Kay Koplovitz

Last updated
Kay Smith
Born (1945-04-11) April 11, 1945 (age 79)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
Alma mater University of Wisconsin–Madison and Michigan State University
Occupation(s)Co-Founder and Chairman of Springboard Enterprises and Springboard Growth Capital

Kay Koplovitz (nee Smith, born April 11, 1945 [1] ) is an American businesswoman, best known as the founder of the cable television channel USA Network, for which she served as chairwoman and CEO from its founding in 1977 until 1998 when it was sold for $4.5 billion. She was the first woman in the US to head a television network. She is also the author of the books Bold Women, Big Ideas: Learning to Play the High-Risk Entrepreneurial Game, and Been There, Run That. She is credited with creating the joint advertising-licensing model, which became widespread among cable television networks. [2] [3]

Contents

Early life and education

Kay Koplovitz was born as Kay Smith in a middle-class neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, her mom worked in the home, and her father was a sales executive for a metal forging company. As a young child Koplovitz would always be looking for ways to make money, having an early affinity for salesmanship, her entrepreneurial spirit was being crafted, from selling Christmas cards to Girl Scout cookies, Koplovitz loved making ideas work, making money and being able to buy things she wanted.

Koplovitz graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a B.A. in communications and earned a master's degree in communications from Michigan State University. [3]

Between her junior and senior year Koplovitz visited England, and while on her travels saw a poster advertising a lecture on geosynchronous orbiting satellites. The then twenty year old Koplovitz was fascinated by the lecture, and later she wrote her masters thesis on satellite communications and the potential impact on governments, people, and communications. [4]

Career

USA Networks

In 1975 Koplovitz joined Home Box Office and led the promotion of cable and satellite broadcasting of the Thrilla in Manila boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. [5] [6] September 30th 1975 would change history forever. The timing of the sporting event would be the turning point Koplovitz would need in order to launch her idea. The live broadcast of the famous boxing match, allowed congressman and senators to see that satellites could be used for good commercial purposes and give people much joy from experiencing the live broadcasts. [7] [8] She subsequently founded the USA Network in 1977 as an all-sports service, known as the Madison Square Garden Sports Network (not to be confused with the New York City-area regional sports network of the same name now simply known as MSG); [9] [10] She led the launch of the USA Network mainly as an all-sports service in order to compete with Home Box Office. [5] The channel was renamed the USA Network in 1980. USA later become the number one ranking cable network in primetime viewership for 13 consecutive years[ when? ]. [10] The USA Network was the first cable network to rely greatly on advertising revenue. [11] Despite creating and supervising the network, Koplovitz did not own it, but remained its President during ownership changes. [12] [13] [14] [15] [11] Under Koplovitz's leadership, the USA Network was the number one ranking cable network in primetime broadcasting[ when? ]. [5]

Under her leadership, the Sci Fi Channel was launched in 1992 and USA Network International was launched in 1994, operating in several countries. [10] Koplovitz is also credited with creating the business model for cable networks after introducing the concept of two revenue streams: licensing and advertising. [3] However, at USA Networks she was known for overspending on things such as television reruns, eventually became a financial problem by the late 1990s, as interest in airing new content on a more regular basis grew. [11] Upon hiring former CBS executive Rod Perth as entertainment chief of USA Networks by 1997, Koplovitz decided to focus more on airing higher-budget miniseries content, such as Moby Dick, as well as other new shows. [16] She also made plans to cancel the USA Network's flagship WWF programming, a move which was opposed by USA Network executive Bonnie Hammer. [16] She served as chairman and chief executive officer of USA Networks until 9 April 1998, months after the company was sold for $4.5 billion and became a publicly listed company. [11] [3] Unlike previous USA Networks owners, new owner Barry Diller, who previously had some ownership stock with the USA Network when he was head of Paramount Pictures, [17] took over Koplovitz's executive positions at USA Networks, which resulted in her resignation from the television networks she founded. [11] [18] This also resulted in some of Koplovitz's future plans for the network, such as the planned removal of the WWF from USA Network in May 1998, being averted, [11] [16] with Diller also cutting $40 million from the network's budget. [11]

Clinton Administration, Springboard Enterprises, Springboard Growth Capital, New York Fashion Tech Lab Koplovitz & Company

In the 1990s, Koplovitz became acquainted with the Clinton Administration. In early 1994, Koplovitz was among the tv executives who would assist President Bill Clinton in pushing a public service announcement campaign against violence in society, and was also later among media executives who personally met with President Clinton in 1996 to discuss TV's violence rating system. [19] [20] In 1998, President Clinton appointed Koplovitz to chair the bipartisan National Women's Business Council. [21] This helped create a platform for her to co-found Springboard Enterprises in 2000. Springboard is a non-profit organization fostering venture capital investments in women-led high growth companies and has created about $36 billion in revenue, [22] created over 10,000 jobs[ citation needed ] and has accelerated the growth of 850+ women led businesses since its inception. [22]

Koplovitz also serves as head of the New York Fashion Tech Lab, [23] which she co-founded in 2014 in hopes of bringing promising technology companies in collaboration with the fashion and retail industry. [24]

In 2016, [25] she co-founded Springboard Growth Capital to bring growth stage investments to technology and life sciences companies emerging from Springboard Enterprises. [23]

In 1998, Koplovitz & Company LLC was established to provide advisory services to entertainment companies, sports organizations, advertisers and distributors. It advises companies on growth strategies and the firm makes investments in early and mid-stage companies in media and technology. [26]

Board memberships

In addition to her role as Chairman of both Springboard Enterprises and Springboard Growth Capital, Koplovitz also currently serves on the board at Athena Technology Acquisition Corp-SPAC and Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp, both part of Athena SPACs, Accenture Ventures and at Veniam. [2] She previously served as chairman of the board of Kate Spade (formerly Liz Claiborne), from January 2007 until May 2013. [3] She also previously served as a board member of ION Media, CA Technologies, Time Inc., Instinet, Oracle, Nabisco and General Re, [21] Sun New Media and a trustee emeritus of The Paley Center for Media and The International Hall of Fame.

In April 2014, Koplovitz joined the 10-member board of Time Inc., the publishing arm of Time Warner Inc. (now WarnerMedia, LLC). [27] She remained on the board until Time Inc. was acquired by the Meredith Corporation (now Dotdash Meredith) in 2018. [2]

Awards and honors

Koplovitz holds honorary doctorate degrees from Emerson College, St. John's University, Michigan State University and Canisius College. [28]

Other honors and awards she has received include:

Personal life

Kay Koplovitz is married to private investor William C. Koplovitz, Jr. [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USA Network</span> American pay television channel

USA Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports cable television channels.

Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward women or features women in lead roles. As of November 2023, Lifetime is available to approximately 63,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2011 peak of 100,000,000 households.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert L. Johnson</span> American billionaire businessman

Robert Louis Johnson is an American entrepreneur, media magnate, executive, philanthropist, and investor. He is the co-founder of BET, which was acquired by Viacom in 2001. He also founded RLJ Companies, a holding company that invests in various business sectors. Johnson is the former majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. He became the first black American billionaire in 2001. Johnson's companies have counted among the most prominent black American businesses in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

USA Tuesday Night Fights is a television boxing show. It aired from October 1, 1982 to August 25, 1998 on the USA Network; at one time it was the longest-running boxing show on television. The show debuted on October 1, 1982, and was originally called Friday Night Boxing, which aired from 1982 to 1984, and then in 1984, the boxing program moved to Wednesday nights and was called Wednesday Night Fights, which aired from 1984 to 1986, and in 1986, the boxing program moved to Thursday nights, and was called Thursday Night Fights, which aired from 1986 to 1990. In 1987, the boxing program finally moved to Tuesday nights, and the show was called Tuesday Night Fights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">QVC</span> American television network

QVC is an American free-to-air television network and a flagship shopping channel specializing in televised home shopping, owned by Qurate Retail Group. Founded in 1986 by Joseph Segel in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States, QVC broadcasts to more than 350 million households in seven countries, including channels in the UK, Germany, Japan, and Italy, along with a joint venture in China with China National Radio called CNR Mall.

UniMás is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The network's programming, which is aimed at Hispanic Americans in the 18–34 age range, includes telenovelas and other serialized drama series, sports, sitcoms, reruns of imported series previously aired on parent network Univision, reality and variety series, and theatrically released feature films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HSN</span> American home shopping television network

HSN, Inc. an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. It is based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Florida, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Television</span> Television production company

Universal Television LLC is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which, in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a predecessor of the company, NBC Studios, previously assumed such functions, and a substantial portion of the company's shows air on the network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Diller</span> American businessman and media executive (born 1942)

Barry Charles Diller is an American businessman. He is chairman and senior executive of IAC and Expedia Group and founded the Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting. Diller was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1994.

NBCUniversal Media Group is the television and streaming arm of NBCUniversal, and the direct descendant and successor of the former division NBCUniversal Television Group, which existed from 2004 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IAC Inc.</span> American media and internet company

IAC Inc. is an American holding company that owns brands across 100 countries, mostly in media and Internet. The company originated in 1996 as HSN Inc. as the holding company of Home Shopping Network and USA Network before changing its name to USA Networks, Inc. in 1999 and its television assets were sold to Vivendi in 2002. Those are now owned today by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Mitchell</span> American journalist (born 1943)

Pat Mitchell is a media executive. She was the first woman president and CEO of PBS. She is editorial director of TEDWomen.

Geraldine Laybourne is an American entrepreneur and former TV executive. She worked at Nickelodeon from 1980 until 1996, when she became the president of Disney-ABC Cable Networks. She is also the co-founder of Oxygen Media and a tech startup called Katapult. In 2020, she was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFSF-DT</span> UniMás TV station in Vallejo, California

KFSF-DT is a television station licensed to Vallejo, California, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language UniMás network to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by TelevisaUnivision alongside San Francisco–licensed Univision outlet KDTV-DT. The two stations share studios on Zanker Road near the North San Jose Innovation District in San Jose; KFSF-DT's transmitter is located atop Sutro Tower in San Francisco.

<i>La Femme Nikita</i> (TV series) 1997 action-drama television series

La Femme Nikita is a Canadian action-drama television series based on the French film of the same name by Luc Besson. The series stars Peta Wilson as the title character. It was co-produced by Jay Firestone of Fireworks Entertainment and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. It was created and adapted for television by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran. The series was telecast in the United States on the USA Network cable channel on January 13, 1997, and ran for five seasons until March 4, 2001. The series was also aired in Canada on the over-the-air CTV Television Network. La Femme Nikita was the highest-rated drama on American basic cable during its first two seasons. It was also distributed in some other countries.

Anne Marie Sweeney is an American businesswoman. As of 2015 she serves as a member of the board of directors at Netflix. She was formerly the co-chair of Disney Media Networks and President of the Disney–ABC Television Group, and the President of Disney Channel from 1996 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USA Broadcasting</span> Former television broadcaster

USA Broadcasting was an American television broadcasting company owned by the veteran entertainment industry executive Barry Diller. This company was the over-the-air broadcasting arm of USA Networks. Before founding USA Broadcasting, Diller was a helper in Gulf+Western's failed Paramount Television Service and News Corporation's new Fox Broadcasting Company that was launched on October 9, 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonnie Hammer</span> American businesswoman and network executive

Bonnie Hammer is an American network and studio executive. As of 2020, her title is vice-chairman, NBCUniversal.

Lucille "Lucie" Salhany is an American media executive of Jordanian and Lebanese Heritage. Salhany was the first woman to head a broadcast television network in 1993 in the position as Chairwoman of Fox Broadcasting Company. She later created the United Paramount Network. She has had over 30 years of experience in the entertainment business, and during the height of her career, was one of the most powerful women at the C-Suite level.

Stephen Chao is an American internet entrepreneur, television producer, and media executive. He has worked as the president of the Fox Broadcasting Company, an independent television producer, president of USA Network, and co-founder of WonderHowTo.com.

References

  1. ↑ Bonnie Miller Rubin (1998). Fifty on Fifty: Wisdom, Inspiration, and Reflections on Women's Lives Well Lived. Little, Brown & Co. p. 134. ISBN   978-0446523691.
  2. 1 2 3 "Boards & Governance". Koplovitz.com. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kay Koplovitz". Bloomberg Link. Archived from the original on 23 June 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Interview with world's most successful female entrepreneur, Kay Koplovitz, 3 October 2018, retrieved 2023-01-04
  5. 1 2 3 Foley, Ellen (December 5, 2012). "Kay Koplovitz '67". Wisconsin Alumni Association. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  6. ↑ New York Women In Film & Television Collection (May 3, 2006). "Kay Koplovitz". Television Academy Foundation. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  7. ↑ Craig Leddy (2015-09-28). "The Fight That Helped Cable Take Flight". Multichannel News. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  8. ↑ Interview with world's most successful female entrepreneur, Kay Koplovitz, 3 October 2018, retrieved 2023-01-04
  9. ↑ Koplovitz, Kay (January 5, 2015). "The USA Story". Koplovitz.com. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 "Kay Koplovitz Bio". Alliance of Women Entrepreneurs. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hofmeister, Sallie (April 10, 1998). "USA Networks CEO Kay Koplovitz Resigns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  12. ↑ Brown, Les (7 April 1978). "Garden Cable Network Is Going Beyond Sports". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "Madison Square Garden and UA- Columbia merge cable efforts" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine. April 14, 1980. p. 130. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  14. ↑ "In Brief" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine. October 19, 1981. p. 88. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  15. ↑ "Time to buy all or half of USA Network" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine. August 31, 1981. p. 24. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 Assel, Shaun; Mike Mooneyham, Mike (February 2004). Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. The Crown Publishing Group. p. 188. ISBN   9780307758132 . Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  17. ↑ Salmans, Sandra (August 28, 1983). "Barry Diller's Latest Starring Role". New York Times. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  18. ↑ "USA Network founder quits". CNN Money. April 9, 1998. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  19. ↑ Edwards, Ellen (March 16, 1994). "TV, Clinton Team Up Against Violence". Washington Post. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Prophecies of the SyFy Queen". Worth Magazine. April 6, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 "About Kay". Koplovitz.com. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  22. 1 2 "Helping women lead and succeed". Springboard Enterprises. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  23. 1 2 "Team". springboardgrowthcapital.com. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  24. ↑ "Kay Koplovitz". New York Fashion Tech Lab. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  25. ↑ "Springboard Growth Capital". springboardgrowthcapital.com. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  26. ↑ "Koplovitz & Co". Koplovitz.com. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  27. ↑ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey. "Time Warner Unveils Time Inc.'s 10-Member Board". Dow Jones Business News. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  28. ↑ "Speakers". WE Summit. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  29. ↑ Wendy Diamond. "Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization Pioneer Awards 2016 Winners". WED. Retrieved July 5, 2018.
  30. 1 2 "Kay Koplovitz Biography (1945– )". Film Reference. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  31. ↑ Gross, Elana Lyn; Voytko, Lisette; McGrath, Maggie (2021-06-02). "The New Golden Age". Forbes . Retrieved 2021-06-02.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.