Executive Team

Charles Humbard

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Charles “Charley” Humbard is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of UP Entertainment. UP Entertainment is the destination for uplifting entertainment for passionate and diverse audiences across the leading cable, satellite and streaming platforms. Since the company was founded on October 30, 2004, he has led the overall business strategy and mission to entertain, uplift and inspire viewers.

UP Entertainment is home to UP Faith & Family, UPtv, aspireTV, aspireTV+, aspireTV Life, GaitherTV+ and Cine Romántico. UP Faith & Family is the leading streaming service in uplifting entertainment. UPtv is the trusted network for adults seeking positive programming with relatable stories about relationships, filled with love and laughter, through exclusive premiere movies, box-office hit films and beloved series. AspireTV is the premier network for Black culture and urban lifestyle programming featuring original productions in food, home and fashion. AspireTV+ is a new subscription video on demand streaming service that promises to be the ultimate destination for Black culture and urban lifestyle. AspireTV Life is the first free ad supported streaming television (FAST) channel dedicated to sharing the experiences of the multicultural audience through cooking, fashion, travel, design and more. GaitherTV+ provides access to Gaither’s renowned and growing library of full-length concerts and specials, early premieres of new performances and shows, exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews and presentations and hundreds of titles to watch On Demand. Additionally, UP Entertainment in partnership with PixL Dos, manages and distributes Cine Romántico, a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel featuring the best of Hollywood TV romance movies in Spanish.

Prior to founding UP Entertainment, Charley served as a senior executive at Discovery Networks, responsible for the development and launch of seven digital cable network brands. Additionally, Charley was a founding member of Discovery International Networks charged with launching the Discovery Channel Networks in 140 countries and creating operations facilities on three continents.

After over 40 years in the media industry, Charley remains committed to making a positive impact through quality entertainment and is very involved in the company’s pro-social initiative “UPlift Someone,” reminding others that simple acts of kindness can make a difference.

Charley has been recognized for exceptional programming through various awards including a Peabody, an Emmy® and numerous Promax Awards. In 2017, Charley was the recipient of the southeast EMMY^® Governors’ Award for Lifetime Achievement and was named as one of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “Most Admired CEOs” in 2018. He was also recognized with the Movieguide Visionary Award earlier this year for being a positive influence on the entertainment industry and culture. Additionally, Charley is a 2019 graduate of EO Entrepreneurial MIT Master’s Program and the EO @ Wharton Executive Financial and Operations program. Charley serves on the board of the Parents Television and Media Council with a focus for ‘bringing back responsibility and family values to the entertainment industry’.

Son of the country’s first television minister, Charley began his career writing and recording music and performing on television for the Rex Humbard Worldwide Ministries. He attended Belmont College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he studied music business and marketing.

Reta Peery

Chief Administration and Operations Officer, General Counsel

Reta Peery is Chief Administrative & Operations Officer and General Counsel at UP Entertainment, LLC. In this role, Peery is responsible for Legal/Business Affairs, People Solutions, and internal operations for all UP services, including responsibility for ensuring company-wide development and adherence to strategies and timely revision to them as needed to meet changing business challenges, efficient and effective communications across company departments, the promotion of operational efficiencies and innovative processes, and daily operational oversight as directed by the CEO. She is a key team member behind UP’s distribution growth, programming initiatives and organizational/employee development.

Peery spent 14 years at Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., handling work for virtually every Turner group and division during the advent of rapid growth for the Turner nets. Her last seven years at Turner were spent as VP/Deputy General Counsel for Cartoon Network, where she played an instrumental role in establishing Cartoon Network’s in-house production unit, Cartoon Network Studios.  She also spent close to nine years in various roles for The Weather Channel, Inc., including VP/Deputy General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. Prior to moving to an in-house role, Peery was an attorney at the law firm of Alston and Bird, focusing primarily on intellectual property and antitrust litigation, and also fulfilled a Federal judicial clerkship in the United States District Court, Middle District of Georgia. She earned a B.A. degree from The University of Alabama and a Juris Doctor degree from The University of Georgia School of Law.

Philip Manwaring

Chief Financial Officer and Chief Technology Officer

Philip Manwaring is Chief Financial Officer & Chief Technology Officer at UP Entertainment, LLC. In addition to his oversight of Finance, Accounting and Research, he has responsibility for UP Entertainment’s streaming business and associated technology platforms.

Since coming to UP in 2008, Philip has significantly contributed to the growth of the network, including responsibility for launching the gMovies streaming service (now known as UP Faith & Family) and leading the long-term financial planning, innovative business technology strategies, and goal setting for the company. For his work in the industry, he received the 2009 Cablefax Digital Hotlist Award.

Prior to his career with UP Entertainment, Philip served as the Chief Technology Officer with Integrity Media, the world’s largest independent gospel music label. He received his undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Southern Queensland and his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Duke University.

Lisa Fischer

EVP, Advertising Sales

Lisa Fischer is Executive Vice President, Advertising Sales, for UP Entertainment, LLC, responsible for overseeing all sales operations for the two linear networks from UP’s New York office. The 20+ year sales veteran joined UP Entertainment in January 2014. She was selected as Cablefax’s Salesperson of the Year in the National Sales category in 2017 and was named one of Cablefax’s Most Powerful Women in 2018.

Lisa joined UP from ION Media Networks, where she was Senior Vice President, Network Advertising Sales since 2010. In that role, she was responsible for all of the network’s sales efforts.

Before joining ION, Lisa spent 12 years at Discovery Communications, most recently as Senior Vice President of Sales. During her four years in that position, she led sales on multiple networks including Discovery Health, Animal Planet, Fit TV, Discovery Kids and Investigation Discovery. She also launched ad sales operations for OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.

During her first six years at Discovery, Lisa served as Vice President, Advertising Sales, eastern region after joining the company as an account executive.

Lisa is a graduate of the University of South Carolina.

Hal Rosenberg

EVP, Content Distribution and Affiliate Marketing

For more than three decades, Hal Rosenberg has served with distinction in the cable/satellite television industry. As the EVP, Content Distribution & Marketing for UP Entertainment, LLC, Hal manages the departments responsible for domestic and international distribution strategy, content licensing, affiliate marketing, consumer marketing, digital and creative services.

Prior to joining UP Entertainment in 2013, Hal served in a variety of advisory and management roles for media companies, including AMC Networks, The Documentary Channel and Veria Living.

Hal is the former SVP, Affiliate Sales & Marketing for CBS Sports Network, and SVP, Affiliate Sales for Scripps Networks Interactive, where he led the affiliate sales organization responsible for the distribution of HGTV, Food Network, GAC, DIY and Fine Living. Prior to Scripps, Hal spent 19 years in many key roles at Showtime Networks, including VP/GM, Account VP, Regional Director and National Sales Manager, Special Markets, among others.

Hal holds a B.A., Journalism from Long Island University and an M.A., Telecommunication from Michigan State University.

Rex E. Humbard, III

Executive Vice President – Production, Operations & IT

Rex Humbard is an award-winning television executive with unique experience spanning nearly 30 years in entertainment, retail, Internet, and sports programming. In his current role as Executive Vice President of Production, Operations & IT, he is responsible for managing the day-to-day on-air operations for both UPtv and aspireTV. Rex also oversees content delivery for all of UP’s streaming platforms as well as production facilities.

Prior to joining the network, Rex was a Managing Partner and Executive Producer at Advanced Media, LLC. In this role, he directed all production activities for the company and conceptualized show proposals in conjunction with programming partners.

Before co-founding Advanced Media, Rex assumed the position of Senior Vice President of Production & Operations at Seals Communications Corporation, where he led the production group responsible for 250 hours of original programming annually.

He also spent several years at the Home Shopping Network as Vice President of Broadcast where he oversaw the network’s full service post production facility and supervised the Broadcast Production and Engineering Divisions of the electronic retailing company.

Rex has produced and directed many high-profile sports television programs, including the Olympic Winter Games and the Olympic Summer Games, the Goodwill Games, the Pan Am Games, as well as many other studio and location based events. During his eight-year tenure at Turner Sports, he also produced and directed NBA and NFL programming.

Rex holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Telecommunication with an emphasis on Broadcast Production from the University of Florida. He is married and has 3 children.

Angela Cannon

Senior Vice President, Multicultural Networks | General Manager, aspireTV

Angela Cannon serves as the SVP, Multicultural Networks, of UP Entertainment and General Manager of aspireTV. In this role, Angela is responsible for driving the growth and success of the linear channel aspireTV and the two FAST channels, aspireTV Life & Cine Romántico, across all distribution platforms. As a member of the Executive Team, she provides guidance and develops strategies on how to best serve multicultural audiences for all UP Entertainment brands and champion a winning work environment for the company’s diverse employee base.

 

In her most recent role as Vice President/Channel Manager for UP Faith & Family, the leading streaming service for Uplifting Entertainment, she was responsible for management oversight of the subscription video on demand service. Previously, Angela was VP, National Accounts, Content Distribution and Marketing, where she managed international program sales, distribution, and CDM-focused marketing efforts for aspire, UPtv and UP Faith & Family.  One of her most notable accomplishments was being tasked with launching Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s aspireTV on June 27, 2012.

 

Throughout her career in entertainment, Angela has received many industry accolades for her talents including 2022 Cynopsis’ BEST of the Best SVOD, 2021 Top Women in Media Corporate Visionary Award, 2019 WICT Horizon Woman to Watch Award and Cablefax Most Influential Minorities for 2018 & 2019. A life-long learner, Angela completed two career-advancing certificate programs in 2022 – The Wharton Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program and the Northwestern Product Strategy – all to further enhance her MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management and propel her into future business developments.

 

Angela is currently on the board of directors for the WICT Network Southeast (Director of Outreach and Philanthropy) and Women in Streaming Media.