Soul Food. The L Word. Queer as Folk. These are just a few of the shows that Wharton School graduate and current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Showtime Networks Inc. Matthew Blank oversees.
Blank, Class of 1972 graduate and father of a Penn freshman, came to Huntsman Hall yesterday to speak about his experiences coming out of Penn and entering the television media industry.
Before Blank shared advice and personal experiences with the approximately 50 students in attendance, he spoke about the evolution and dissipation of the mass media, particularly in television. He commented on the increased number of channels and provider services available to the general public and its effects on the ratings of popular shows.
"They could broadcast Janet Jackson having sex with Bill Clinton and George Bush, moderated by Donald Trump and following the season finale of Friends," Blank said, "and it still would be much less than the ratings of the 'Who Shot J.R.?' episode of Dallas."
Blank also commented on the difficulty of being in an industry like that of Showtime, HBO and other subscription cable networks.
"This is a very challenging market," Blank said. "We are in a business that remains challenged by technology, competition and the market, and we are happy with the standard that we are providing. This is not a business where you can rely on what traditional standards are."
Before closing his lecture, Blank showed students clips from some upcoming Showtime productions and offered some advice on how to go about their college educations.
"It is very important to have a good, fundamental grounding in a lot of different fields to be successful," Blank added.
Blank began his career with the credit card company American Express before moving into the entertainment industry, where he worked for HBO from 1976 to 1988 as senior vice president of consumer marketing. In 1988, he moved to Showtime Networks Inc., where he became the president and chief operating officer in 1991 before attaining his current title of chairman and CEO in 1995.
Wharton sophomore Anjali Dalal said she was very impressed by Blank's speech.
"Mr. Blank was very interesting, and he gave a terrific perspective on the dynamic of the television industry and how it has progressed over time, as well as the influence of technology and changing demographics and their implications on the industry," Dalal said.
Management and Technology sophomore Kelvin Hu shared similar thoughts on the lecture.
"I loved his speech, and it was very cool to see how he mixed the business side of his job with some of his passions about the media industry."
Blank's presentation was part of the Musser-Schoemaker Leadership Lecture Series, which is designed to bring real-world business leaders to the Wharton School to share their experiences and "secrets of success" with students, according to the series' Web site.
