Kay Koplovitz is founder and former Chairman & CEO of USA Networks, the SyFy Channel (formerly Sci-Fi Channel) and USA Networks International, today a multi-billion-dollar cable television network. Ms. Koplovitz ran the network for 21 years before stepping down in 1998, at which time was sold for $4.5 billion. As founder of USA Networks, Kay is the visionary who created the business model for cable networks by introducing the concept of two revenue streams: licensing and advertising.
SATELLITES + THE USA STORY
Kay Koplovitz had her eye on satellites and their unique contribution to communications long before the technology was integrated into the cable television business.
She was captivated by Arthur C. Clarke and his passion for geosynchronous-orbiting satellites when she was a student at the University of Wisconsin in the late 60’s. Kay went on to write her master’s thesis on the impact programming delivered via satellite could have on governments, cultures and human rights around the world. So, it wasn’t surprising that she chose the cable television industry as the one that would introduce this technology. It was seven long years before her vision was realized.
SEPTEMBER 30, 1975 – THE NIGHT THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF TELEVISION HISTORY
On September 30, 1975, HBO and UA-Columbia Cablevision, along with ATC, transmitted the “Thrilla in Manila,” the third matchup between Mohammed Ali and Joe Fraser, via satellite from the Philippines to cable systems in Vero Beach, Florida and Jackson, Mississippi.
It was that night that Kay’s former boss at UA-Columbia, Bob Rosencrans, said her dream was about to come true. It was then that they decided to launch a cable television network delivered to systems via satellite. Joe Cohen, President of Madison Square Garden, had 125 events from The Garden available for license and the Madison Square Garden (MSG) national network was announced in 1976, launched in September 1977.
TWO REVENUE STREAMS MODEL – LICENSING & ADVERTISING + DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY + SCI-FI
The most significant disruptive innovation made in the cable industry was the introduction of a new business model – licensing and advertising. The new model reversed the payment model created by the TV broadcast industry. Instead of the TV broadcast paying the cable systems to carry the programming, MSG (the forerunner to USA Networks) instituted a fee that the cable systems would pay to the TV broadcast network – as one revenue stream. The second revenue stream, advertising, created and set the stage for the advertising industry and other cable programmers to follow. With the launch, Kay became the first women president of a cable network in television history.
The all-sports network went on to negotiate the first licensing contracts with Major League Baseball (1979 with George Steinbrenner and Commissioner Kuhn), the National Basketball Association (David Stern), and the National Hockey League (John Ziegler and Joel Nixon). Within a few years, the all-sports network evolved into a nightly live professional and collegiate network with over 500 live sporting with events.
The network changed its name to USA Network in 1980 and began to program talk shows and children’s programming during the daytime hours. In 1982, brought live coverage of prestige sporting events such as the early round coverage of The Augusta National Golf Tournament and the US Open Tennis Tournament.
In 1992, USA launched The Sci -Fi Channel (now Syfy) to an initial 10 million homes, and in 1994, the company launched USA International, offering both USA and the Sci-fi Networks to 60 countries worldwide.
CURRENT LIFE’S WORK:
Since 2000, Kay has served as Chairman of Springboard Enterprises, where under her leadership, the non-profit venture-catalyst accelerator has been bringing women founders leading transformational businesses to full parity in raising capital. The value of Springboard Enterprises has been validated by a strong 19-year track record of success with $8.7 billion capital raised, 186 liquidity events, and 17 IPOs.
Companies in the portfolio include technology and life sciences, and in 2014, Ms. Koplovitz co-founded the New York Fashion Tech Lab bringing promising technology companies in collaboration with the fashion and retail industry.
In 2016, Kay co-founded Springboard Growth Capital to bring growth stage investment to women-led companies emerging from Springboard Enterprises’ ecosystem. Springboard Growth Capital is leveraging the strong brand, deep entrepreneurial relationships, and the extensive network of experts, investors, and mentors built by Springboard Enterprises for the past 19 years.
SEVERAL BOARDS:
CA Technologies, ION Media Networks, TIME Inc., Kate Spade (formerly Liz Claiborne Inc.), Oracle, Instinet, Nabisco, General Re, Veniam, The Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television and Radio) as Trustee Emeritus, The International Tennis Hall of Fame as Trustee, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Letters and Science as Board of Visitors
EDUCATION:
M.A., Communications, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, 1968 (National Merit Scholar), B.S., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1967 (Phi Beta Kappa)
NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
President Clinton appointed Kay as Chairman of the bipartisan National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) in 1998. During that time, Kay discovered that there were few venture capital and funding options for women entrepreneurs.
AUTHOR:
She is the author of Bold Women, Big Ideas: Learning to Play the High-Risk Entrepreneurial Game, a book she wrote to inform and inspire women entrepreneurs. She more recently published Been There, Run That, an anthology of best practices from Springboard Enterprises’ expert network of thought leaders.
PUBLIC PRESENCE:
Kay is a speaker, and a thought leader often called to deliver keynote speeches, opening remarks, talk on panels, and participate in fireside chats. She is an expert media contributor and is frequently interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Inc., CNBC, MSNBC, Bloomberg TV and Financial Times.
