Robert J. Ross

Robert J. Ross was an American television executive.

Ross served as senior vp of East Coast operations for CBS from October 1998 until his retirement in 2017, ending 45 years in the business.

At CBS, Ross was responsible for the conversion of the CBS Television Network Broadcast Origination Center to HD and then the construction of the Media Distribution Center, which provided HD distribution for the CBS and CW networks and VOD; the rebuild of the network's satellite distribution system; the creation of the store and forward, "Pitch Blue" systems for domestic and international syndication distribution; the conversion from videotape to file-based digital distribution for domestic and international syndication; the restoration of the Ed Sullivan Theater for The Late Show With Stephen Colbert; and the design and construction of three key production areas for CBS Sports, the CBS Evening News and CBS This Morning.

In October 2009, Ross was elected into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.

He received a lifetime achievement Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 2018.

Ross also was a past chair of the Media Security and Reliability Council under the FCC's Advisory Committee, a Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers fellow and a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers. In 2013, he was appointed president of the North American Broadcasters Association.

Ross died June 19, 2022. He was 70.