Perry Sook, chairman and CEO of Nexstar Media Group, says negotiating with Ray Hopkins is like “watching the first 15 minutes of Saving Private Ryan over and over again.”

Jordan Wertlieb, chief operating officer of Hearst, compared dealing with Hopkins to a 19th-century duel. “It is defined. It is gentlemanly. It is head-on. And once it concludes it concludes,” he said. “Both parties are bloody but shake hands at the end of the day.”

Read More: Here’s to the 2023 ‘B+C’ Hall of Fame Inductees

When asked about Hopkins, Tegna CEO Dave Lougee recalled cartoons in which the barnyard dog would protect his chickens ferociously all day long, but when the whistle blew at 5 p.m., he’d have a drink with the predator and ask about his family.

Despite the fireworks, Sook, Wertlieb and Lougee all consider Hopkins a friend. 

Hopkins grew up in New Jersey. His father, Big Ray, negotiated as a union rep. He wanted to be in sales and, after two years selling medical supplies, his aunt, In Demand CEO Dale Hopkins — then in ad sales for CNBC — helped him get an interview in the TV business.

Instinctive Negotiator

Hopkins took a job in affiliate relations at CNBC. He planned to do that for a few years, then move over to ad sales. “Thirty years later, I’m still waiting.”

He did some of the first retransmission-consent deals. “I can always teach the business, but I can’t teach intangibles like good judgment, work ethic and passion for the industry,” Bridget Baker, former president of TV Network Distribution at NBC, recalled. “From the first meeting, I could tell Ray wanted to win. He was instinctively a good negotiator.”

Hopkins, who loves sports, moved to Prime Ticket, the Los Angeles regional sports network acquired by Fox. At Fox, Hopkins was part of an all-star lineup of young cable distribution execs, also including Mike Hopkins, Mike Biard, Dana Zimmer and Albert Cheng, said NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell, who was president of Fox Cable Networks. “Ray was definitely the first among equals back then,” Shell said. Shell took Hopkins with him when Rupert Murdoch chose him to try to fix Gemstar-TV Guide.

Hopkins, a Mets fan, was recruited by Tracy Dolgin, another former Fox exec, to join YES Network. “By far the best distribution person I’ve ever met in my life is Ray,” Dolgin said. “He’s a unicorn. Even though he got an amazing deal, the top people at the top distributors loved him. They walked out feeling it was a partnership and they knew with 100% certainty that every single thing he said in that meeting was true.”

Hopkins helped sell YES at the top of the market to Fox. “Now, he’s a Yankee fan. We paid for his house in the Bahamas and the Jersey Shore and his parents’ house in Florida,” Dolgin said.

CBS had meetings about buying YES and wound up hiring Hopkins. When CBS combined with Viacom, Viacom CEO Bob Bakish picked Hopkins to head distribution for Paramount Global. 

“I’m very grateful for being in an industry by pure luck and having so much upward trajectory,” Hopkins said. “Along the way I’ve had great bosses, many of whom I’ve become good friends with. They have mentored me and trusted me to do the job.”

Keen Competitor

Hopkins works hard and plays hard. “A round of golf with Ray is an 18-hole betting affair. I’ve even seen Ray turn the practice tee into a competition while we’re warming up,” Sook said. Hopkins doesn’t believe in letting the client win. “I don’t win all the time, but it’s not for a lack of trying or effort,” Hopkins confirmed.

Gemstar-owned horse racing channel TVG and Hopkins would send friends an annual email with Kentucky Derby picks. “For seven years in a row, I won money on the Kentucky Derby,” Shell said. “Once he got the CBS job, I stopped winning money.” 

Hopkins doesn’t believe in betting on his health. When a pimple wouldn’t heal, he went to a doctor. A short procedure turned into eight hours of surgery and 75% of his nose being removed. The cancer is gone and with reconstructive surgery, he says you can barely notice that he has a new nose.

“If I didn’t get tested it would have metastasized and become a larger issue,” he said. “I can’t stress enough for those that are fair-skinned to get tested regularly.” 

During his recuperation Hopkins grew a beard. “My daughter says it makes me look a little more relaxed,” he said.

Jim Nantz, Rachael Ray, Soledad O’Brien and The Walking Dead will share the spotlight with on-air stars and impactful executives at the Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City on May 3. 

“We are thrilled to once again honor our industry’s most accomplished pioneers, creators and innovators and leaders,” Bill McGorry, chairman of the Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, said. “These individuals all share a common bond — their collective vision, remarkable achievements and unbreakable will to succeed have changed our business forever and brought it to another level. We look forward to recognizing these worthy individuals on May 3 as we welcome them as the newest inductees into the B+C Hall of Fame — our industry’s highest honor.”

The full class is: George G. Beasley (1932-2021), founder, Beasley Media Group, and Caroline Beasley, CEO, Beasley Media Group; Matthew Bond, chairman, content distribution, NBCUniversal; Ray Cole, president and chief operating officer, Citadel Communications; Frank Comerford, chief revenue officer & president of sales, NBCUniversal Local; Ray Hopkins, president, U.S. networks distribution, Paramount Global; Wonya Lucas, president and CEO, Hallmark Media; Soledad O’Brien, CEO, Soledad O’Brien Productions; Rachael Ray, host, Rachael Ray; Deborah Roberts, ABC News senior national affairs correspondent and contributing anchor for 20/20; Al Roker, weather and feature anchor, Today, co-host of Today third hour; and James Thompson (1947-2022), past president, Broadcasters Foundation of America. 

Jim Nantz of CBS Sports gets the Lifetime Achievement Award and AMC’s The Walking Dead wins the Iconic Show Award. 

It is the 31st Hall of Fame event. More than 400 honorees have been inducted. 

A portion of the night’s proceeds is donated to The Broadcasters Foundation of America, which provides grants to industry colleagues and their families who are in acute need. The Paley Center for Media is also a beneficiary. 

Honorees will be profiled in the April issue of B+C Multichannel News. For sponsorship, tables and ticket information, contact Jessica Wolin at jessica.wolin@futurenet.com, 212-685-4233 or www.bchalloffame.com. ■

CBS said it has reached a multi-year carriage agreement with Verizon Communications' Fios TV, a deal that includes retransmission consent of its CBS and The CW broadcast stations and the right in the future to stream authenticated content from the broadcaster.

The pact also includes carriage of CBS pay TV properties Showtime, The Smithsonian Channel and CBS Sports Network.

In the near future, Verizon will also provide access to live authenticated streaming on CBS.com, the CBS App and Verizon’s authenticated platform, giving Verizon Fios’ TV customers the ability to stream CBS live online and on mobile devices. CBS and Verizon have agreed to expand the partnership to future digital platforms, with specifics to be released at a later date. Financial terms were not disclosed.

RELATED: CBS strikes retrans deal with Verizon Fios

“We are very pleased to expand our terrific partnership with Verizon,” CBS President, Television Networks Distribution, Ray Hopkins said in a release. “The renewal of our Fios content carriage agreement for various CBS networks and our expanded rights for future digital platforms is in line with our Company’s strategy to deliver industry-leading content to viewers across multiple platforms and screens, while also achieving both our short and long-term economic goals.”

CBS-owned stations in Verizon Fios markets, including New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore and Pittsburgh, and CBS-owned The CW affiliates in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, will continue to be distributed to Fios TV subscribers. This includes more than 3 million subscribers served in markets where CBS owns television stations and almost one million subscribers in markets where CBS owns The CW affiliates. (Fios has approximately 4.7 million subscribers in total.) Fios TV will also continue to provide – free to the viewer – network video-on-demand content for the Fios TV platform, plus the continued carriage of the CBS networks named above.

“With every carriage agreement we focus on achieving an outcome that best serves Fios customers based on the way they view today and the way they may want to view tomorrow, including across future digital platforms,” Verizon SVP, Product and New Business, Brian Angiolet said in the release. “Providing customers with choice remains at the core of all of our video offerings, and this agreement with CBS fits squarely into our strategy of expanding rights to fill out our emerging vertically integrated media portfolio.”