Cablecast Community Media Bids Fond Farewell to Steve Israelsky
Brie Clayton November 25, 2024
0 Comments
Steve sails into retirement following a colorful 45-year career capped with a seven-year leadership role that steered the Cablecast brand and community media into new territory
Tightrope Media Systems has built a reputation for remarkable consistency over its 27 years in business, anchored through a managerial structure and talented staff that rarely changes. That consistency is a rare distinction that clearly makes a positive and lasting impact to company operations.
Tightrope's familiar managerial structure is now on the verge of change with the retirement of Steve Israelsky from Tightrope's Cablecast Community Media division on December 31, bringing a memorable and successful 45-year career to a close. Tightrope CEO and Co-Founder JJ Parker steps into the role of President of Cablecast as 2025 begins, ensuring that Tightrope's operations remain consistent while building a foundation to support exciting developments planned for the year ahead.Cablecast Community Media will also expand its executive team to support the division's overall growth, with two C-Level appointments expected next month.
Steve's professional career also followed a consistent pattern, beginning and ending in the cable industry he loves will little deviation along his path. He gained valuable experience working with regional cable system operators and cable TV networks early in his career, taking on roles of increased responsibility over time. Those experiences soon led to leadership positions that forged new territory for both Steve and the businesses that trusted in his vision. Located in Northern Virginia, he became Arlington Community Television's first Executive Director in the 1980s before moving into the cable network space through much of the 1990s.
Steve made his final career shift following six years at USA Networks and two years at Fox Family Channel in a Regional VP role, taking a sharp detour into the technology supplier space. It wasn't long before Steve crossed paths with JJ, who recognized that Steve's exceptional qualities as a business leader and on a human level were a natural fit for Tightrope's culture. Steve also possessed the ideal skillset and industry knowledge he was seeking to help build the Cablecast business in ways that best served PEG TV stations at the time while developing the brand for future opportunities.
Steve exceeded those expectations over nearly 18 years at the company, working in varied VP level roles before JJ tapped him to lead the newly formed Cablecast Community Media division in 2017. His steady leadership over seven years in the role resulted in tremendous overall growth for a company that caters to what on the surface appears to be a niche inside the greater broadcast and AV industries.
Steve has long recognized the value that community media brings to local populations, and the opportunity to build the business through relationships with municipal governments and local schools, said Parker. That gave us the knowledge, power and confidence to look beyond the traditional cable access market. Perhaps most importantly, his past experiences gave him a direct sightline to the dedication of those that work across all these community media segments. He understood the need to innovate new technology solutions that helped our business, our customers, and the larger community find new ways to grow.
Steve heads into retirement with the confidence that Cablecast has established its reputation as a leader in the market. That belief is supported though technology innovations that took the reach of community media stations beyond the analog cable TV systems once commonly considered as their last stand. He's particularly proud of how the Cablecast brand grew beyond the dedicated cable playout automation box to support live streaming, video-on-demand and content delivery to free Cablecast apps available on mobile/OTT devices.
Steve has also played an active development role for a new Cablecast solution he expects will open new doors for the brand upon its introduction next year, adding that the spirit behind its development represents Cablecast's greatest company strength.
The Cablecast team has always excelled at understanding the needs of our customers, said Israelsky. We actively listen and apply what we learn to product development and other initiatives. We maintain fair pricing to remain aligned with the reality of their budgets. These tenets were established in the early days of the company. I later carried them to the Cablecast business, where they have been faithfully adopted by others who has since joined this staff. The company culture is unlike any I've seen, and it has truly been a great place to work.
November 22, 2024Academy Award-Winning Film Studio Caviar Signs Director Duo MAMAAcademy Award-winning independent film studio Caviar has signed directing duo MAMA for U.S. commercial
November 19, 2024New York Production Company Identity Heralds Next Evolution by Welcoming Gloria Colangelo as Managing PartnerLeft to right: Molly Mitchell and Gloria Colangelo New York-based production company Identity has
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.
Enter your email address, and your first and last name below!
-- Sign up: * indicates required
Email Address *
Name
--
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Cablecast Community Media Bids Fond Farewell to Steve Israelsky 
