Albert Cheng, Dave Lougee, and Michael O'Neill Elected to Board of Directors of Broadcast Music, Inc.

Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), a music rights management firm, elected Albert Cheng, Dave Lougee, and Michael O'Neill to its board of directors at the company's annual meeting of shareholders, held October 7, 2013, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Cheng is executive vice president and chief product officer, digital media, for the Disney/ABC Television Group, whose portfolio of broadcast and cable networks includes ABC Entertainment, ABC News, ABC Family, and Disney Channel, among others.

Lougee is president of the broadcasting division for Gannett Co., Inc., which operates 23 television stations in the US.

O'Neill was recently named chief executive officer of BMI, succeeding BMI's president and CEO Del Bryant, who announced his June 2014 retirement earlier this year. O'Neill will assume the title of president upon Bryant's retirement. In his capacity as president, Bryant continues on the board until his retirement.

At the meeting, current board member Paul Karpowicz, president, Meredith Broadcasting Group, in Connecticut, was elected vice chairman. In addition, current board members Jack Sander, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mark Pedowitz, president, The CW Network, Burbank, California, were re-elected as members of the board. All newly elected board members will serve terms that expire in 2017.

Cheng is past director, distribution strategy, for Fox Cable Networks Group, as well as former director, business development, at Fox/Liberty Networks. He has also served as a business strategy consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. Cheng earned a BS degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an MBA from Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.

Lougee is former executive vice president/media operations for Belo Corp. and past vice president/news at WRC-TV, the NBC owned-and-operated station in Washington, D.C. Lougee serves on several industry boards. He is currently vice chair of the NBC Affiliates board, a member of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) board and chairman of the NAB Next Generation Broadcast committee. He is also on the board of directors for obile Content Venture (MCV), as well as past chairman of the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB).

O'Neill joined BMI in 1995 as director, group and national accounts, from CBS-TV Network, where he was director, CBS Affiliate Relations. He was appointed assistant vice president, media licensing in 1997, and vice president, sales and administration, media licensing in 1999. In 2006, BMI named O'Neill senior vice president, licensing, and in 2010, senior vice president, repertoire and licensing. O'Neill earned a BA degree in business administration from Montclair University and an MBA from Rutgers University.

Founded by visionary broadcasters in 1939 as a competitive source of music licensing, BMI is widely recognized for propelling the creation and popularity of quintessentially American forms of music including jazz, R&B, country, and rock and roll. BMI is headquartered in New York City.