Jeff Gaspin is one of the busiest men in the cable TV universe, with oversight of one of the most expansive and lucrative cable portfolios, steering the linear nets (USA Network, Bravo and Sci Fi Channel) as well as the startups (Sleuth, Chiller and Universal HD). His upward trajectory accelerated in February, when NBC Universal Television Group CEO Jeff Zucker handed him the reins to all the group's cable digital properties.

As if he didn't already have enough to do, his universe expanded further in July as he took on the guardianship of all non-NBC broadcast properties, including Spanish-language net Telemundo and its 16 owned-and-operated stations. As the new Telemundo chief—the fifth exec to head the network since NBC bought it in 2001 for $2.7 billion—Gaspin will look to close the gap with rival Univision, which has a stranglehold on the Hispanic audience, regularly outdelivering the big four broadcast nets in adults 18-34. Upon taking control of the Telemundo properties, Gaspin was quick to affirm that network president Don Browne would continue to oversee day-to-day operations, adding that the two men have a professional history together that goes back 15 years, when they were both at NBC News.

While digital is Gaspin's bailiwick, he also has a formidable pedigree as a pioneer of unscripted programming, having developed NBC's The Apprentice and Deal or No Deal, which came on the heels of his reshaping Bravo in one swift stroke with Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. These developments were preceded by his breakout moment during his tenure at MTVNetworks, when he launched the series Behind the Music, the main vehicle for the resurgence of VH1 in the late 1990s. —Anthony Crupi