Kay Koplovitz
Network Creator/ Executive
About This Interview
Cable network executive Kay Koplovitz was interviewed for two hours in New York, NY. She talks about her interests at a very early age in the concept of satellite and cable technology. She discusses her work as director of community services for UA Columbia Cablevision in Oakland, NJ. in the mid-70s. She details her securing an account with HBO, where she oversaw the 1975 “Thrilla in Manila” boxing match of Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier, which she says changed the course of television history. She discusses her work as head of Madison Square Garden Sports Network (which became USA Network) and the deal she struck with George Steinbrenner and the New York Yankees, which lead to an overall deal with Major League Baseball. She then speaks in great detail about her work as president and chief executive officer (the first woman in television history to hold that title) of the USA Network and the Sci-Fi Channel. She also discusses such later ventures as the Broadway Television Network. The interview was conducted by Jane Altschuler in a joint venture with New York Women in Film & Television, on May 3, 2006.
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This interview was conducted in conjunction with New York Women in Film & Television
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Highlights
Kay Koplovitz on how HBO's Thrilla from Manila changed cable television history (01m 52s)
Kay Koplovitz on the business model for cable's Madison Square Garden Sports Network, the first cable network(02m 24s)- Kay Koplovitz on pushing the programming envelope in cable (01m 23s)
Kay Koplovitz on the launch of the Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy)(04m 49s)- Kay Koplovitz on her proudest achievements (01m 19s)
- Kay Koplovitz on her advice to aspiring media executives (00m 54s)
Chapters
- Chapter 1
- On her early years, influences, education and early interest in media
- On her family being one of the first ones to have a television; on becoming interested in geosyncronous orbiting satellites which she felt could open communications worldwide after hearing a lecture in London by Arthur C. Clarke and writing her masters thesis on the subject; on her belief in the power of the idea
- On going to Washington D.C. and getting a job in COMSAT and publicizing satellites; on an earlier job as a producer at WTMJ in Wisconsin; on realizing that satellite technology would be embraced by cable companies
- Chapter 2
- On not having formal business training and her natural competitiveness; on her marriage to William Koplovitz, a communications lawyer; on realizing the value of the cable industry; on how they were both hired by Bob Rosencrans at UA-Columbia
- On her passion for wanting to transform cable in the 1970s; on beginning her career at UA-Columbia in expanding franchises; on wanting to be in programming after two years
- On being one of the few women in the cable industry in the 1970s; on working with Home Box Office (HBO) in 1975; on the historic Thrilla in Manilla fight that satellites proved that program networks could work in cable
- On launching Madison Square Garden Sports Network the first basic cable network in 1977; on mistakenly broadcasting a Yankees game on her new network which allowed her to negotiate a contract with Major League Baseball and the NBA to allow their games to be televised on cable
- Chapter 3
- On running Madison Square Garden Sports Network; on business model used; some of the early employees of the network
- On getting advertisers on Madison Square Garden Sports Network; on the origin of the Cable Advertising Bureau
- On her programming on Madison Square Garden Sports Network; on the few women in the cable industry and on promoting education of management
- On the changing of Madison Square Garden Sports Network's name to USA
- On the 1981 sale of USA Network to Time Warner and Paramount and Barry Diller's and MCA's involvement in it
- On the growth of USA in programming; on acquiring Miami Vice and Murder She Wrote in 1987 and starting television movies
- On attempting to buy USA Network back when Time Warner wanted control of CNN; on MCA and Paramount ending up with the company
- On pushing the programming envelope; on her management style
- Chapter 4
- On the launch of the Sci-Fi Channel (now SyFy)
- On the takeover of USA and ownership of basic cable networks and Edgar Bronfman and Barry Diller's involvement
- On leaving USA Network after its sale; on educating people on how to retain ownership in a company
- On her appointment by President Clinton to chair the bipartisan National Women’s Business Council; on how she used this platform to launch Springboard Enterprises, which helps women raise venture capital
- On New York Women in Film & Television
- On working in New York
- On pay-per-view and on-demand business structures in cable television
- On the launch of Broadway Television Network and its demise after 9/11
- On her then-current projects in new media, Asian markets
- On her proudest achievements
- On her advice to aspiring media executives
- On her opinion of women in the business
- On how she'd like to be remembered
- On photos illustrating points in her career
- Kay Koplovitz on a fun picture of herself
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