Smit Elected C-SPAN Executive Committee Chair

C-SPAN has elected Comcast Cable President Neil Smit as chairman of the C-SPAN board executive committee.

In addition, Pat McAdaragh, president and CEO of Midco, has been elected to a seat on the board.

That came at the annual board meeting. Smit has been on the executive committee since 2005.

He succeeds Pat Esser, who had served three (one-year) terms as chairman.

The committee is the subdivision of the board authorized to set strategy and oversee finances of the network, which is a public service funded by cable operators.

"We are pleased Neil Smit has committed to serve as C-SPAN Board chair and help guide our strategic direction during this time of rapid change in the media industry," said board executive chairman Brian Lamb. "We welcome Pat McAdaragh bringing a smaller operator's perspective to the Executive Committee. And we can't thank Pat Esser enough for his support and leadership, passionately pushing C-SPAN to expand our audience through social media engagement."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.