41. Abbe Raven

The numbers tell the story for Raven, whose networks have been on quite a buying binge. A&E Networks spent some $650 million on new programming and content across all of its networks and platforms in 2008, helping Raven lead A&E to its most successful year ever. It averaged 828,000 viewers in the second quarter on the strength of miniseries "The Andromeda Strain," while A&E's first original series since 2002, "The Cleaner," averaged 4.2 million total viewers over its three weekly telecasts. "Our plan has come to fruition," she boasts. The next big thing on her plate is actually two big things, both slated for 2009: the A&E original drama series "The Beast," starring Patrick Swayze, and a Mark Burnett-produced recreation of the 19th century African expedition by Henry Morton Stanley to find the missing Dr. Livingstone.