Buckeye Cablevision names president

Abbas to focus on digital evolution

4/18/2013

Jeffrey Abbas has been named president and general manager of Buckeye Cablevision Inc., effective May 13.

The Kansas City resident most recently served as the president and chief executive officer of the National Cable Television Cooperative. The organization negotiates equipment and programming contracts for cable companies and represents 27 million cable customers in the United States.

Mr. Abbas said he plans to help Buckeye Cablevision, the legal name of Buckeye CableSystem, embrace the needs of digital-savvy customers. Delivering content for iPads and other handheld devices will be a priority, he said.

“If the world is going to go that way, Buckeye is going to want to be a part of that,” Mr. Abbas said.

Allan Block, chairman of Block Communications Inc., parent company of Buckeye Cablevision and The Blade, said in a statement that Mr. Abbas brings skills to the cable company that will enhance its future and grow its presence.

“We are fortunate to attract a man of Mr. Abbas’ training and experience to lead Buckeye in these challenging times, as the cable industry faces pressure from unrelenting programming costs, rapidly changing technology, and increased competition from Web-based programming sources,” Mr. Block said.

Mr. Abbas joined the board of directors of the National Cable Television Cooperative in 1999. He became its senior vice president of business affairs in 2003, then was named president and chief executive officer in 2005.

Brad Mefferd, who has served as Buckeye’s president and general manager since 2010, will remain with the company, said Joseph Jensen, chief technology officer of Buckeye and executive vice president of cable and telecom at Block Communications. It’s unclear what role Mr. Mefferd will fill, he added.

Contact Kris Turner at: kturner@theblade.com or 419-724-6103.