Rich Cronin (executive)

Richard Cronin has been a force behind several cable television networks throughout the past two decades. He is a member of the World Presidents Organization (WPO) and is on the board of Paulist Productions, a non-profit company that creates inspirational television programs, films and new media content.

Early career

Throughout much of the 1980s and 1990s, Cronin worked extensively in either launching, popularizing, or expanding numerous cable networks. Among these networks: TV Land, a cable channel of his own creation which he founded and led as the network's first president, Nickelodeon, where he was head of marketing for five years, Nick & Nite, where he was General Manager and Senior Vice President during the mid-90s, MTV Networks, as an affiliate sales executive, and Fox Family, which saw its value triple during Cronin's tenure as President and CEO of Fox Family Channel and Fox Kids Network. Fox Family Worldwide was sold to ABC and the Walt Disney Company, who changed the cable network's name to ABC Family in 2001.

In 1976, Cronin received his BA from the University of Notre Dame, where he also worked at the NBC station WNDU. His first industry job in Los Angeles was with the Merv Griffin company, which then produced the Merv Griffin Show as well as game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. In 1979, just before entering the University of Southern California to earn his MFA in the Cinema/Television School's Peter Stark Program, Cronin was a contestant on the Allen Ludden-emceed "Password Plus" (1979-1982). His episodes aired during the summer of 2006 on GSN, where Cronin was President and Chief Executive Officer.

Recent years

Cronin became President and CEO of Game Show Network in early 2001, when the network was in just 31 million homes and featured classic game shows. Over the next six years, Cronin and his team expanded the network's distribution to 64 million homes while making GSN the industry leader in interactivity and transforming GSN.com into an online games destination. In 2004, Game Show Network's name was changed to GSN - The Network for Games in order to accommodate the wider variety of game-related programming. Original programming created under Cronin includes "Lingo", "World Series of Blackjack", "High Stakes Poker", "Chain Reaction", "Without Prejudice", "Grand Slam", "That's The Question", the new "I've Got a Secret", "American Dream Derby, Anything To Win "and" Extreme Dodgeball. "In addition, GSN was the first American network to launch a new form of live interactive participation-TV game show with a late-night block called "PlayMania". Original online games on GSN.com created under Cronin include online versions of such hit GSN game shows as "Lingo" as well as original news-related comedy games such as "So You Think You Can Drive, Mel", based on Mel Gibson's public arrest, and "The Prison Life: Paris", which showed Paris Hilton in jail making license plates." "While expanding GSN beyond game shows, Cronin has been praised by game show fans and experts for: a 2006 countdown of the "50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time", as well as the network's highest-rated special, "Big Bucks: The Press Your Luck Scandal", and GSN's pioneering interactive play-along capability.

In July 2007, Cronin announced that he would step down President of GSN after six years of growing the company from a small classic game show channel into a highly profitable interactive network and online games destination. GSN board members from owners Liberty Media and Sony praised Cronin and thanked him for his success in building the business.

Cronin is a father of four.