NEW YORK (Reuters) – Tom Rogers, the new chief of TiVo Inc is charged with transforming the company that changed the way viewers watch television into one that makes money for media owners fearful that its technology could wipe out billions of dollars in advertising.
Rogers, who helped engineer landmark deals for NBC and took huge risks in Internet media, will be called on to take the riskiest bet yet: convincing television networks that the traditional 30-second commercial, so easily zapped by TiVo users, is dead and the future of advertising lies in the company.
“Looking back over my career I have always enjoyed managing companies in transition, particularly companies where interfacing some new technology or new platform has been a key element of that transition,” the chief executive told reporters on Monday on a conference call.
Wall Street analysts say that, as one of the media’s most articulate defenders of convergence, the 50-year-old former chief of NBC’s cable division and former CEO of trade magazine conglomerate Primedia is no stranger to transformative moments. 