All of the votes are in for FierceVideo’s 2018 most powerful person in video readers’ poll, and we now have a winner: Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.
Approximately one week ago, we kicked off this feature with 26 of the top executives from around the industry, representing pay TV providers, streaming services, broadcasters, programmers and technology suppliers. In the end, Roberts emerged victorious.
This year’s competition saw serious competitors emerge in Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, and Jeff Binder, executive vice president of home and entertainment at T-Mobile. Both Salke and Binder took down major opponents including Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and Disney CEO Bob Iger.
But in the end, only one winner can be crowned, and this year’s it’s Roberts, the chief executive behind the biggest U.S. cable operator—which is about to expand into Europe through its Sky acquisition—and a media conglomerate including NBC and several top cable networks.
After winning our inaugural readers’ poll, Roberts will undoubtedly be back to defend his title in 2019. Many other names from this year’s feature will also likely return, but given the amount of consolidation and innovation taking place in the U.S. video industry, next year’s bracket could look a lot different.
Congratulations to Comcast’s Brian Roberts and all the competitors. And thanks to everyone who voted and helped make this such a fun and exciting feature. — Ben | @fierce__video
