Matthew C. Blank, Chairman and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc.

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Matthew C. Blank, Chairman and CEO, Showtime Networks Inc.

Matthew C. Blank has made a significant and indelible mark on the cable television industry in a career spanning over three decades. Blank has been with Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI) since 1988, assuming the position of president and chief operating officer in 1991, followed by president and CEO, and then chairman and CEO in 1995. Prior to that, he served as executive vice president, marketing, where he oversaw all of the networks' consumer marketing, creative services and public relations functions. Before joining Showtime Networks, Blank worked for Home Box Office Inc. for 12 years, departing as senior vice president of consumer marketing. Under Blank's leadership, Showtime Networks has grown from three premium networks, SHOWTIME, THE MOVIE CHANNEL and FLIX, to include 27 digital channels. SNI has also been a champion for and early adopter of the latest technologies, such as high definition and subscription video on demand (SVOD), providing subscribers with an enhanced viewing experience, along with more choice, convenience and value. SHOWTIME is the only premium network to have grown subscribers every year for the past eight years. Blank is active in numerous industry organizations. He currently serves on the board of directors of the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) and The Cable Center. He was inducted into Broadcasting and Cable magazine's Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Cable Center Hall of Fame in 2009. He has garnered numerous industry awards, including the NCTA's Vanguard Award for Marketing in 1991, the Vanguard Award in the Programming category in 1999, and the NCTA's top honor, the Vanguard Award for Leadership, in 2008. In 2003, he received the "Friends of NAMIC Award" from the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications. From CTAM (the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing) that same year, Blank received the Grand TAM Award, that organization's highest honor. In March 2004, he was honored by Cable Positive with the Joel A. Berger Award for his contribution to the fight against AIDS. Blank has also been honored by a number of other non-profit organizations. In 2001, he was the recipient of People for the American Way Foundation's prestigious "Spirit of Liberty" award at its 17th annual gala. In 2003, he was honored with the UJA-Federation of NY's Entertainment Media & Communications Division Award, and in 2004 he was presented with the Lifetime Visionary Award by the Israel Film Festival. In 2005, Blank was honored at Playwrights Horizons' High Standards annual gala, and in 2006, The T. Howard Foundation honored him for his and Showtime Networks' efforts in support of diversity. In 2007, Blank was honored by The Innocence Project for the SHOWTIME production of the award-winning documentary AFTER INNOCENCE, which made a significant contribution to advancing an understanding of the plight of the wrongfully convicted. In 2008, he was an honoree at the annual corporate gala of the Museum of the Moving Image. Under his leadership, The Paley Center honored Showtime Networks at its annual gala in Los Angeles in 2008, and the IRTS (International Radio and Television Society) honored the network in 2009. Blank has been a trustee of the Harlem Children's Zone for almost 20 years. He also serves as a trustee of the Museum of the Moving Image, and is a member of the board of directors of the Creative Coalition. Blank is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and holds an M.B.A. from Baruch College. He resides in New York City with his wife, Susan McGuirk, and their children, Meredith and Gordon.

Moderated by Benjamin Swinburne, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley Research

Benjamin Swinburne is a managing director at Morgan Stanley Research covering the cable, satellite, entertainment, and advertising industries, areas he has followed for over a decade. He is consistently ranked among the leading analysts in multiple media sectors and has been recognized in a variety of investor polls. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley as a member of the media research team in 1999, he worked at Lucent Technologies as an analyst in the mergers and acquisitions division of corporate strategy. Swinburne holds a B.A. in public policy with a concentration in finance from Washington & Lee University and an M.S. in accounting from Babson College. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. 

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