In the 60 years since legendary creator Gene Roddenberry first introduced the world to a Star Trek universe grounded in the principle of “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations,” the franchise has continued to break barriers— inspiring generations of fans through its enduring celebration of cultural diversity and inclusion, its reverence for scientific exploration, and its bold pursuit of uncharted frontiers.Today, the Star Trek canon continues to thrive through film, television, animation, games, publishing, podcasts, experiences and children’s programming. Available in over 190 countries worldwide, the Star Trek franchise of 11 TV series, 14 films and over 900 episodes has been a mainstay in generating stories that are both exciting and thought-provoking, as well as vastly contributing to the pop culture lexicon throughout the years. StarTrek.com is the official home of the final frontier and fandom - sharing the latest news, celebrating fandom, and so much more. Be sure to follow @StarTrek on social media for all things across the franchise. The Star Trek series, including Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and the newest series Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, original movie Star Trek: Section 31 and the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks on Paramount+ are produced by CBS Studios in association with Secret Hideout and Roddenberry Entertainment. Executive producer Alex Kurtzman oversees the Star Trek universe across all platforms. For more information on where to watch Star Trek, visit StarTrek.com/Where-To-Watch.
Wolf Blitzer is co-anchor of The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown, which airs weekdays from 10amET to 12pmET, and provides viewers with in-depth reports about the political, international and breaking news stories of the day. Blitzer has been with CNN for 35 years.
One-on-one interviews with prominent figures who are shaping news on the world stage has been a hallmark of Blitzer and The Situation Room throughout the entire 20 year on-air run – one of the longest running CNN shows. Blitzer recently spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the midst of ongoing protests over a law that passed limiting the ability of Israel’s highest court to check the government’s power. He also sat down exclusively with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Vilnius, Lithuania during the 2023 NATO Summit and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen as Americans continued to feel the effects of post-pandemic inflation. This is only a sampling of the recent interviews from Blitzer that have shaped news cycles and changed conversations both domestically and internationally. Blitzer’s lifelong commitment to reporting the news, no matter the day or time, took him live from London this summer as the armed insurrection in Russia launched by Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner paramilitary group, played out in front of the world.
During the 2020 election cycle, Blitzer moderated several Democratic presidential town halls, as well as CNN’s January debate in Iowa. He also anchored special coverage of Election Night in America surrounding the 2020 election, which lasted several days until CNN was the first to project Joe Biden as the winner with Blitzer as the one to announce the projection. He has also played a critical role in the network’s expanded coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, often anchoring seven days a week during the peak of the pandemic in 2020.
In 2016, Blitzer served as moderator for the CNN Republican Presidential Primary Debates in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Houston, Texas and the Democratic Presidential Primary Debate in Brooklyn, New York. Blitzer was pivotal to CNN’s election coverage throughout America’s Choice 2012, serving as lead anchor on key primary nights, caucus nights and the Emmy award-winning election night. He moderated three of CNN’s Republican presidential debates including the first-of-its-kind tea party debate. During the 2008 presidential election, Blitzer spearheaded CNN’s Peabody Award-winning coverage of the presidential primary debates and campaigns. He also led CNN’s Emmy-winning “America Votes 2006” coverage and “America Votes 2004.” Furthermore, he anchored the network’s coverage during the inaugurations of Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
In addition to politics, Blitzer is also known for his in-depth reporting on international news. In January 2013, Blitzer traveled to Cairo, Egypt to sit down at the presidential palace with President Mohamed Morsy. In December 2010, he was granted rare access to travel to North Korea with former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. While in country as the only network journalist, he took viewers inside the communist, totalitarian regime with reports from the rarely seen streets of Pyongyang and Kim II-sung University.
Known for his Middle East expertise, Blitzer reported from Israel in the midst of the war between that country and Hezbollah during the summer of 2006 and he also returned to the region with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper in 2012. In 2005, Blitzer was the only American news anchor to cover the Dubai Ports World story on the ground in the United Arab Emirates. He also traveled to the Middle East in 2005 to report on the second anniversary of the war in Iraq. In 2003, Blitzer reported on the Iraq war from the Persian Gulf region.
As the child of Holocaust survivors, Blitzer has worked tirelessly to promote Holocaust education and combat antisemitism throughout his career. In 2023, Blitzer traveled to Poland to participate in the 35th International March of the Living, and to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Blitzer reported extensively throughout the emotional trip, providing his reflections on the emotional journey to Auschwitz-Birkenau as he remembered his family members killed there during the Holocaust. In 2022, Blitzer produced “Never Again: The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, A Tour with Wolf Blitzer” for CNN which was awarded the prestigious Grand Prize Award from Germany’s RIAS Berlin Commission. The impactful and deeply personal report took viewers beyond the walls of the museum, interviewing a leading historian, a Holocaust survivor, and a young museum volunteer to look at how the Holocaust is remembered, and forgotten, in today’s America. Viewers followed Blitzer as he toured the museum and reflected on the history of the Holocaust, his family’s place in that history, and his role as the child of survivors to carry on their legacy of Holocaust education.
Blitzer began his career in 1972 with the Reuters News Agency in Tel Aviv. Shortly thereafter, he became a Washington, D.C., correspondent for The Jerusalem Post and reported from the nation’s capital for more than 15 years. Blitzer has been with CNN for over 30 years having joined in 1990 as the network’s military-affairs correspondent at the Pentagon. He then served as CNN’s senior White House correspondent covering President Bill Clinton from November 1992 election until 1999, when he became the anchor of CNN’s Sunday public affairs program Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer and remained for more than a decade.
Over the decades, Blitzer has reported on a wide range of major breaking stories around the world that have shaped the international political landscape. In 1982, Blitzer was in Beirut during the withdrawal of PLO and Syrian forces. Blitzer covered the first Israeli-Egyptian peace conference in Egypt in 1977, and, in 1979, he traveled with then-President Jimmy Carter on visits to Egypt and Israel for the final round of negotiations that resulted in the signing of the Israel-Egypt peace treaty. He was among the first Western reporters invited into KGB headquarters for a rare inside look into the Soviet intelligence apparatus; he returned to Moscow in December 1991 to cover the collapse of the Soviet Union and the transition from Mikhail Gorbachev to Boris Yeltsin.
Throughout his career, Blitzer has interviewed some of history’s most notable figures, including U.S. Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. Blitzer has also interviewed many foreign leaders, the Dalai Lama, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former South African President Nelson Mandela, among them.
Among the numerous honors he has received for his reporting, Blitzer received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2025. He also received the News & Documentary Emmy Awards Lifetime Achievement honor in 2023. Blitzer was the recipient of the American News Women’s Club Excellence in Journalism Award in 2019. In March 2014, he was awarded the Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism by the National Press Foundation. In 2013, he was recognized as the eighth recipient of the Urbino Press Award from the Italian Embassy for his excellence in journalism. In 2011, Blitzer received the distinguished Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award from The Radio & Television Digital News Foundation, and The Panetta Institute for Public Policy’s Jefferson-Lincoln Award.
Blitzer was a part of the CNN team to earn a 2012 Emmy award for the network’s coverage of the revolution in Egypt, leading up to and including the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. In addition, he was also vital to the network’s efforts to earn the 2006 Emmy-award for live coverage on Election Day. He is also the recipient of the 2004 Journalist Pillar of Justice Award from the Respect for Law Alliance and the 2003 Daniel Pearl Award from the Chicago Press Veterans Association. He was also among the teams awarded a George Foster Peabody award for Hurricane Katrina coverage; an Alfred I. DuPont Award for coverage of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia; and an Edward R. Murrow Award for CNN’s coverage of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Furthermore, Blitzer is the recipient of an Emmy Award from The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his 1996 coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing and a Golden CableACE from the National Academy of Cable Programming for his and CNN’s coverage of the Persian Gulf War.
Blitzer has authored two books, Between Washington and Jerusalem: A Reporter’s Notebook (Oxford University Press, 1985) and Territory of Lies (Harper and Row, 1989)-cited by The New York Times Book Review as one of the most notable books of 1989.
Blitzer earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a master of arts degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. In addition, Blitzer has numerous honorary degrees from educational institutions across the country, including The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.; State University of New York at Buffalo; The Catholic University in Washington, D.C; Howard University in Washington, D.C.; The Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA; The University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH; Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA; St. Bonaventure University in New York; Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA; Utah Valley University in Orem, UT; Canisius College in Buffalo, NY; Western New England University in Springfield, MA; University of Hartford in West Hartford, MA; Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY; Gannon University in Erie, PA and Niagara University in New York.
Val Boreland serves as President of Entertainment for VERSANT where she oversees content strategy, creative development and production, marketing and content acquisitions across the company’s portfolio of entertainment brands and platforms.
Previously, Boreland was Executive Vice President, Content Acquisitions for NBCUniversal Entertainment, where she led content buying and curation across NBCU’s expansive broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. She was also responsible for high-profile deals across the entertainment portfolio, including Peacock’s agreement to stream the first window of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group movies following the theatrical release window.
She partnered with third-party studios – domestically and internationally – to acquire content for all NBCU’s entertainment linear platforms and Peacock, including original films and international series. Boreland was also responsible for bringing the enormously popular “John Wick” franchise to Peacock with prequel series “The Continental.”
Prior to that, Boreland served as Executive Vice President, Content Strategy & Acquisitions for NBCU’s six cable networks, where she oversaw cross-platform content scheduling, acquisitions and promo strategy. She also led acquisitions for Peacock as the direct-to-consumer brand geared up for its launch in 2020. While in that role, Boreland secured the rights to multiple high-profile properties for Peacock, including “Yellowstone,” “The Office” and the “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” franchise.
Boreland holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Michigan.
Andy Cohen is an Emmy Award-winning host, producer, and author best known as the host and executive producer of “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen,” Bravo’s late-night, interactive talk show. The series is the only live show on late-night television and consistently makes headlines with bold interviews viewers don’t see anywhere else. Cohen also serves as one of the executive producers across Bravo’s “The Real Housewives” franchise. He also has two personally curated channels on SiriusXM, “Radio Andy” and “Andy Cohen’s Kiki Lounge,” as well as his own book imprint, Andy Cohen Books. He is a 5-time time New York Times best-selling author and annually co-hosts CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live special, alongside Anderson Cooper.
In his ten years as an executive at Bravo, he was responsible for a dynamic slate of unscripted series and specials including hits such as “Top Chef,” “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” “Project Runway,” “Shahs of Sunset,” the “Million Dollar Listing” and “The Real Housewives” franchises, among others. Cohen received a Primetime Emmy for “Top Chef” in 2010 and has been nominated for 18 additional Emmy Awards. In 2019, Cohen was awarded the Vito Russo Award by GLAAD, and in June 2020, was recognized in THR and Variety’s Most Powerful LGBTQ Players in Hollywood lists. Additionally, Cohen received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2022. Born in St. Louis, Cohen resides in New York City with his son, Benjamin Cohen, and daughter, Lucy Cohen.
Mr. Cohen has been chairman and chief executive officer of West Ridge Associations, a sports and media
consulting firm, since 2013. West Ridge’s clients include Platinum Equities, a private equity firm, the
Cleveland Guardians and Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball, and The Switch, a broadcast
transmission facilities provider. In 2024, Mr. Cohen joined the advisory board of Seregh, a platform
dedicated to investing in developing real estate around sports and entertainment venues. In 2022, Mr.
Cohen was named chairman of Brand Velocity Group Sports, a private equity firm.
Mr. Cohen has served as an independent consultant of The Switch since 2018 in various roles, including
his current role as president of sports, and previously served as president of sports at The Switch (as an
employee) from 2013-18. He was chief executive officer and principal owner of The Switch predecessor
companies Hughes Television Network (1985-89) and HTN Communications, LLC (2003-13).
Mr. Cohen served in various senior executive roles with Madison Square Garden while the business was
part of Cablevision and was president of MSG Networks (1977-85), when he was a member of the NBA
and NHL television committees. He returned as executive vice president of MSG Media & Development
(1995-2002). Mr. Cohen was chairman of the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL (1993-95), also serving on the
NHL Board of Governors. He was president of Spectacor West and chief executive officer of Spectacor
Films (1991-93), serving on the board of Allied Communications, Inc., an independent film distribution
company. He was also co-founder with Robert Rosencrans and Kay Koplovitz and a director of USA
Network (1977-81). Mr. Cohen has served as a director of AMC Networks since June 2022 and previously
served as a director of MSG Networks from 2020-21.
He serves as a director of Joe Torre’s Safe At Home Foundation and the Maccabi World Union. He serves
as a director emeritus of the March of Dimes and trustee emeritus of the California Institute of the Arts.
Recognition of Mr. Cohen includes the Cable Hall of Fame, Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the
WWE Hall of Fame, the Sports Business Journal’s Champions Class of 2016, Ellis Island Medal of Honor
and Billboard Magazine’s Facilities Manager of the Year (1974 and 1976).
After gaining his BA from the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Cohen earned his MBA from Penn’s famed
Wharton School.
Mr. Cohen and his wife, Rita, reside in New York City and Los Angeles. They have four children and four
grandchildren.
Luis Fernández is Chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a world-class media company and industry leader in the production and distribution of premium Spanish-language content to U.S. Hispanics and audiences around the world. He oversees the company’s fast-growing multiplatform portfolio, including Telemundo’s flagship broadcast network and its entertainment, sports and news programming units, its digital and streaming platforms and the Universo cable network.
Prior to this role, Fernández served as Executive Vice President of Network News for Telemundo. As the leader of Telemundo’s Emmy Award-winning, multiplatform news department, he oversaw all operations and editorial direction, significantly expanding its news programming during his tenure, launching new shows such as Noticias Telemundo Mediodia and Noticias Telemundo at 11:35 p.m., as well as new franchises including Noticias Telemundo Investiga and Telemundo Planeta Tierra, the first environmental reporting unit in Spanish-language television news. Fernández also led major investments that allowed Noticias Telemundo to double its number of correspondents and upgrade its award-winning news sets.
A seasoned and well-respected entertainment, news and sports media executive, Fernández previously served as International CEO of Real Madrid for the Asia-Pacific Region, where he played a key role in expanding its brand reach to new audiences worldwide. Before this, he was President of Entertainment and President of Univision Studios for Univision Communications, developing some of the highest-rated broadcast and digital programs during a historic ratings period for the company.
Fernández also served as Executive President of Radio Television Española (RTVE), where he was responsible for the company’s operations across television, radio and digital divisions. His prior leadership roles extend through multiple media organizations in Spain, including Canal+, Telecinco, Cadena SER, Radio EL PAÍS and Cadena COPE. Additionally, he served as General Manager of Plural Entertainment, a television and film production company owned by Grupo Prisa, and was named CEO of PROMOFILM US, where he executive produced several films.
Fernández has been recognized on the Cablefax Diversity List and the Cablefax100, named “Professional Spaniard of the Year in the U.S.” by the U.S. and Spain’s Chamber of Commerce and was presented with the keys to the City of Miami. His work has been honored with numerous Emmy Awards, including for “Outstanding Newscast or News Magazine in Spanish” and “Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in Spanish.” He is a recipient of the Premios Ondas for “Best Specialized Program” from his tenure at Telecinco, where he launched Spain’s first digital television newsroom.
Fernández holds a degree in Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2016 by King Juan Carlos I.
As President of Global Advertising for Disney, Rita Ferro leads all global advertising sales for the company’s powerhouse portfolio of entertainment, news and sports properties, including Disney’s linear, digital and ad- supported streaming businesses across ABC; Disney Channels Worldwide; Disney+; ESPN and ESPN+; Freeform; FX; Hulu; and National Geographic. Rita is renowned for her dynamic leadership servicing brands at the intersection of data, advertising technology and premium content. Disney offers advertisers a one-stop-shop to leverage the incredible breadth of Disney’s brands, best-in-class storytelling and scale of audiences, to drive results and impact.
A 28-year veteran of Disney, Rita's impact transcends her day-to-day business responsibilities, earning her the distinction as a strategic thought leader and luminary amongst industry peers, leaders and brands. Throughout her career, her work has merited several notable accolades, awards and recognitions and she continues to be called upon as an expert voice and consultant to many. Rita currently sits on the boards of the HSF (Hispanic Scholarship Fund), the V Foundation for Cancer Research, Center for Communication, MMA (Mobile Marketing Association), and was named Chair of the Ad Council's Board of Directors in July 2025. She also serves as Vice Chair of the Council of Judges for the 75th Anniversary of the AAF Advertising Hall of Fame. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Advertising and a Master’s degree in International Business from Florida International University.
Bobby Flay is an award-winning chef, restaurateur, cookbook author and media personality. He has opened numerous upscale restaurants in New York City and beyond, the first of which was the renowned Mesa Grill in 1991. Most recently, in December 2023, Bobby opened Brasserie B by Bobby Flay at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas offering delicious and distinct French-inspired dishes, an intersection of French cuisine and Flay's creative touches. Eighteen months earlier, Bobby opened Amalfi (also at Caesars Palace), celebrating the vibrant cuisine of Italy's Amalfi Coast, a place near and dear to Bobby's heart. In addition to his fine dining restaurants, there are several outposts of Bobby's fast-casual concept, Bobby’s Burgers, across the country — including Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Paris Hotel Las Vegas, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Yankee Stadium, Charlotte North Carolina, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and more. Bobby is the author of 18 best-selling cookbooks, with his latest, Bobby Flay: Chapter One released in October 2024. He has been with Food Network since the 1990s and has starred in many series including current primetime hits Beat Bobby Flay, Bobby’s Triple Threat and BBQ Brawl. Among his many distinctions are the 1993 James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef of the Year, his induction into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America in 2007. Bobby has received Daytime Emmy Awards for Boy Meets Grill, Grill It! With Bobby Flay and Barbecue Addiction. In 2015, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame — the first chef ever to be awarded one. Bobby is the proud father to daughter Sophie, who works as a journalist at ABC.
A Golden Globe Award and Emmy Award-nominated writing team, Robert and Michelle King have been creative collaborators for more than 25 years and married for over 35 years. They are co-creators, showrunners and executive producers of the upcoming CBS series CUPERTINO. They have served as co-creators, showrunners and executive producers of the critically acclaimed series THE GOOD WIFE on CBS, along with THE GOOD FIGHT and EVIL on Paramount+, and as executive producers of the Showtime series YOUR HONOR. They co-created and are executive producers of the critically acclaimed CBS series ELSBETH, which is currently in its third season and was nominated for two Critics Choice Awards. They also served as executive producers of Paramount+ series HAPPY FACE. Robert and Michelle have been honored by their peers from the American Film Institute, the Writers Guild of America and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, as well as the Television Critics Association. In addition to creative recognition, they were awarded the Sidney Lumet Award for Integrity in Entertainment, the Humanitas Prize and the prestigious Peabody Award.
Jon Litner is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the YES Network, the exclusive regional media home of the 27-time World Champion New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Nets. He joined YES in September of 2016.
YES is owned by a consortium led by the New York Yankees, Main Street Sports and Amazon, along with private equity investors RedBird Capital Partners, The Blackstone Group and Mubadala Investment Company.
As President and CEO, Litner is responsible for all aspects of operations for YES, including distribution, ad sales, programming, production, business development and strategy. Under his watch, YES has fortified its standing as the premier regional sports network in the nation. Since 2016, YES has ranked #1 in viewership across linear and digital platforms and has been recognized as an industry leader in production and technological innovation, winning 66 New York Emmy Awards, five Promax Awards and four CableFAX Digital Awards.
Litner also oversaw the launch in March 2021 of the four-time Emmy Award-winning YES App, which provided authenticated users with a live stream of the YES Network -- including New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets games. The app offered personalized notification features, alternate feeds and first-of-their-kind Live Stats and Watch Party offerings.
YES debuted its direct-to-consumer offering in March 2023, providing fans in YES’ regional coverage territory an option to subscribe directly to YES via the YES App and, as a result, making YES available to more fans than ever before.
In January 2024, Litner spearheaded the formation of YES’ and MSG Networks’ Gotham Advanced Media and Entertainment (“GAME”), a 50/50 digital joint venture to capitalize on technical and operational synergies associated with YES’ and MSG Networks’ streaming services.
GAME launched The Gotham Sports App, the exclusive new TV Everywhere and DTC streaming home of the YES Network and MSG Networks, in October 2024, providing New York sports fans with access to their favorite programming and teams all in one location. Fans who subscribe to YES and MSG Networks through The Gotham Sports App are able to receive more than 500 live games a year featuring the New York Yankees, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres.
Prior to joining the YES Network, Litner was Group President, NBC Sports Group from February 2012 to January 2016. In that role, Litner was responsible for the Golf Channel and for NBC Sports’ 11 regional sports networks. These businesses annually featured 2,500 live events across MLB, NBA, NHL and the PGA Tour; Emmy and Edmund R. Murrow Award-winning news and original programming; and innovative digital content and e-commerce services.
Litner also spearheaded several strategic sports programming acquisitions for NBC, including negotiating media rights agreements with the NFL, NHL, Notre Dame and the PGA of America, along with joint venture media partnerships with the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Wizards and Capitals.
Beginning in May 2007, Litner served as President, Comcast Sports Group, where he oversaw Comcast’s regional sports network business and its growth through strategic acquisitions and new market launches. In February 2011, following Comcast’s acquisition of NBCUniversal, Litner was promoted to President, VERSUS and Comcast Sports Group. In that role, he added management responsibility of VERSUS, a national sports programming service featuring the NHL, Tour de France and outdoor sports, and oversaw its subsequent rebrand as NBC Sports Network.
In February 2005, Litner was named President of SNY, the start-up regional sports network featuring the New York Mets. While serving in this role until May 2007, Litner was responsible for the launch and on-going operations of the network, which debuted in March 2006 with record Mets viewership and distribution growth.
From December 1999 until February 2005, Litner served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the NHL. In that role, Litner managed all business operations of the league and was responsible for several strategic initiatives, including partnering with entrepreneur Mark Cuban to produce for the first time exclusive high-definition national television coverage of NHL games on HDNet; staging the NHL’s first outdoor game in the modern era, the Heritage Classic in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; and launching the NHL Network.
Litner began his career in sports television at ABC Sports, where he held several executive positions from 1991 to 1999. During his tenure, Litner was responsible for the acquisition and management of several iconic sports properties, including NFL Monday Night Football, NCAA Football and Basketball, the Rose Bowl, Indianapolis 500, Kentucky Derby and the legendary anthology series Wide World of Sports.
Litner also played a leading role in creating college football’s first National Championship Game as part of the Bowl Championship Series and in securing MLB television rights through the formation of The Baseball Network, a start-up joint venture with NBC to produce and market primetime coverage of 1994 and 1995 regular season and post-season MLB games. Litner was later named Vice President, Business Affairs, for The Baseball Network.
Litner graduated from Yale University in 1985 and from Cornell Law School in 1988. At Yale, he was a two-sport varsity athlete (football and baseball) and an Oaklawn Foundation Scholar. Litner, a longtime director of Little League Baseball International, currently serves as Vice Chairman of its Board of Directors. He is also an inaugural member of the Sports Business Journal 40 Under 40 Hall of Fame.
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As a member of Lionsgate’s leadership team and a 12-year veteran of the Company, Jim Packer is responsible for growing and monetizing Lionsgate’s 20,000+-title film and television library and licensing its content to buyers throughout the media ecosystem. Lionsgate’s library revenues have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 10% since 2015 and reached a record $1 billion last year.
To bolster the growth of Lionsgate’s global distribution initiatives, Packer and his team have recently launched a suite of more than two dozen proprietary FAST channels, including 50 Cent Action and MovieSphere Gold. The Worldwide Television Distribution Group distributes Lionsgate’s 40 to 50 feature films annually, premium series from one of the largest independent television organizations in the world, premium STARZ original programming and one of the largest and most valuable content libraries in the world. The studio has also become a magnet for leading third-party content, including eight Quentin Tarantino films, the long-running Carsey-Werner hit television series “The Conners” and the global faith-based blockbuster “The Chosen,” licensed to Amazon Prime and numerous buyers around the world.
Packer and his team are also exploring the utilization of AI to enhance library distribution strategies as well as opportunities to leverage the studio’s IP across the creator economy.
Before joining Lionsgate in 2011, Packer served as President of MGM’s worldwide television and digital operations. Prior to that, he was an executive with The Walt Disney Company managing the distribution and syndication of Disney content.
A graduate of the University of Colorado, Packer has served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Colorado Foundation and the Leeds School of Business. He also previously served on the Boards of the multiplatform channel Epix, NATPE, The Paley Center for Media and Movie Network in Australia. Packer was the recipient of Broadcasting & Cable’s Digital Leader Award and was inducted into Variety’s Home Entertainment & Digital Hall of Fame, recognizing his achievements in content and technology. He also earned MIPTV’s prestigious Medaille d’Honneur at MIPCOM.
Suzanne Scott currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FOX News Media, which encompasses the two linear networks FOX News Channel (FNC) and FOX Business Network (FBN), as well as FOX News Digital, FOX News Audio, FOX News Books, the direct-to-consumer subscription streaming services FOX Nation and FOX News International, as well as the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel, FOX Weather. For the past five years (2021-2025), Forbes has named Ms. Scott one of the world’s 100 Most Powerful Women in Media and Entertainment.
In this capacity, Scott oversees the most successful news organization in television, reaching nearly 200 million people each month across all platforms. Throughout her tenure, all of FOX News Media’s business units have either broken company or industry records while also delivering sustained growth with FOX News Media’s flagship network FOX News Channel concluding 2025 as the highest rated network in all of cable for the tenth consecutive year. Notably, the network saw its highest-rated non-election year in history, ending 2025 rivaling the broadcast competition and besting NBC.
As the first female CEO at the network, installed in May of 2018, Scott has taken numerous steps to develop and mentor the next generation of leaders while imparting meaningful change across the FOX News Media landscape. She has spearheaded several workplace initiatives, including the launch of a new state of the art newsroom, Women @ FOX networking events, employee mentoring and career development programs along with instituting quarterly meetings with all employees. Her efforts have fostered a more open, collaborative, and transparent environment across FOX News Media, which was recognized as a Great Place to Work, marking the first time the news organization was bestowed the accolade since its 1996 inception.
Since Scott took over as CEO, she has created three new streaming offerings — the subscription-based FOX Nation in 2018 and FOX News International in 2020, and the FAST channel FOX Weather in 2021. As part of this signature multiplatform brand extension strategy, she also launched FOX News Books in 2020, a new publishing imprint which has sold more than three million books with each title debuting as a national bestseller. She also oversaw the brand refresh of FOX News Digital, FOX News Audio and FOX Business, ushering in unprecedented growth and revenue.
Under Scott’s leadership, FOX News Channel has ushered in exceptional growth, ranking as the number one network in all of television for the summer of 2025, besting ABC, CBS and NBC along with all of cable. The network also attracted more than one billion views on YouTube in the first quarter of 2025, marking its best quarter in history, and delivering 4.3 billion YouTube views for the year, solidifying its ranking as the number one news brand on social media. This comes on the heels of FNC finishing 2024 with the highest cable news share in nearly a decade and delivering the most politically diverse audience, while FBN and FOX News Digital continue to cement record highs.
Notably, 2020 marked FOX News Media’s highest-rated year in history. According to Nielsen Media Research, FNC shattered previous ratings highs as the first cable news channel to surpass 3.5 million viewers in primetime for an entire year. Additionally, for the first time in its history, FNC finished number one in all of cable in total day in the 25-54 demo. For the full year, FNC ranked among the top three networks in all of television in weekday primetime behind only broadcast networks CBS and NBC and beat every broadcast and cable network from Memorial Day 2020 through the end of the calendar year.
In 2023 she named Lawrence Jones co-host of FNC’s morning show franchise FOX & Friends, the youngest Black co-host in cable news and in 2022, Scott appointed Shannon Bream to the role of Fox News Sunday moderator, the first woman to anchor the program in its then 26-year history. Over the last several years, Scott spearheaded a new programming lineup across daytime and primetime which included a hit late-night comedy show, Gutfeld! which beats all established late-night shows on the broadcast networks, a live newscast FOX News @ Night at 11 PM/ET and adding Laura Ingraham to primetime with the launch of The Ingraham Angle. She also paired Dana Perino and Bill Hemmer as co-anchors of a refreshed America’s Newsroom (9-11 AM/ET) and launched America Reports with John Roberts & Sandra Smith from 1-3 PM/ET. These moves experienced growth across all dayparts. More recently, she expanded the 4PM/ET audience with Will Cain’s Dallas-based program, The Will Cain Show, which routinely delivers more than 2 million daily viewers.
Prior to becoming the company’s first female CEO in May 2018, Scott served as the president of programming for both FNC and FBN. In this role, she oversaw all network programming and talent management, which included significantly altering FNC’s primetime lineup in 2017. She also expanded the network’s schedule to provide more hours of live programming and is responsible for having more women anchoring and hosting shows on FNC’s lineup than any other cable news network. Collectively, Scott’s programming moves have helped FNC remain number one in cable news for 24 consecutive years.
Since joining the network in 1996, Scott has risen through the ranks in several programming, production and creative positions including: executive vice president of programming (2016); senior vice president of programming and development (2009); vice president of programming (2007); network executive producer (2005); as well as associate producer, producer, and senior producer of On the Record with Greta Van Susteren (2002-2005). She began her career at FNC in April of 1996 on the launch team as a programming assistant and previously served in the same capacity at CNBC.
Scott has been widely recognized for her contributions in cable television. In late 2023, she was named to the NCTA – The Internet and Television Association’s Board of Directors. She was also honored as one of Crain’s Most Powerful Women in 2019 and was also named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Most Powerful People in New York Media in 2018, 2019 and 2022 as well as one of Variety’s 2020 New York Women of Impact for her leadership during the pandemic. In 2018, she was chosen for Variety’s “New Power of New York” list and has been featured in the Variety 500 issue for six years, an index of the 500 most influential business leaders shaping the media industry.
Additionally, Scott was honored by the Tunnel to Towers Foundation in 2021 with the “Let Us Do Good” award for her extraordinary dedication and positive impact in the lives of veterans and first responders. The Police Athletic League of New York City also honored her in 2019 with their Women of the Year award.
She was also named one of Cablefax Magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Cable from 2017 through 2024 and was selected as one of the magazine’s 100 Top Power Players in Cable in the same years. In 2006, she was named one of Multichannel News’ Wonder Women.
Scott is a graduate of American University with a degree in political science.
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Stephen A. Smith, is a featured commentator and executive producer on ESPN’s First Take weekdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET, discussing and debating the sports topics of the day (since 2012).
Smith is the co-executive producer of the show through his production company Mr. SAS Productions, along with ESPN and Omaha Productions.
On Jan. 17, 2023, Smith debuted his memoir “Straight Shooter; A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes,” where he revealed his untold story for the first time. Mr. SAS Productions oversaw the marketing and distribution of the book, published by Simon and Schuster and Gallery 13. “Straight Shooter; A Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes” is currently a New York Times Best Seller. It’s available in book and audio here.
In Sept. 2022, Smith launched K[no]w Mercy with Stephen A. Smith, bringing his trademark insight and analysis to the day’s headlines and the biggest stories from the worlds of politics, entertainment, social issues, business, and more, regularly joined by a wide range of notable guests and thought leaders. Smith, and his company Mr. SAS Productions, co-produce the podcast along with Cadence13.
In September 2019, Smith and First Take traveled to the 76ers Fieldhouse in Wilmington, Del., to do a show as part of Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week. Smith – an HBCU graduate – was also named the event’s ambassador by the city. The show saw First Take’s largest in-person audience ever and led in to a college fair that offered on-the-spot acceptance, scholarships and much more for prospective students. Smith and First Take also made their in-person return to the event in Oct. 2022 from ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
In September 2014, Smith began hosting the daily The Stephen A. Smith Show on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio. In January 2017, The Stephen A. Smith Show moved to ESPN’s SiriusXM channel and simulcast on ESPN’s affiliated stations in New York (98.7FM) and Los Angeles (710AM), airing 1-3 p.m. In January 2018, the program expanded to the national ESPN Radio network and was available across ESPN Radio stations throughout the country. In August 2018, The Stephen A. Smith Show joined the ESPNEWS weekday ESPN Radio simulcast lineup until the show’s finale in January 2020.
From 2011-14, Smith hosted a two-hour (1-3 p.m.), weekday local show on ESPN Radio 98.7FM in New York. For one year, starting in 2011, he also hosted a local show on ESPN LA 710AM in Los Angeles, covering both coasts.
Smith made a variety of contributions to ESPN from 2003-08. Smith hosted The Stephen A. Smith Show on ESPN Radio from 2005-08. He was also the host of ESPN2’s Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, a one-hour show featuring sports news, commentary on sports issues, and interviews, from 2005-07. Smith joined ESPN in 2003 as an analyst for the network’s NBA Shootaround (since renamed NBA Countdown) pregame show. He regularly appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter, ESPNEWS, First Take and as guest host of Pardon the Interruption and Jim Rome is Burning.
Smith made his acting debut on the ABC soap opera General Hospital in a cameo appearance as a television reporter on February 2, 2007. Later the same year, he was in the Chris Rock motion picture, I Think I Love My Wife. Smith returned to General Hospital in April 2016 as Brick, a surveillance expert for the Mob, and has continued to make appearances since then.
Smith also hosted a morning show on Fox Sports Radio. Previously, Smith held several positions, most recently as a general sports columnist for 16 years with the Philadelphia Inquirer (1994-2010). Prior to joining the Inquirer, Smith was a reporter with the Winston-Salem Journal, the Greensboro News and Record and the New York Daily News.
After attending the Fashion Institute of Technology for one year, Smith received a basketball scholarship to attend Winston-Salem State University, an HBCU in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he graduated in 1991.
William Wang is an American entrepreneur, inventor and TV executive best known for pioneering the world’s first internet-connected TV and creating VIZIO, a leading TV and soundbar maker in the United States. Since VIZIO’s inception in 2002, Wang has served as founder, CEO and chairman, steering the company to the forefront of the smart TV revolution. Under his leadership, VIZIO has sold more than 100 million premium-quality, innovative televisions and soundbars at accessible prices.
After the development of an award-winning operating system and three years on the public market, VIZIO was acquired in 2024 by Walmart, where its hardware and software continue to transform the home entertainment experience for millions of homes.
William Wang has been celebrated as a shining example of the American dream in action. Born in Taiwan, he moved to the U.S. at age 12 and later earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California. In 1986, he entered the booming computer hardware market, founding MAG InnoVision and acquiring Princeton Graphic Systems. By 1996, as the internet era accelerated, Wang helped develop Channel 1 (CH1), the world’s first smart TV with apps. Sensing the untapped potential of digital TV in the U.S., Wang took a bold step in 2002 by mortgaging his home to launch VIZIO, with its first products hitting U.S. shelves in 2003.
Wang’s unique approach to business and technological innovation has earned him many accolades over the years, but the recognition he values most is the impact VIZIO’s innovations have had on consumers’ daily lives. His relentless commitment to creating value for customers, partners and the industry has cemented VIZIO’s reputation as a trusted household name.
