Phil Lind, Vice-Chairman of Rogers Communications Inc is one of six cable executives to be inducted into the US Cable Center’s Hall of Fame in 2024. Also included, this year, is Larry King former host on CNN.
Honorees are chosen based on their outstanding dedication to and impact on the cable industry. They are selected by a committee of industry peers and leaders and in 2024 the selection committee was chaired by Abbe Raven, President & CEO, A & E Television Networks. Since 1998, only 90 men and women have been inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame.
Phil Lind is a 42-year veteran of the Canadian cable, broadcasting and telecommunications industries. When he joined, Rogers was a start-up with two small radio stations and 15,000 cable subscribers.
Phil acquired other Canadian cable companies, and was responsible for Rogers’ U.S. expansion during the 1980s. His team won and acquired franchises from Minneapolis to San Antonio and from Southern California to New Jersey. Rogers’ subscribers numbered in the millions.
Phil then turned to content. His passion for sports inspired Rogers’ acquisition of the Toronto Blue Jays; launched Sportsnet, secured previously satellite-exclusive NFL Sunday Ticket for cable in Canada and brought annual, regular season Buffalo Bills games to Toronto. He helped launch both Rogers’ many community television stations and multi-cultural OMNI Television.
Phil is on the Board of the US Cable Center, was Chairman of the Canadian Cable Television Association, served on the Board of NCTA, was founding chairman of Ontario’s Sierra Club and serves on numerous non-profit and cultural organizations.
He has endowed the University of British Columbia with two Chairs in US Political Studies. In 2024, he was appointed to the Order of Canada – Canada’s highest civilian honor – for lifetime contributions.
Lind is only the third Canadian to be inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame. The other two Canadians are the late Ted Rogers, Rogers Communications Inc. and JR Shaw, Shaw Communications Inc.