Seven pioneers in the cable industry will be honored in Denver tonight when they are inducted into the Cable Television Hall of Fame at the Cable Center near the University of Denver.
Among the inductees are three men who are well-known in Colorado: Glenn Jones, the founder of Jones Intercable Inc.; Monroe Rifkin, a longtime cable-industry investor; and John Saeman, chairman of the Daniels Fund, the state’s largest charitable foundation.
The Daniels Fund was created by cable legend Bill Daniels, who died in 2000.
“It’s great to be recognized by your peers,” Jones said. “I spent decades in the cable business. It was great to be a part of it. It’s the journey that was really incredible.”
Jones spent 30 years in the cable industry. He purchased his first cable system in 1967 in Georgetown, the seed for Jones Intercable. He also published the first cable-TV dictionary, The Jones Dictionary of Cable Television Terminology, in 1976 and two subsequent editions.
In December 1999, Jones Intercable agreed to sell the company to Comcast, which already had an ownership stake in Jones.
Glenn Jones now serves as chairman of Jones International University, the first online university to receive U.S. accreditation. He also is chairman and chief executive of parent company Jones International Inc., an entertainment and education company.
In 1965, Saeman moved to Denver and began a long association with Daniels, a one-time cable-television system operator who also founded Daniels & Associates, one of the nation’s top advisers in cable and telecommunications mergers and acquisitions. Saeman also serves on the board of directors of the Cable Center.
Rifkin, of the investment and management company Rifkin & Associates, founded American Television and Communications Corp. and served as the company’s CEO from inception in the mid-1960s to 1982.
Rifkin had interests in two cable systems that served about 475,000 customers mostly in the Midwest and South until the systems were acquired by Charter Communications in 1999.
Other honorees are:
Nick Davatzes, chief executive officer emeritus of A&E Television Networks. Davatzes launched the A&E Network in 1984 and founded the History Channel in 1995.
Tom Freston, co-president and co-chief operating officer of Viacom. One of the founders of MTV, Freston served as chairman and CEO of the MTV network from 1987 to 2004. Shows produced under his leadership include Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”
Michael Fuchs, former chairman of Warner Music Group responsible for the overall management of HBO and Warner Music Group. Fuchs became chairman and chief executive of HBO in 1984. He left Time Warner in 1995.
John Walson Sr., founder of Service Electric, one of the first cable operations in the U.S. Walson died in 1993.
Staff writer Kimberly S. Johnson can be reached at 303-820-1088 or kjohnson@denverpost.com.
