This Just In
By Staff -- Multichannel News, 4/29/2007 8:00:00 PM
Items:
DirecTV’s Carey Gets $7M Salary Boost in ’06
Joost Inks 32 Ad Partners Ahead of Launch
Tennis Channel Vet Bellamy Hits Slopes With Ski Channel
Wisc. Includes DBS Providers In New Franchise Rules
New Series 'Lucy,’ 'Fat Guy’ Boost Adult Swim Slate
Clearing the Air
HD Studio, Gear in the Works for TWC
DirecTV’s Carey Gets $7M Salary Boost in ’06
El Segundo, Calif. — DirecTV Group CEO Chase Carey more than doubled his compensation in 2006, the year that the direct-broadcast satellite giant’s controlling shareholder — News Corp. — reached an agreement to exchange its interest to Liberty Media.
Carey, who has been with DirecTV since December 2003, received a $7 million raise in 2006, pushing his total compensation to $12.47 million. That compares to the $5.4 million Carey pocketed in 2005.
According to a proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 27, Carey received a salary of $2.15 million, a $4 million bonus and stock awards worth $5.7 million. That compares to his $2.1 million salary and $2.96 million bonus in 2005. Carey did not receive stock awards in 2005, according to the company’s proxy statement for that year.
Carey’s target bonus for the year was originally $3.2 million, but the company deemed it appropriate that he receive a slightly higher award due to his meeting or exceeding several performance goals for the year, including cash flow growth. Carey’s current employment agreement with DirecTV expires on Dec. 31, 2007.
Joost Inks 32 Ad Partners Ahead of Launch
New York — Internet TV startup Joost signed 32 advertising partners — including four “global” sponsors: Coca-Cola, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Nike — as it gears up for its launch within the next two months.
In the U.S., Joost’s initial advertisers will also include Electronic Arts, Esurance, Kraft, Lions Gate Entertainment, Microsoft, Motorola, Procter & Gamble, Sony Electronics, Taco Bell, United Airlines, the U.S. Army and Visa. Joost said it worked with more than 20 media agencies to develop campaigns for their clients. In addition, the Interpublic Group, through its Emerging Media Lab, has entered into a year-long strategic partnership with Joost.
Joost will partner with research firm Frank N. Magid Associates to measure viewing habits and advertising efficacy, including ad awareness and intent to purchase. Content available on the peer-to-peer Internet service, which is currently in an “expanded beta” phase, includes video clips from Viacom, CBS, National Geographic, Lime and Warner Bros. Records.
Tennis Channel Vet Bellamy Hits Slopes With Ski Channel
Los Angeles — A founder and former president of The Tennis Channel is eyeing the mountains now.
Steve Bellamy, head of Atonal Sports and Entertainment, said his company has reached a long-term affiliation deal with Time Warner Cable to launch The Ski Channel in first quarter 2008 as a video-on-demand service.
The Ski Channel, which Bellamy said will cover an array of mountain activities ranging from skiing, snowboarding, hiking, rock climbing, orienteering, caving plus off-slope activities, will also manifest on other multimedia platforms.
The network’s original and acquired programming will include attendant entertainment, news, destination travel, real estate, equipment, instruction and magazine formats, as well as coverage of professional mountain sports events.
Bellamy said The Ski Channel, which is taking aim at a travel and resort industry that takes in more than $10 billion annually, has already secured charter-advertising agreements with a number of top brands, including Panasonic, Mirage Resorts, Marquis Jets and Fender Guitars.
Atonal Sports Entertainment owns and operates a number of tennis clubs and golf academies in California, as well as a film company and recording studio.
Wisc. Includes DBS Providers In New Franchise Rules
Madison, Wisc. — Wisconsin’s state Assembly has tentatively approved a state franchising bill which includes a clause that will include direct-broadcast satellite providers under the state’s customer service rules.
The Assembly voted on April 24, but that vote won’t be finalized until another tally on May 8. If approved, permanent video franchises will be awarded by the state Department of Finance. Customer service rules, such as rebates for outages of more than four hours, will be regulated by the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and will require compliance by satellite-delivered services.
The state Senate has sent its version of the bill to a finance committee; senators want to know the regulatory costs the state will have to bear under the bill.
New Series 'Lucy,’ 'Fat Guy’ Boost Adult Swim Slate
New York — Adult Swim will put its foot in the water with a seventh night of programming this summer. Cartoon Network’s late-night spinoff service will begin programming Friday nights at 11 p.m. starting July 6.
Officials at the network’s upfront presentation to advertisers here Thursday night trumpeted a trio of new series, including this summer’s Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil, in which the heroine is dating a great guy who may just be the Second Coming, to the dismay of her dad, Satan; and heralded special Star Wars-themed episode of its Robot Chickenseries, which will feature favorites from that galaxy far, far away, including its creator himself, George Lucas, who lends his voice talent. The special bows June 17.
Fresh fare this fall includes Fat Guy Stuck in Internet. And Adult Swim has renewed a deal that will keep Adult Swim cornerstone, Family Guy, on its air through 2015.
Clearing the Air
In "CableLabs Offers Slimmed-Down Modem Test" (April 23, p. 26), John Mattson, director of CMTS products at Cisco Systems, was misidentified in a photo caption as being affiliated with CableLabs.
HD Studio, Gear in the Works for TWC
Atlanta — In one of the largest capital projects in its history, The Weather Channel expects to spend some $50 million to develop and launch a high-definition version of its network.
The project includes building a new 1,100-square foot studio at its Atlanta headquarters that will be outfitted with HD cameras and other equipment, as well as converting “tens of thousands” of on-screen graphics for HD, TWC president Debora Wilson said.
“We’re making major infrastructure investments,” Wilson said. “We consider this a cost of doing business.” The HD channel, she added, will “give us a new way to engage our viewers. Weather is so visual.”
The network is aiming to have all of its programming in HD by mid-2008. At that point, its standard-definition feed will be a downconverted version of the HD feed.
TWC will break ground on the studio May 2, which, not coincidentally, is when the network will mark its 25th anniversary. Wilson said the facility — adjacent to the existing studio building — is expected to be finished by January.
The Weather Channel HD will launch on DirecTV in September 2007.
But it won’t be true HD at first. Wilson said the direct-broadcast satellite operator will upconvert the standard-definition feed until the network’s HD studio comes online.
As for carriage on cable, Wilson declined to provide details but said discussions are ongoing. “Every cable operator has a slightly different situation,” she added. “In general, we’re getting a very positive reaction.”
Wilson said it’s important for TWC to get placement in operators’ HD tiers before they get too crowded. She noted that subscribers who have HDTV service tend to stay in the HD “neighborhood” and don’t scan standard-definition channels as frequently.
The channel’s live programming accounts for at least 22 hours of each day. Prerecorded shows, such as Storm Stories, will also be migrated to HD format.
“We’re right in the sweet spot because at most, we’re two hours of prerecorded programming [per day],” Wilson said. “A lot of networks will have to move to HD piecemeal.”
Wilson said the network is examining new ways to present graphics with the move to HD. “We’ll be fundamentally changing our environment, and this gives us an opportunity to reevaluate and improve our programming,” she said.
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