David Sams
| David R. Sams | |
|---|---|
| Born | David Ronald Sams |
| Occupation | television producer, author, speaker, entrepreneur, business magnate |
| Years active | 1980-present |
| Awards | 9 Emmy awards, 5 Addy awards, Best Infomercial of The Year award, Telly award. Additional awards include the Angel Award for excellence in media. |
David Ronald Sams is a 9-time Emmy Award-winning television producer, author, speaker, emerging technologies guru and serial entrepreneur who helped build the success of several syndicated versions of such television programs including The Oprah Winfrey Show, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy! and RollerGames. He also has created and produced numerous broadcast network series and specials, including Trial Watch, which aired on NBC daytime for two seasons prior to the launch of Court TV. Sams is currently the executive producer and publisher of the KeepTheFaith music radio, the #1-rated faith-based music program in the United States, and KeepTheFaith.com, an online social community. The radio show, which is broadcast on some 200 affiliates, has a cumulative monthly audience of 8 million listeners. Sams is also the president of BigOyo, Inc., an intellectual property and content distribution company. He serves on the board of directors of CharityOne, a non-profit organization he co-founded.[1]
Career
Sams began his national TV career as the head of global marketing and creative affairs for a small family-owned company known as King World, helping to build two highly-popular network television game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! into two of the most successful syndicated television programs in history. Both shows continue to enjoy success to this day under the CBS banner after King World went public.
Prior to joining King World, Sams worked in local TV in Columbus, Ohio, as a producer, executive producer, and marketing director for WBNS-TV. While at the CBS affiliate, Sams created the first tabloid TV magazine show in the nation, Front Page. However, what really put Sams on the map was his uncanny marketing skills. In 1982, Sams garnered national attention when he helped guide that station's Eyewitness News program to a 53 share at 6 p.m., and become the top-rated local evening news in the entire nation.
In 1986, while at King World, Sams was credited for his creative work in helping to propel The Oprah Winfrey Show into the #1 syndicated talk show in television history, winning numerous Emmy Awards along the way.
In 1989, Sams, along with fellow TV producer Mike Miller, also helped to create a new version of roller derby called RollerGames. The program featured legends of the sport and fresh new faces. He provided color commentary along with main play-by-play announcer Chuck Underwood and track side reporter Shelley Jamison.[2][3] Despite high ratings, the show was cancelled in 1991 after the show's distributor went bankrupt when it bought a major Hollywood studio and was under capitalized.
Sams is also a TV direct-response veteran. He is responsible for over $125,000,000 in DRTV sales. He executive produced the 1994 Informercial of The Year, Making Love Work, with his business partner at the time, Barbara De Angelis. In addition, Sams has been involved in Internet domaining, and helped launch and market the .cc and .tv domain extensions. DNJournal.com, the leading publication for Internet domain investors, featured an extensive cover story article on Sams in their September, 2011 online edition.
Sams is the co-author of Wheel of Fortune: How To Get On And Play The Game with Robert L. Shook. The book was published by St. Martin's Press in 1987, and is now out of print.
In 2003, Sams ran for governor of California in the historical gubernatorial recall election. He lost to mega movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger.