The Lessons of Lowell Bud Paxson – Walter Sabo

Bad Live Television is Better than Any Recorded Television The thrill of live TV is unbeatable That39s why NBC goes through the horror of producing annual musicals live when elaborate productions are better suited to prerecording quotLivequot is why whether you love it or not you respect amp8220Saturday Night Liveamp8221Do It Yourself or Bureaucracy is BadIn the beginning the Home Shopping Club which would eventually become the Home Shopping Network was mass mass appeal The products were cheap often grey market electronic items cheesy porcelain and fake pearls I watched it for thousands of hours I asked Bud who bought the merchandise for the ClubquotI bought everythingquot he repliedWhen in Doubt Get Off Your Ass and SellWhen things were slow on the Home Shopping Club Bud would hit the set and lead the onscreen operators with rounds of singing on air Watching Bud lead 100 employees through God Bless America was not to be missed Then he39d get on stage with the host and sell It went like thisBud quotLook at this don39t you want this crapquotThe host would express some degree of shockBud quotOh it39s all crap No one gets up in the morning wanting this but you see it and you want itquotPeople Want to Join SomethingIt was no mistake that Bud at first called his network the Home Shopping Club Indeed that39s why it was a success To buy a product you had to join the Club Callers were called Club Members and when they bought a product the host said quotCongratulations for getting in on the product of the momentamp8221 His network defined media engagementHave a Strong Personal Agenda His was amp8220Successamp8221When he bought radio stations Bud had many hot controversial hosts under contract His strong Christian views sometimes made him uncomfortable with those hosts but he never interfered with the content of their shows nor did he order them fired His relationship with the Christian community was powerful in protecting contentSometimes You Have to Throw Out the RulesBud got rich after 45 when he threw out the rules He would brag about being viewed as a quotmad scientist down in Floridaquot He was He hated trade organizations and conformity Staying in the lines never worked for him Until he started the Home Shopping Club in middle age he was poor He couldnamp8217t even get a MasterCardNobody thought HSC would work Cable systems didn39t want it investors didn39t want it Vendors were tough But he stuck with his idea saw the growth knew his viewers and prayedAs owner of the Home Shopping Club he pitched his IPO to a viewership of buyers As a result HSC was the fastest highest opening day stock in the history of the American Stock Exchange 14 to 63 per share on day one Have you ever seen a red herring pitch for a new stock on TV If ever you do buy that stock The onair pitch was only scheduled six timesKnow and Respect Your AudienceWith his money he built a church and bought a 727 and several mansions He was as complex as they come but ultimately he knew how to make a successful show because he respected the audienceBud thanks for giving us permission to be crazy richWalter Sabo is the Chairman of Sabo Media a company that offers executiveondemand services He has worked onsite to build out new digital content platforms such as SiriusXM His team was the first to discover the marketing clout of web stars Internet organic video producers They founded OMMA award winning HITVIEWS The company placed brands such as CBS TiVo and Mountain Dew inside UGC In FM broadcasting he is a leader in the profitable sector of FM Talk and held executive positions at NBC and ABC Radio He can be reached at waltersabomediacomRead all Walter39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Sabo StrategiesCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates at MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

The Lessons of Lowell Bud Paxson – Walter Sabo

Author

Publish date

Channel

Walter Sabo

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

The Lessons of Lowell Bud Paxson – Walter Sabo

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Walter Sabo

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

The payment was successful

Cookies