Paul Kagan Associates
Paul Kagan Associates is a company.
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Leadership Team
Key people at Paul Kagan Associates.
Paul Kagan Associates is a company.
Key people at Paul Kagan Associates.
Key people at Paul Kagan Associates.
Paul Kagan Associates was a pioneering media research and consulting firm founded in 1969 by Paul F. Kagan, specializing in financial analysis of the broadcasting and cable television industries.[1][2] Best known for revolutionizing valuations by using multiples of cash flow (a precursor to EBITDA) instead of traditional earnings metrics, the firm provided newsletters, databooks, conferences, expert testimony, and consulting to companies, investors, and governments, valuing billions in assets at its peak.[1][2][3] It operated offices in Carmel, Denver, London, and Hong Kong, publishing 38 newsletters and 95 databooks while hosting a dozen annual conferences.[1]
The company was sold to Primedia in 2000, acquired by MCG Capital in 2004 (and renamed Kagan Research LLC), then sold to SNL Financial in 2007, and ultimately integrated into S&P Global Market Intelligence via McGraw-Hill Financial in 2015, where it continues as the Kagan unit.[1]
Paul F. Kagan launched Paul Kagan Associates in New York in 1969 after a one-year role as a broadcasting industry analyst at E.F. Hutton in 1968, where he first recognized cable TV's potential as five companies went public that year.[1][2][3] Drawing from his experience analyzing leveraged cable businesses akin to real estate, Kagan innovated by valuing public cable companies on cash flow multiples, accurately reflecting the fledgling industry's dynamics.[1][2][3] The firm grew rapidly from Carmel, California, becoming a media industry authority, with Kagan staying involved post-2000 sale to Primedia before founding PK Worldwide Media in 2005.[1][3]
Kagan's career spanned over 40 years; he co-founded The Cable Center (inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2011) and the John Bayliss Broadcast Foundation, supporting radio career grants, and served as a New York Society of Security Analysts fellow.[1][2]
Paul Kagan Associates rode the explosive growth of cable television in the late 1960s and 1970s, when public listings highlighted its leveraged, cash-flow-heavy model amid regulatory and financing challenges.[3] This timing was pivotal: cable's shift from niche to mainstream disrupted traditional broadcasting, and Kagan's cash flow valuations enabled accurate investment amid high debt loads and system consolidations like TCI's.[1][3] Market forces favoring pay TV, satellite (DBS), and later streaming aligned with its expertise, influencing analyst standards across media and telecom.[2][4] The firm shaped the ecosystem by mentoring leaders, informing reporters (15 daily calls on cable trends), and fostering institutions like The Cable Center, standardizing EBITDA-like metrics now used industry-wide.[1][3][7]
Paul Kagan Associates' legacy endures as the Kagan unit within S&P Global Market Intelligence, sustaining research in evolving media like streaming and global pay TV.[1][4] Next steps likely involve adapting to AI-driven content analytics and cord-cutting trends, leveraging its historical network for data on fragmented ecosystems. As media converges with tech, Kagan's influence could expand via S&P's resources, refining valuations for digital disruptors—echoing its original cash flow innovation that powered cable's rise.[1][2][4]
