Kay Koplovitz is an American businesswoman, best known as the founder of the cable television channel USA Network, for which she served as chairwoman and CEO from its founding in 1977 until 1998 when it was sold for $4.5 billion.
19 Facts About Kay Koplovitz
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Kay Koplovitz was the first woman in the US to head a television network.
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Kay Koplovitz is the author of the books Bold Women, Big Ideas: Learning to Play the High-Risk Entrepreneurial Game, and Been There, Run That.
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Kay Koplovitz is credited with creating the joint advertising-licensing model, which became widespread among cable television networks.
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Kay Koplovitz, born into a Jewish family as Kay Smith in a middle-class neighborhood of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, her mom worked in the home, and her father was a sales executive for a metal forging company.
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Between her junior and senior year Kay Koplovitz visited England, and while on her travels saw a poster advertising a lecture on geosynchronous orbiting satellites.
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The then twenty year old Kay Koplovitz was fascinated by the lecture, and later she wrote her masters thesis on satellite communications and the potential impact on governments, people, and communications.
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In 1975 Kay Koplovitz joined Home Box Office and led the promotion of cable and satellite broadcasting of the Thrilla in Manila boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier.
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Kay Koplovitz subsequently founded the USA Network in 1977 as an all-sports service, known as the Madison Square Garden Sports Network ; Kay Koplovitz led the launch of the USA Network mainly as an all-sports service in order to compete with Home Box Office.
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Kay Koplovitz is credited with creating the business model for cable networks after introducing the concept of two revenue streams: licensing and advertising.
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Kay Koplovitz made plans to cancel the USA Network's flagship WWF programming, a move which was opposed by USA Network executive Bonnie Hammer.
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Kay Koplovitz served as chairman and chief executive officer of USA Networks until 9 April 1998, months after the company was sold for $4.5 billion and became a publicly listed company.
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In early 1994, Kay Koplovitz was among the tv executives who would assist President Bill Clinton in pushing a public service announcement campaign against violence in society, and was later among media executives who personally met with President Clinton in 1996 to discuss TV's violence rating system.
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Kay Koplovitz serves as head of the New York Fashion Tech Lab, which she co-founded in 2014 in hopes of bringing promising technology companies in collaboration with the fashion and retail industry.
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Kay Koplovitz previously served as chairman of the board of Kate Spade, from January 2007 until May 2013.
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Kay Koplovitz previously served as a board member of ION Media, CA Technologies, Time Inc.
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Kay Koplovitz remained on the board until Time Inc was acquired by the Meredith Corporation in 2018.
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Kay Koplovitz holds honorary doctorate degrees from Emerson College, St John's University, Michigan State University and Canisius College.
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Kay Koplovitz is married to private investor William C Koplovitz, Jr.