Laureen Ong
Versatile, resourceful and creative
have been words used to describe Laureen Ong, National Geographic
Channel’s President and first employee on April 17, 2000.
In the space of a mere eight months, she hired a staff of 120,
built a state of the art digital studio, and launched the formidable
new network on January 1, 2001. In just under four years, the
National Geographic Channel has been touted as one of the most
successful launches of a new cable network. Under Ong’s
management, the Channel has grown at a record setting pace
from 10 million to more than 52 million subscribers, and in
2004 was the fastest growing cable network in ratings and achieved
four consecutive quarters of record ratings. Profitability
was reached two years earlier than planned, as distributors,
advertisers and consumers embraced the Channel.
Since its launch, the Channel has been recognized as an industry
leader for outstanding work. The network received numerous
awards including Mark and Promax Awards for Marketing and Creative
Excellence, Golden Cine Award and an Emmy Award. Additionally,
this young powerhouse network has seen notable ratings success
with highly acclaimed shows like “Inside the U.S. Secret
Service” and “The Return to Titanic.” Cited
as an industry “10 to Watch” and “Wonder
Woman,” Ong has also been a recipient of the NAMIC Beacon
Award.
Born in New York City and raised in Bergen County, New Jersey,
Ong says she “always wanted to be a pioneer,” and
started by challenging gender stereotypes through sports, a
pattern she later carried over to her professional career.
As a receptionist at TVS Television Network, she successfully
pitched herself for a promotion to fill a Traffic Manager’s
position. Her persuasive abilities later opened the door to
her first management position in television with NCAA Basketball,
WFL Football, and NASL Soccer.
In 1982, Ong continued to break down barriers and flourish
in the TV sports landscape by helping launch SportsVision,
later known as SportsChannel, in Chicago. At one of the first
regional sports networks in the country, she served as the
first and only Asian-American woman in sports franchise management.
For seven years, she spearheaded programming and marketing
efforts for the network, adding the role of Executive Producer
and VP Broadcasting for the Chicago White Sox baseball team.
She rose to Assistant GM for SportsChannel, and within one
year developed and produced Emmy Award winning programming,
selling out all sponsorship opportunities.
Prior to becoming President of the National Geographic Channel,
Ong served for two years as Vice President and General Manager
of WTTG in Washington, D.C., on of Fox’s largest and
most successful television stations. Ong was the first, and
only, Asian-American woman to lead a top ten-market affiliate.
Ong came to WTTG from KSAZ-TV, the Fox-owned station in Phoenix,
where as VP and General Manager she supervised the transition
of ownership from a New World CBS affiliation to a Fox owned-and-operated
station.
Before joining Fox, Ong served as VP and General Manager for
regional sports networks Prism and SportsChannel in Philadelphia,
under Rainbow Programming. Ong was also Local Sales Manager
for KRON in San Francisco, where she was instrumental in acquiring
local broadcast rights for the Oakland A’s baseball team.
Ong’s experience includes managing syndication sales
for MTM Distribution in the Midwest region and later in a more
senior role covering the Northeast. Earlier in her career,
Ong was Program Director for the CBS Sports Spectacular, acquiring
over 400 hours of programming, including the World Figure Skating
Championships – which she lured from ABC’s then-powerhouse,
Wide World of Sports. Ong also served as VP at Sports Syndication,
a boutique firm syndicating the NHL, Family Circle Tennis and
the GE College Bowl.
Ong lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and two dogs.
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