December 2, 2008

The CableFAX 100—The Greatest Hits of 2008

CableFAX: The Magazine's ultimate cable industry power list.

Thank you for spending some time with the 2008 edition of The CableFAX 100.

As in the past, we’ve ranked the top 100 players in cable. Unlike previous years, this list has only 100 or so names on it, a drop of more than 150 names from the 2007 list.

This year’s rankings were based on several factors. Some, like ratings, revenue, stock price, carriage and subscriber numbers and length of industry service are quantifiable. To a lesser extent we also considered intangibles, like industry wide image, prestige, whether a person appears regularly at industry trade events. I won’t deny that buzz also played a role in shaping our list. 

Some of the people on the 100 list were nominated by their colleagues, others were put forward by our editors.

A few new wrinkles in this year’s 100 edition. For the first time we have compiled a ranked list of regional power players. A list of people in cable but who also transcend it are included in a list we call Above It All. To help you learn about the 100 as people, we’ve also included details about their education and the answers to a series of somewhat personal questions.

Whether or not you agree with our rankings or our predictions for the year ahead attached to nearly all the 100 entries, we hope you learn something useful about the business of cable and the people in it by reading this magazine. As always, we encourage your feedback on its contents.

Seth Arenstein
Editor