Brian L. Roberts
Encyclopedia
Brian L. Roberts is Chairman/CEO of Comcast
, an American company providing cable, entertainment, and communications products and services. He is the son of Comcast co-founder Ralph J. Roberts
.
. A graduate of Germantown Academy
, he earned his B.S. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi
fraternity.
Comcast has grown into a Fortune 100 company with 21.7 million customers and 80,000 employees. Comcast's content networks and investments include E!
, Style Network
, the Golf Channel, Versus
, G4
, PBS Kids Sprout
, TV One and four regional Comcast SportsNets. The Company also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectator, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers
NHL
hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers
NBA
basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia. Roberts received $24,683,315 in 2009.
On December 3, 2009, General Electric
(GE) and Comcast announced a buyout agreement for NBC Universal
. When the sale is completed, Comcast will own 51% of NBC Universal
and GE will own 49%. Regulators approved the proposed sale on January 18, 2011. The sale is expected to be completed by January 28, 2011.
Brian Roberts is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association
(NCTA) and previously Treasurer
. He served as Chairman of NCTA from 1995 to 1996, when the landmark deregulatory 1996 Telecommunications Act became law. Roberts is the Chairman of CableLabs
as well.
Roberts has won business and industry honors during his tenure. Institutional Investor magazine named him its top vote-getter three years straight (2004-2006) in the Cable & Satellite category of their America's Best CEOs annual survey; and also named Comcast as one of America's Most Shareholder-Friendly Companies in 2006. He was the recipient of the 2004 Humanitarian Award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center
and was the 2002 Walter Kaitz Foundation
Honoree of the Year for his commitment to diversity in the cable industry. The Police Athletic League of Philadelphia honored Roberts with its 2002 award for his commitment to youth programs and community partnerships.
Roberts is a board member of the Bank of New York
. He co-chaired the 2003 Resource Development Campaign for the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and was a founding co-chair of Philadelphia 2000, the nonpartisan host committee for the 2000 Republican National Convention.
The Pennsylvania Report
named him to the 2003 "The Pennsylvania Report Power 75" list of influential figures in Pennsylvania politics, calling him "Pennsylvania’s most powerful businessman" and noted his influence with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell
. In 2003, he was named the PoliticsPA
list of politically influential individuals.
in Israel.
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, an American company providing cable, entertainment, and communications products and services. He is the son of Comcast co-founder Ralph J. Roberts
Ralph J. Roberts
Ralph Joel Roberts is the co-founder of Comcast Communications and was its chief executive officer for 46 years. As of 2011 he serves as founder and chairman emeritus of Comcast's board of directors. His son, Brian L...
.
Life and career
Roberts was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. A graduate of Germantown Academy
Germantown Academy
Germantown Academy is America's oldest nonsectarian day school, founded on December 6, 1759 . Germantown Academy is now a K-12 school in the Philadelphia suburb of Fort Washington, having moved from its original Germantown campus in 1965...
, he earned his B.S. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton was the world’s first collegiate business school and the first business school in the United States...
, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi
Zeta Psi
The Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America was founded June 1, 1847 as a social college fraternity. The organization now comprises about fifty active chapters and twenty-five inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand brothers, and is a founding member of the North-American...
fraternity.
Comcast has grown into a Fortune 100 company with 21.7 million customers and 80,000 employees. Comcast's content networks and investments include E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
, Style Network
Style Network
The Style Network is an American cable television network based in Los Angeles.Owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of General Electric and Comcast, its sister channels include E! Entertainment Television, USA Network, Syfy, G4, Golf Channel, and Versus, among others.-Network Overview:Style's...
, the Golf Channel, Versus
Versus (TV channel)
Versus is a sports-oriented cable television channel in the United States. It was previously known as Outdoor Life Network and was launched on July 1, 1995, focusing on fishing, hunting, and other outdoor sports...
, G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
, PBS Kids Sprout
PBS KIDS Sprout
PBS Kids Sprout is a U.S. digital cable television channel, video-on-demand service, and website providing PBS Kids shows and original programming for preschoolers and their families...
, TV One and four regional Comcast SportsNets. The Company also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectator, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers are a professional basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . Originally known as the Syracuse Nationals, they are one of the oldest franchises in the NBA...
NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia. Roberts received $24,683,315 in 2009.
On December 3, 2009, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
(GE) and Comcast announced a buyout agreement for NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
. When the sale is completed, Comcast will own 51% of NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
and GE will own 49%. Regulators approved the proposed sale on January 18, 2011. The sale is expected to be completed by January 28, 2011.
Brian Roberts is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association
National Cable & Telecommunications Association
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable TV industry, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation’s cable households and more than 200 cable program networks, as well as equipment suppliers and providers...
(NCTA) and previously Treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
. He served as Chairman of NCTA from 1995 to 1996, when the landmark deregulatory 1996 Telecommunications Act became law. Roberts is the Chairman of CableLabs
CableLabs
Founded in 1988 by cable television operating companies, Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. is a not-for-profit research and development consortium that has cable operators as its members. System operators from around the world are eligible to be members. Members dues are based on revenue...
as well.
Roberts has won business and industry honors during his tenure. Institutional Investor magazine named him its top vote-getter three years straight (2004-2006) in the Cable & Satellite category of their America's Best CEOs annual survey; and also named Comcast as one of America's Most Shareholder-Friendly Companies in 2006. He was the recipient of the 2004 Humanitarian Award from the Simon Wiesenthal Center
Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center , with headquarters in Los Angeles, California, was established in 1977 and named for Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi hunter. According to its mission statement, it is "an international Jewish human rights organization dedicated to repairing the world one step at a time...
and was the 2002 Walter Kaitz Foundation
Walter Kaitz Foundation
The Walter Kaitz Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that promotes inclusion and participation of women and people of color in the cable telecommunications industry....
Honoree of the Year for his commitment to diversity in the cable industry. The Police Athletic League of Philadelphia honored Roberts with its 2002 award for his commitment to youth programs and community partnerships.
Roberts is a board member of the Bank of New York
Bank of New York
The Bank of New York was a global financial services company established in 1784 by the American Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. It existed until its merger with the Mellon Financial Corporation on July 2, 2007...
. He co-chaired the 2003 Resource Development Campaign for the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and was a founding co-chair of Philadelphia 2000, the nonpartisan host committee for the 2000 Republican National Convention.
The Pennsylvania Report
Pennsylvania Report
The Pennsylvania Report is an independent bi-weekly subscription-based political newspaper published in Pennsylvania. It is "widely read by the state's political junkies." It was founded in 1985 by David Buffington, a former public relations worker for the Pennsylvania Government.It provides...
named him to the 2003 "The Pennsylvania Report Power 75" list of influential figures in Pennsylvania politics, calling him "Pennsylvania’s most powerful businessman" and noted his influence with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell
Ed Rendell
Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell is an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania. Rendell, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003...
. In 2003, he was named the PoliticsPA
PoliticsPA
- Content :The website focuses on news aggregation, linking to major political news making headlines across the state. The editors write occasional features, like the weekly "Up & Down" scorecard and one-off lists like "Harrisburg's Smartest Staffer" and "Best Dressed Lobbyist" lists...
list of politically influential individuals.
Maccabiah Games
An All-American in squash, he earned a gold medal with the U.S. squash team in 2005 and silver medals at the 1981, 1985 and 1997 Maccabiah GamesMaccabiah Games
The Maccabiah is an international Jewish athletic event similar to the Olympics held in Israel every four years under the auspices of the Maccabi Federation, affiliated with the Maccabi World Union. The Maccabiah Games is the third largest international sports competition in the world...
in Israel.