For the second consecutive year, the readers of the Radio + Television Business Report have spoken. And, with their input, the 2021 ranking of Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders includes new names near the top of the list, and many shifts.
In a year that saw a great pause and, for some, a shift thanks to a pandemic, it’s perhaps fitting.
With the release of RBR+TVBR‘s Spring 2020 Special Report, radio and television industry leaders had been plunged deep into the Great Unknown, presented by Coronavirus. Falling share prices and ad cancellations – along with the postponement by one year of the Summer Olympic Games – began to devastate broadcast media.
Leaders commiserated. Plans of action were executed. And, in the television industry, swift recoveries — some, perhaps faster than others — came over the next several months. By the end of 2020, most broadcast TV companies were on solid footing, financially. There were even blockbuster deals to report, such as ION Media’s acquisition by The E.W. Scripps Co., which closed in early January 2021. Then, on February 2021, Quincy Media, Inc. revealed that Gray Television would be buying all of its television assets. The price: $950 million.
Thanks to record-setting political advertising and continued retransmission consent revenue cushioning dips in core advertising, broadcast television’s financial health is strong. On the air, reporters and anchors expertly adjusted to live newscasts from their homes, while covering COVID-19 testing and vaccination updates in their community. For some, social injustice protests thrust field reporters into emergency situations, putting them at high risk while delivering important news to local viewers.
Through it all, broadcast television shined — and the readers of RBR+TVBR have acknowledged this by saluting 15 exceptional leaders who have steered their ships through stormy waters that may still be a bit patchy, but today are relatively calm and full of hope.
Who are the Broadcast Television’s Best Leaders of 2021? You can find the rankings exclusively in the Spring 2021 RBR+TVBR Special Report!
Subscribers received a link to download the PDF of this report on Monday morning (4/26).
Not a subscriber? Become a RBR+TVBR Member today, and get access to our report while guaranteeing access to our three other quarterly Special Reports in 2021!
