Ted is recognized in the industry as an innovator in film acquisition and distribution.

Before Netflix, Ted was an executive at video distributor ETD and Video City / West Coast Video.

He also serves on the Film Advisory Board for Tribeca and Los Angeles Film Festival, the retail advisory board for the Digital Entertainment Group and is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. Ted is married to U.S. Ambassador Nicole Avant and has two children.

John Skipper

John Skipper became the president of ESPN and the co-chairman of Disney Media Networks in January 2012. In his 14 years with the company, Skipper has been a key architect of ESPN’s explosive growth. He has held leadership roles overseeing the company’s television, digital, print, and advertising sales initiatives, as well as ESPN’s focus on brand extensions, bringing the company’s “best available screen” philosophy to life across more platforms and with more wide-ranging major rights agreements than at any time since ESPN’s launch in 1979. Under his leadership, ESPN has consistently set records for television ratings and digital consumption and has negotiated several wide-ranging, major rights agreements with the NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, the BCS, FIFA, the Masters Tournament, the British Open, the USTA, Wimbledon, and several college conferences.

David Stern

David Stern leads a league that is a model for professional sports in league operations, public service, global marketing and digital technology.

During Mr. Stern's 28-year tenure, the league has added seven franchises; enjoyed a 30-fold increase in revenues; expanded its national television exposure dramatically; and launched the Women's National Basketball Association and the NBA Development League.

Interest generated by the leagues' growing international initiatives has led to the opening of offices in 15 global markets, the televising of games in 215 countries and territories in more than 40 languages, and the creation of 14 language-specific Web destinations. The leagues' digital assets, including NBA.com, WNBA.com, and NBADLeague.com; social media platforms; NBA LEAGUE PASS; NBA TV, which is currently available in nearly 59 million U.S. homes; and mobile applications reach hundreds of millions of fans every day.

An intense commitment to social responsibility both in the United States and around the world has marked Mr. Stern's tenure as commissioner. In 2005, the league launched NBA Cares, a program through which the NBA, its players and teams have raised more than $175 million for charity, provided more than 1.8 million hours of hands-on service to communities around the world, and created more than 675 places where children and families can live, learn, or play. NBA Cares supports a host of community outreach initiatives, including a myriad of internationally recognized youth-serving programs that focus on education, youth and family development, and health and wellness.

Mr. Stern is the chair emeritus of the Trustees of Columbia University and serves or has served on the boards of Beth Israel Medical Center, the Rutgers University Foundation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Commission, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Paley Center for Media, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A native of New York City, Mr. Stern is a graduate of Rutgers University and Columbia Law School. He is married to Dianne Bock Stern, and they are the parents of two adult sons.