32 (Continued from Page 30) hours researching the relationship between stations’ revenue and our selling prices for the content.” Grossi also explained that “the weekly strips [audio-video feeds] were delivered via satellite [a new technology] and we had an enormous challenge in getting all the [affiliated] stations to receive the programs.” In that period, up until 1983, the U.S. recorded the rise of cable TV channels, and Paramount experienced a growth period. “During that time,” Grossi reported, “the home video market also exploded, creating an additional window for our feature films. We created what I called ‘sequential distribution pattern windows’ to allow for new methods of distribution to be slotted in order to maximize revenue: theatrical, pay-TV, network, home video, back to pay-TV, cable, and free TV syndication.” Grossi’s stint at Paramount in New York City lasted three years before he was relocated to Los Angeles. By that time, after their first son was born, his wife Germaine had retired from Hughes TV. In 1983, while in Los Angeles, Grossi returned to Metromedia, but only for a brief period since the following year it was acquired by 20th Century Fox for $3.5 billion (of which $2 billion was for Metromedia’ six local TV stations, while $1.5 billion was for Metromedia Producers, the division where Grossi served as CEO). The acquisition allowed Fox to develop its national TV network. Currently the FOX TV network owns 10 local TV stations and has affiliation agreements with 227 other local TV stations. With Fox’s acquisition of Metromedia, Grossi became senior VP and then, in 1991, executive VP of Television Operation for Fox’s Domestic and International TV and Home Video distribution businesses, Network Television Prime Time programming, and had worldwide responsibility for licensing and merchandising for film and TV. At Fox, Grossi worked initially under Jonathan Dolgen (1945-2023) and subsequently under Lucie Salhany, who had joined Fox in 1991 and became chairwoman in 1993. At Fox, Salhany replaced Dolgen in 1991 when he left for Columbia Pictures. At Fox, Grossi also worked with Jim Gianopoulos. “Actually, I recommended him to Lucie Salhany for the job to head up International TV Distribution,” said Grossi. Later, Gianopoulos, who came from Columbia Pictures, became chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox and, in 2017, chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures up until 2021. The early ’90s were characterized by economic growth in the U.S., but when some of the local TV stations that were independent became affiliated with the fourth TV network created by FOX, they took away primetime periods from the studios’ syndicated programs, so first-run scripted programming moved to cable. That job at Fox lasted 10 years, and in 1994 Grossi returned to Paramount’s United Paramount Network (UPN) as senior executive VP, functioning as its COO. At UPN, Grossi rejoined Salhany, who was then UPN’s president. UPN was formed in 1994 jointly by ChrisCraft’s United Television and Paramount (by then owned by Viacom, which at the time was run by Dolgen) and operated up until 2006 as a network in 200 U.S. TV markets first on two nights with two hours of primetime programming, and later on five nights a week, but without owning any local TV stations. In 2006, UPN merged with Warner Bros.’ The WB became The CW. (At that time UPN was under CBS, then part of Paramount. Today, The CW is owned by Nexstar Media, a local TV station group). “At UPN,” recalled Grossi, “the biggest challenge was [to create] the fifth TV network from scratch. UPN was a network like FOX and The WB, not syndication. I lived with the birth of FOX too, but [UPN] was hands on, from scratch.” Grossi also explained that “the TV audience became so fragmented that reach and frequency studies (the method by which one determines how many times an ad must run to reach its number in the desired demographic) went from six times to over 25 times.” In 1999, Mel Harris, who had left Paramount in 1991 to join Sony Pictures, hired Grossi as president of its Columbia Tri-Star Television, overseeing the Network Television Group, Game Show Network, Spanish-language U.S. TV network Telemundo (now, since 2001, owned by NBCUniversal), Sony Pictures Animation Group, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and daytime soap operas Days of Our Lives and Young and the Restless, plus worldwide responsibility for licensing and merchandising for film and TV. Grossi took on some of the responsibilities of Andrew Kaplan, who had left Sony to become chief executive of the Hollywood Stock Exchange. Harris had left Sony in 1995 amid a power struggle among the studio’s senior executives, but he returned to the Culver City studio in 1999 as Sony’s co-president and COO, overseeing studio operations under chairman-CEO John Calley (1930-2011). If at UPN Grossi was challenged by TV audience fragmentation, he had joined Sony Pictures during what was called “peak TV,” a period with a historical record number of TV programs. But he recalled that his bigger beef was that “corporate wanted to get rid of Telemundo, against my better judgment and advice.” Grossi sold Telemundo to NBC, and half of Sony’s Game Show cable TV network to John Malone’s Liberty Media. Telemundo, was founded in 1954 in Puerto Rico. However, what became Grossi’s “biggest regret ever in my career was when I brought [the TV series] CSI to Sony and corporate didn’t let me make that deal. I loved the pilot, but reluctantly passed. It became a huge success [for CBS, now part of Paramount] domestically and internationally, and had multiple spinoffs.” Harris retired from Sony in 2002 together with Grossi. Later, Grossi formed his own consulting company, Baseline Media, working for Vin Di Bona Productions and other U.S. domestic and international content companies. He continues to offer his consultancy services today. (By Dom Serafini) Grossi's nickname at Fox VIDEOAGE October 2025 Hall of Fame
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