After a decade at the network, Brad Siegel has stepped down from his role as vice chairman of UP TV.
Siegel, along with Charley Humbard, launched the independent music-oriented service then known as Gospel Music Channel in 2004 to a handful of small distributors. Siegel joined Humbard, a Discovery Communications executive and son of TV preacher Rex Humbard, following his 2003 departure from Turner Broadcasting, where he ultimately served as president of Turner Entertainment Networks.
News of Siegel’s exit was first reported by Variety.
Siegel and UP, which was rebranded from GMC in 2013, also work closely with Magic Johnson’s Aspire cable network, handling programming, advertising and affiliate sales.
Humbard informed the staffs of both networks about Siegel today, noting that “we will move quickly to bring in a senior executive to assume Brad's responsibilities and expect to have an announcement in the very near future. In the meantime I will oversee programming and marketing, as we continue our development and production of original movies and series.”
Humbard levied praise on Siegel in his role is launching the service and spreading its growth to some 70 million subscribers today.
“Building a cable brand into the second-largest independent network in this challenging environment required a person with enormous energy, talent and relational strength," Humbard said is a statement. "Having Brad as my partner for the last 10 years to develop UP TV into a leading destination for uplifting family entertainment has been enormously rewarding. Brad’s experience and relationships with advertisers and program distributors were invaluable in jump starting our business. He spearheaded our successful push into original programming, an initiative that we will continue to expand as we move into 2015, and was instrumental in the launch of Aspire. All of us at UP and Aspire wish Brad great success in his next endeavor.”
