Michelle Rice
By | November 1, 2013
EVP, Affiliate Sales and Marketing, TV One
Over the past year, Rice has nearly doubled TV One’s distribution, thanks in part to a deal last September with Cablevision. She has new ammunition for deal talks, with the net signing a multiyear deal to be the home of the NAACP Vision Awards, which are making the move to cable from broadcast. Biggest cable story of 2013? Rice points to WICT and NAMIC survey stats relating to the decline of workforce diversity. “Given the progress the industry has previously made in the area of diversity, I hope we do what’s necessary to reverse this trend,” she says.
What’s been the biggest story in cable this year?
During Diversity Week, WICT’s PAR Survey revealed alarming statistics relating to the decline of workforce diversity, particularly among senior-level women and minorities at networks, these results of which were amplified by several recent departures of high-ranking women and minorities at major cable networks. Given the progress the industry has previously made in the area of diversity, I hope we do what’s necessary to reverse this trend. We all benefit from a diverse workforce at all levels within our organizations. We can’t keep our heads in the sand.
Best trick for maintaining the personal-professional life balance?
We all live and die by our calendars. So, I regularly schedule time on my calendar to do things that are important to me. I can’t say this trick always works, because it is too easy to cancel on myself!
Who would you want to swap jobs with for a month and why?
I would switch jobs with Melinda Gates. She’s a brilliant businesswoman and the co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation that does amazing work to change the lives of children around the world. I would love to build a legacy that impacts generations to come.