Jeff Gaspin: NBC Universal's Cable King

Some mogul. Making the rounds at Malibu's annual Labor Day weekend chili cook-off, Jeff Gaspin's 10-year-old son spotted Jeffrey Donovan of USA's Burn Notice. A fan of the show, his son wanted to meet the series' star.

"So go say hello," Gaspin, the 47-year-old president and chief operating officer of the Universal Television Group, suggested, too shy to do it himself.

"No, you introduce me," his son snapped back.

"No, you go say hello."

Recalling the story a few weeks later in his corner office on the NBC Universal lot, Gaspin shrugs. "I really was not comfortable going up to him and saying, 'Hey, you work for me but ...," his voice trails off. "I don't know; it's just a weakness."

It doesn't hurt him much. This shy guy oversees NBC Universal's entertainment cable networks, including top-rated USA Network, Bravo, Oxygen and Sci Fi, as well as distribution, syndication and Spanish-language network Telemundo.

Never heard of him? That's probably because broadcast cousin NBC--languishing in last place in prime time four years running--and its boy-wonder chief Ben Silverman get the lion's share of attention, despite accounting for just 5% of NBC Universal's revenue. By comparison, Gaspin's stable of entertainment cable channels account for nearly 40%.

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