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Edward Bleier
Edward Bleier (October 16, 1929 – October 17, 2023) was an American television executive. As a president at Warner Bros. Television in the 1980s and 1990s, he played a role in the development of cable television and pay TV. He served on the board of directors of RealNetworks and Blockbuster LLC and as chairman of the board of CKX, Inc., owner of the American Idol and Elvis Presley franchises.
Born in New York City on October 16, 1929, Bleier's career started in high school on WNEW radio's high school hour and working as a stringer for the Long Island Press and The New York Times. He was an ABC News copy boy during summers while attending Syracuse University. He also wrote for the Syracuse Herald Journal and several Syracuse radio stations. He was a friend of William Safire, and dropped out of college with him in 1949. Bleier began his television career by managing promotion for the DuMont Television Network and New York's Channel 5. He returned to school as an adult to receive his degree in 1994.
In the early 1950s, he worked in advertising for ABC's New York Channel 7 and was promoted to ABC's Television Network. In the 1960s, Bleier was a senior executive of the American Broadcasting Company, working in daytime and children's programming and sales, general sales management, and marketing, public relations and strategic planning.
His 1967 research and strategic planning for ABC correctly presaged the growth of cable TV. Some other milestones during his time at ABC included the first integration of African-American characters in daytime dramas, helping make women's and children's programming profitable, and managing advertiser support for ABC Sports and ABC News.
Bleier left the network in 1968.
For Warner Bros. Television, Bleier was President of Domestic Pay TV, Cable & Network Features. As part of this appointment Warner Bros. acquired Bleier's production/ distribution company. He was put in charge of Network Programming and Sales in 1969. He became a Senior Advisor in 2002, and held this position until 2005.
During his 35 years at Warner Bros. he was responsible for annual record-breaking U.S. after-market sales of Warner's TV series and movies, vastly exceeding their theatrical income for the first time. He worked closely with Warner's cable systems, helping develop basic and pay-TV networks (such as MTV, Nickelodeon, and The Movie Channel), pay-per-view, and video-on-demand. He co-created the corporate plan for Warner Home Video and was a pioneer of new digital media markets, particularly to securely deliver content-on-demand via Internet or cable.
Bleier oversaw more than 100 variations of Looney Tunes programming on ten different cable and broadcast networks. He also oversaw combining old and new animation for five movies and 15 TV specials. Warner Animation collaborated with Steven Spielberg on three series: Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain.
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Edward Bleier
Edward Bleier (October 16, 1929 – October 17, 2023) was an American television executive. As a president at Warner Bros. Television in the 1980s and 1990s, he played a role in the development of cable television and pay TV. He served on the board of directors of RealNetworks and Blockbuster LLC and as chairman of the board of CKX, Inc., owner of the American Idol and Elvis Presley franchises.
Born in New York City on October 16, 1929, Bleier's career started in high school on WNEW radio's high school hour and working as a stringer for the Long Island Press and The New York Times. He was an ABC News copy boy during summers while attending Syracuse University. He also wrote for the Syracuse Herald Journal and several Syracuse radio stations. He was a friend of William Safire, and dropped out of college with him in 1949. Bleier began his television career by managing promotion for the DuMont Television Network and New York's Channel 5. He returned to school as an adult to receive his degree in 1994.
In the early 1950s, he worked in advertising for ABC's New York Channel 7 and was promoted to ABC's Television Network. In the 1960s, Bleier was a senior executive of the American Broadcasting Company, working in daytime and children's programming and sales, general sales management, and marketing, public relations and strategic planning.
His 1967 research and strategic planning for ABC correctly presaged the growth of cable TV. Some other milestones during his time at ABC included the first integration of African-American characters in daytime dramas, helping make women's and children's programming profitable, and managing advertiser support for ABC Sports and ABC News.
Bleier left the network in 1968.
For Warner Bros. Television, Bleier was President of Domestic Pay TV, Cable & Network Features. As part of this appointment Warner Bros. acquired Bleier's production/ distribution company. He was put in charge of Network Programming and Sales in 1969. He became a Senior Advisor in 2002, and held this position until 2005.
During his 35 years at Warner Bros. he was responsible for annual record-breaking U.S. after-market sales of Warner's TV series and movies, vastly exceeding their theatrical income for the first time. He worked closely with Warner's cable systems, helping develop basic and pay-TV networks (such as MTV, Nickelodeon, and The Movie Channel), pay-per-view, and video-on-demand. He co-created the corporate plan for Warner Home Video and was a pioneer of new digital media markets, particularly to securely deliver content-on-demand via Internet or cable.
Bleier oversaw more than 100 variations of Looney Tunes programming on ten different cable and broadcast networks. He also oversaw combining old and new animation for five movies and 15 TV specials. Warner Animation collaborated with Steven Spielberg on three series: Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain.