GroupM, National Media Group and NBCU/Telemundo Among Award Winners at TVB’s 2020 Alt Forward Conference
The 2020 winners showcase the amplified importance of local broadcast television and its role in the recovery of the American economy.
TVB, the not-for-profit trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry, today announced the winners of this year’s TVB Excellence Awards and TVB NEXT Awards at the 2020 Alt Forward Conference. The 2020 winners showcase the amplified importance of local broadcast television and its role in the recovery of the American economy.
“It is with great pride that we celebrate some of the best talent in the local broadcast TV industry at Alt Forward,” said Steve Lanzano, President and CEO of TVB. “This year’s winners have reset the bar for excellence in local media and marketing solutions at a time of great challenge and adversity for advertisers, agencies and media providers. Their phenomenal work and contributions have demonstrated the power of local TV to drive business growth and build meaningful relationships with consumers as the U.S. rebounds market by market and state by state.”
TVB Excellence Award for Career Achievement
For the first time ever, the 2020 TVB Excellence Awards include a Career Achievement category. The inaugural recipient is Bill Fine, recently retired President and General Manager, of WCVB Channel 5, Boston. Bill spent his entire 43-year career in local broadcasting, most recently retiring from his hometown station and Hearst Television flagship, WCVB. Bill spent 28 years at WCVB, the last 15 as President and General Manager, and seven of his 10 years in Baltimore overseeing WBAL-TV. His association with TVB spanned 41 years, beginning with the sales trainee program in 1979, chairing the station sales advisory committee and ultimately serving as TVB’s Chairman of the Board in 2013-2014. Bill has made his mark on the industry in tremendous ways with his work over the years. He brings wisdom, passion, compassion and talent to every role and every relationship.
TVB Excellence Award for Political Agency of the Year
The 2020 TVB Excellence Award for Political Agency of the Year has never been more important. With the onset of the coronavirus and 2020 being an election year, today’s political landscape requires a unique level of sophistication, skill, and acumen to create and implement effective political media strategies. The recipient of the TVB 2020 Excellence Award – Political Agency of the Year is National Media Group and its President, Robin D. Roberts. Robin is widely recognized as a leader and pioneer in political and issue-advocacy advertising and has supervised strategic media research, planning, and ad placement for hundreds of campaigns, including the 2000 and 2004 Bush-Cheney presidential campaigns as well as the 2016 and 2020 Trump-Pence presidential campaigns.
TVB Next Awards
Each year the TVB NEXT Program — thanks to the underwriting support of WideOrbit and its Founder & CEO, Eric Mathewson — identifies and celebrates the next generation of media leadership and gives honorees access to today’s thought leaders, insights into industry innovation, a leg up on career advancement and a voice in the bigger discussion. The 2020 TVB NEXT Award honorees are Catherine Long, Partner, Broadcast Account Manager, Local Investment, GroupM in the media buying category and Annia Chinique-Kates, Local Sales Director, NBCU & Telemundo in the media selling category. Both Catherine and Annia have proven themselves rising stars within media buying and sales.
“As a duopoly for NBC and Telemundo, our local news strength is paramount in a time of crisis,” Chinique-Kates said when asked about how localism changed due to the pandemic. “During this international pandemic, our local viewers depended on our stations to understand the particular impact to their market, to stay informed of city and state official responses and connect their personal needs with available resources.”
“Localism is even more important now because of health and economic concerns, and that has also translated to spending habits,” said Long. “Since different localities are being affected in different ways, people are hyper focused on their region and state. As the landscape of the country (and the world) changes due to restrictions and safety concerns, I believe the focus on localism will continue in this direction for some time.”
Other awards presented at TVB Alt Forward include the B&C Broadcaster of the Year Award and the Ad Council Catalyst Award. Lisa Sherman, President and CEO of the Ad Council, presented the Ad Council Catalyst award to Tim Busch, President of Nexstar Media Group. Emily Barr, President and CEO of the Graham Media Group, is the recipient of the 2020 B&C Broadcaster of the Year award. This was presented by Bill Gannon, Vice President & Global Editor-in-Chief of Broadcasting & Cable.
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About TVB
TVB is the not-for-profit trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry. Its members include the U.S. television stations, television broadcast groups, advertising sales reps, syndicators, international broadcasters and associate members. TVB actively promotes local media marketing solutions to the advertising community and works to develop advertising dollars for the medium’s multiple platforms, including on-air, online and mobile. TVB provides a diverse variety of tools and resources, including its website, to support its members and to help advertisers make the best use of local ad dollars. For more information, visit www.tvb.org.
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