MOSES ZNAIMER and CITYTV by Roger Martin

“[Moses Znaimer’s] view of the causal relationships in the TV business is anything but [simple]. In the 1980s, most of his counterparts assumed globalization would eventually erode the attachment to local stations. But Znaimer realized that globalization would actually increase viewers’ appetite for TV with a local flavor. Or as he puts it, ‘globalization drives localization.’ The more connected viewers feel to their local station, the more they will stick with it when invited to switch to one of the myriad of alternatives. But Znaimer also recognized that global players have the resources and economies of scale that allow them to invest in things a local player couldn’t afford.

Like other integrative thinkers, Znaimer describes himself. . . as ‘not an “either-or” kind of guy but rather a “both-and” guy.’ So he was never likely to accept a view of the TV business as simply a matter of globalization versus localization, with unsatisfactory trade-offs in both directions. Instead, he has squared the circle by making Citytv the template for quintessentially local television stations across the world. In his words, he has ‘globalized the science of local television.’ ”