Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> September 13, 2004
PERRY MASSIE is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc. He worked side by side with his father
for over 20 years, turning a small-town gold prospecting business into a
family empire that today consists of multiple campgrounds, membership
clubs, print publications and a cable network broadcasting to over 26
million homes in the US every minute of every day. It all began in the
early 1970s when the elder Massie started the Gold Prospectors
Association of America (GPAA) out of his garage in northern Idaho, as a
voice to prevent the federal government from taking away rights to
access public land for prospecting and mining. The organization was
instantly successful and club membership increased rapidly. In 1975,
Massie Sr. moved the family to Southern California to gain access to
land with more gold and a greater population from which to expand club
membership. After receiving a degree in Mining Engineering from the
University of Alaska, Mr. Massie went to work full-time at GPAA,
eventually working his way up to CEO in 1994. His father kept busy
producing and starring in videos featuring his gold prospecting
adventures. The videos were so popular with club members, the Massies
decided to buy time on local television stations and air the programs
with on-camera appeals for membership. The shows, some 50 in all, were a
smash hit. GPAA membership skyrocketed as did demand for the
programming. In 1991, the Massies purchased time on a C-Band satellite
and began to air the gold prospecting shows to a much larger audience.
At the time, there were 5 million active C-Band satellite viewers.
Eventually, new shows were added featuring a variety of outdoor sports
and interests. Two years later, in 1993, negotiations were made for
Outdoor Channel Holdings to lease an unused, reserve transponder at
tremendous discount. The Outdoor Channel was born. It took six years for
The Outdoor Channel to reach its first 5 million cable subscribers, yet
the channel gained that many viewers last year alone. Today, with over
5,500 affiliates in all 50 states, including major metropolitan areas
such as Los Angeles and New York, The Outdoor Channel reaches over 26
million homes. At the helm of this phenomenally successful company, is a
humble yet brilliant businessman who continues to steer the company
through tremendous growth. And although Mr. Massie is not the Wall
Street type, he's certainly got the attention of the Street. Profile
Channel Holdings, Inc., and a picture of the things that you are doing
at the present time.
Mr. Massie: The company was
