Bud Paxson

Lowell White "Bud" Paxson (April 17, 1935 – January 9, 2015) was an American media executive. In 1982, Paxson and his business partner, Roy Speer, co-founded the Home Shopping Club (now called the Home Shopping Network). He later established Pax TV in 1998, a television network focusing on family-friendly content.

A native of Rochester, New York, Paxson began his career as an owner of WACK Radio, a little 500-watt radio station in the village of Newark, New York. His next attempt at media ownership was radio station WXYJ (AM 1340) and TV station WNYP (channel 26) in Jamestown, New York; Paxson, who bought the stations in 1966, attempted to affiliate WNYP with the CTV Television Network out of Canada (a first for an American television station); by 1969, the TV station had failed. Paxson later emerged as the owner of a small AM radio station, WWQT (1470 AM), in Clearwater, Florida. There, in 1977, an advertiser had plenty of product to sell—avocado-green-colored can openers—but ran out of funds to purchase airtime. Paxson instructed talk-show host Bob Circosta, who had a talk show from noon until 3:00 PM, to sell the can openers live over the airwaves, and both men were stunned at the audience response. All 112 can openers were purchased within the hour on August 28, 1977. This started the Suncoast International Bargainers Club.

Sensing the sales potential of live, on-air product selling, Paxson and financier Roy Speer co-founded a local cable TV channel (channel 52 on Vision Cable) in 1982 that sold products directly to Florida viewers, and then launched nationwide in 1985. The channel was the Home Shopping Club, later Home Shopping Network (currently known as HSN), and Paxson's former radio man Bob Circosta was tapped as the network's first-ever host. HSN soon became a billion dollar juggernaut and began the home shopping / electronic retailing industry. In 1996, the two sold HSN to Hollywood executive Barry Diller.

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