Patty McCaskill joined the Suddenlink Communications team in February 2003. Today, she is responsible for managing all of the MSO’s content relationships with media ownership groups, television stations and cable networks.
After almost 35 years, McCaskill is set to retire later this year with an impressive list of accomplishments in cable-industry management and operations, with an emphasis in programming, marketing, sales, customer service, strategic planning and budget development. She is being honored by the NCTA this year with the organization’s Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership.
Upon the announcement of her retirement earlier this year, Suddenlink CEO Jerry Kent said: “I’ve worked with Patty for more than 20 years, through a period of tremendous change in the industry. During that time, she never ceased to impress me with her boundless energy, talent and creativity. All of us at Suddenlink wish her the very best.”
Known for being tenacious (she doesn’t take “no” for an answer, Kent told Multichannel News in 2009, when she was named one of the magazine’s Wonder Women) and fair, McCaskill has spent most of her time in recent years renewing programming deals to include the transmission of programming via various new and emerging delivery mechanisms.
Before she joined Suddenlink, McCaskill was vice president, programming and pay-per-view for Charter Communications, where she worked from 1993 until early 2003. Prior to Charter, McCaskill was the founder and president of McCaskill Communications Consultants. From 1987 to 1992, she served as vice president, central region for the Travel Channel.
Earlier in her career, she was advertising product manager for Southwestern Bell Publications and vice president of sales and marketing for Warner Amex/QUBE in St. Louis.
A member of the Cable Pioneers class of 2002, McCaskill founded and served as a past president of the St. Louis Chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) and is a past member of the WICT National Board. She is also a member of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) Advanced Cable Solutions Consortium and has served on the CTAM Summit planning committee and co-chaired the 2003 CTAM Digital Conference.
In addition, McCaskill is a National Cable Television Cooperative board member; serves as a trustee and member of the executive committee of the board of Maryville University; and is a past member of the board of governors of the St. Louis/Mid-America chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
McCaskill holds a bachelor’s degree from Maryville University.
Fun Fact:
While most cable executives have had to pick up stakes and move around the country to enhance and further their careers, McCaskill managed to become one of the industry’s most successful and effective cable executives in the industry without ever leaving St. Louis, Mo.
