Sykes Wants To Run A Business Again
MTVN Vet Says He Asked Out To Find New Top Gig
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 3/12/2008 6:20:00 PM
Veteran MTV Networks executive John Sykes says he’s leaving a job at MTVN, trying to launch new networks for it, in hopes of finding a company he can run.Sykes, who ran VH1 in the mid 1990s and the Infinity Broadcasting radio operation until 2005, said in an interview Wednesday that he asked out of his position as president of network development after two unsuccessful years of trying to launch several multi-platform services targeting viewers 35 years and older.
“The services tested great and we saw them as a natural fit for the MTV networks,” said Sykes, who would not say whether Comcast, as was reported at the time, or other cable companies were interested in the services. “But as the past couple of years moved on and we were getting closer to getting them launched, it felt like the company’s priorities shifted more toward really focusing on existing brands.”
Sykes rejoined Viacom-owned MTVN in 2005 to spearhead the development of new cable networks and online services. He said he’s already had “informal conversations” with several digitally based companies, but would not reveal further details.
He also wouldn’t rule out a return engagement to cable.
“What I love about [cable] is that you’re not longer just in the cable business when you’re in it – it’s evolved now to a 360 degree entertainment service where you have to reach the consumer wherever you can,” he said. "So it's VOD, it's broadband, mobile, satellite radio – it's really building multiplatform brands … so if I were to go back into the cable world it really is getting into many new businesses.”
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