Dave Howe
President, Syfy
One of television’s top “Next Generation” executives, Howe has catapulted Syfy’s programming from popular niche status into the hip mainstream since taking on the leadership duties as General Manager in 2004 and then as President in 2008. In 2009, Howe took over emerging cable network Chiller, currently available in 40 million homes. Under Howe’s leadership, Chiller has shaped its programming slate into the ultimate entertainment destination for round-the-clock scares. Its robust line-up includes a broad offering of films, including feature-length premieres every Friday, international programming (Afterlife, Apparitions), documentary and reality shows (Fear Factor), anthology series (Masters of Horror) and some of the most thought-provoking and suspenseful series ever on television (The X-Files, Tales from the Darkside, Twin Peaks, Millennium).
During his tenure, Howe’s instincts, talents and expertise have played a significant role in the success of mega-hits such as Syfy’s highest-rated telecast ever, Tin Man; the critically acclaimed and Peabody Award-winning Battlestar Galactica; the #1 paranormal investigative franchise on television, Ghost Hunters; the most successful series in the channel’s history, Warehouse 13, and popular programs such as Eureka, DestinationTruth, Caprica, Stargate Universe and Sanctuary, as well as Saturday Original Movies.
In 2009, Howe spearheaded the launch of the extraordinarily successful new global brand identity, Syfy. The new name and tagline, Imagine Greater, embraced a more diverse range of imagination-based entertainment including fantasy, paranormal, reality, mystery, action and adventure, as well as science fiction.
Delivering on that promise, the game-changing July 7 brand evolution triggered record ratings, critical acclaim, growth in upscale audiences and advertisers, international expansion, and new business ventures and partnerships.
Howe has also overseen an aggressive expansion of the brand with Syfy Ventures, Syfy’s portfolio of media and non-media businesses which transcend the television screen and leverages the deep affinity the Syfy audience has with the most mainstream and profitable genre worldwide. In addition to the Channel, these businesses include Syfy Kids, Syfy Games, Syfy Media and Syfy Gear.
Howe joined the company in 2001 as Executive Vice President, Marketing & Brand Strategy.
In 2003, Howe was the recipient of the prestigious Brandbuilders Award. Presented by PROMAX & BDA, Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News, the honor was awarded in recognition of his industry leadership and outstanding dedication to branding in the electronic media. Syfy has been honored with numerous accolades, including a D&AD Award, a Clio, countless PROMAX & BDA awards, two Cannes Lions, two One Club Awards, as well as a 2004 Gold Effie Award for the campaign promoting TAKEN.
Prior to joining Syfy, Howe spent 15 years at the BBC in London, most recently as head of the BBC’s on-air marketing and creative services division (now part of Red Bee Media), where he is credited with building the BBC’s multi-award-winning in-house creative team, which has delivered acclaimed on- and off-air campaigns, as well as world-class branding for the BBC’s 17 UK and international TV channels, including BBC America, BBC World and the UK flagship broadcast channels BBC One and BBC Two. As Creative Director of the BBC’s new channels, Howe also directed the branding and on-air launch of the BBC’s five new commercial channels, UKTV, and the re-launch of the BBC’s new on-air corporate identity and program branding initiative.
Howe also led the teams responsible for positioning and launching over 10 new entertainment and news channels in the UK and internationally, including BBC News 24, BBC America, BBC Canada, BBC Choice, BBC Knowledge, BBC Three, BBC Four, UK Horizons, UK Drama, UK Style, UK Play and UK Food.
