The Fierce Video editorial team is proud to present its third annual Emerging Leaders Awards, recognizing the brightest young professionals rising up the ranks of the streaming TV industry. Throughout the month of May we’ll be featuring these profiles with each of our finalists. We will announce the winners during our StreamTV Show with a live awards ceremony in Denver on June 6 at 7:30 p.m. MT. Not yet registered for the StreamTV Show, running June 6-8? Be sure to register now!
Blair Bedford/Gannett:
Blair Bedford is currently the senior manager of digital distribution for USA Today. She spearheads and manages over 15 U.S. and international direct partnerships for the USA Today Network's two free streaming channels as a part of the company's digital distribution FAST channel business. Blair also manages the launch, programming and promotional strategy of both channels, from onboarding to launch to partner management, leading the business to double-digit YoY viewership and revenue growth. Her 11-year experience includes linear and multi-platform programming roles at National Geographic Channels and BET's Centric TV, helping to strategically operationalize and program premium content across cable, MVPD, VOD and SVOD platforms.
What her colleagues are saying:
"Since joining the team, Blair has been willing to take on new challenges and drive new initiatives within the company. She's built our OTT programming and marketing strategies from the ground up, engaging new audiences and introducing them to premium content from across the USA Today Network. Her creative problem solving and positive attitude are invaluable assets to help shape our streaming channels and the future of USA Today in the streaming industry." - Lesley Webster, senior director of digital distribution at USA Today.
"Blair Bedford has been an integral contributor of Gannett and USA Today's OTT growth. Her contributions have led to substantial increases in performance for the business since USA Today launched its first channels in 2019. Gannett is fortunate to have Blair's focus and passion for delivering some of the nation's best journalism to streaming audiences around the world." - Caroline Harris, VP of digital distribution at USA Today.
Streaming Industry Q&A:
What streaming services do you subscribe to?
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max and a host of FAST and CTV streaming services (to watch the USA TODAY Channels!)
Describe your biggest career highlight so far.
Each moment of my career has helped me to learn, stretch and grow as a professional. One of my biggest career highlights was the relaunch of our two streaming channels, USA Today News and USA Today Sports, in 2021. I spearheaded this major initiative using a new tech provider, where I operationalized the channel relaunches on existing streaming platforms as well as successfully pitched and expanded our channel distribution to new platforms. As a result, I was able to leverage various opportunities to promote and market our channels post-relaunch, using the breadth of the USA Today Network video content and our channels' relaunches to create a better experience for our viewers.
What has been your biggest career learning experience?
Transitioning from working in the traditional linear model of television to the FAST channel AVOD space has been a significant yet invaluable learning experience in that it challenged me to expand my creativity, leadership and business acumen. Although there are many similarities, there are also stark differences between the two, from advertising models to programming. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to use my experience in both worlds to help USA Today grow this innovative line of business while still supporting the amazing journalistic work the brand is known for.
What's next for you in terms of new challenges in streaming TV?
In this exciting, unprecedented era of streaming TV, there are new challenges and great opportunities to carve out a significant future in media, especially in news. I look forward to finding innovative and impactful ways to reach new viewers while appealing to the core USA Today audience with our amazing video content. We are competing with a vast amount of news channels in the FAST channel ecosystem. I want to ensure USA Today is one of the first places viewers know to come to for premium, on-the-ground coverage that reflects and highlights their communities.