Nashville, Tenn. – Today Nashville Public Television’s Board of Directors announced the retirement of NPT’s President & CEO, Beth Curley and promoted Kevin Crane, NPT’s Vice President of Content and Technology to be the next President & CEO effective July 6, 2017.
Curley, who has served as NPT’s CEO since 2005, is a national leader in public broadcasting with a career that spans over 40 years. During her time at NPT she refocused and revolutionized the way that the station serves the Middle Tennessee community by developing large, multi-year projects that encompass documentaries, robust digital content and extensive community engagement. She spearheaded projects including NPT Reports: Aging Matters, Children’s Health Crisis and Next Door Neighbors that have won national acclaim for the unique deep-dive approach to storytelling that all of these series employ.
Curley has been at the helm of the national PBS distribution of major productions such as Gershwin at One Symphony Place; The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken (American Experience); Hank Williams: Honky Tonk Blues (American Masters); Christmas at Belmont and Aging Matters: Living with Alzheimer’s & Dementia. She also managed the national presentations of No Going Back: Women and the War; Wessyngton Plantation: A Family’s Road to Freedom; Music City Roots; Civil War: The Untold Story; and Buffalo Bill’s American West.
In addition to innovating NPT’s program production strategy, Curley focused on building a strong, financially secure base for NPT – leading a successful capital campaign that built the station’s first endowment fund and helped fund many technological updates. During the recession that began in late 2007, Curley was a strong and steady presence, guiding the organization through a financially turbulent time while balancing the budget each year and developing new programming initiatives to serve the community.
“Under Beth’s leadership, NPT has become one of the premier public television stations in the nation,” said NPT’s Board Chair, Mike Koban. “NPT’s excellent program quality, service to the Middle Tennessee community, and financial stability are the result of her vision and steadfast dedication to the mission of public broadcasting. Her impact on NPT and Middle Tennessee has been immeasurable, and our community is a better place in which to live due to her tireless efforts.”
Curley’s successor, Kevin Crane, is a seasoned public television professional who currently serves as NPT’s Vice President of Content and Technology. In this position Crane has played a key role in the creation and production of local programs including Aging Matters, Children’s Health Crisis, Tennessee Civil War 150 and the American Graduate project. In addition, he has overseen all of NPT’s broadcast and IT technology during a period of massive technological changes including the transition from analog to digital broadcast technology.
“Kevin has worked in public broadcasting for over 30 years and has been with NPT since 2000, and he is the right person to lead NPT due to his experience and accomplishments. Over the next five years NPT faces a number of technological challenges including implementing a new standard for digital broadcasting plus changing viewer preferences,” said NPT’s Board Chair, Mike Koban. “I am confident that Kevin will develop new program strategies to adapt to the rapid pace of change in our industry so that we can continue to effectively serve the Middle Tennessee community.”
Prior to NPT, Crane worked at the WGBH Educational Foundation. He holds a Masters in Educational Technology from the University of Massachusetts and a B.A. in Filmmaking from SUNY Binghamton.
