Marketing

New York - Bravo Media has picked up 17 new unscripted series and renewed 18 returning shows, increasing its original programming slate by 15% over last year, the network announced at an upfront press breakfast here at NBCUniversal headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.

The Coca-Cola Co. has inked a major sponsorship deal for its Coke Zero brand with ESPN’s College Football GameDay.

Coke Zero will serve as a showcase brand within College GameDay Built by the Home Depot, ESPN’s popular weekly college football program, when it returns to campuses around the country this fall.

FX Networks announced that it will launch a new network, FXX, on Sept. 2 that will form a suite of three channels along with movie channel FXM, and is planning to program them with an ambitious slate of 25 original series, an amount on par with the major broadcast networks.

At an upfront presentation for advertisers, John Landgraf, president of FX Networks, said the three channels will carry the FX brand and personality. Regardless of genre, “you know an FX original when you see it,” Landgraf said.

NuvoTV is planning to push more heavily into the comedy space with a slate of series and specials to be added to its current lineup, announced network programming head Bill Hilary on Wednesday.

The first series to premiere is Stand Up & Deliver, an original comedy series that will premiere April 2 at 10 p.m. (ET). The show, which features stand-up routines from up-and-coming comedians with a multicultural focus, will serve as a launching pad for NuvoTV's other comedy programming.

NEW YORK — Multichannel News is pleased to announce that Jeff Baumgartner has joined the editorial staff as technology editor.

“Jeff knows this industry cold — he’s a great writer and a smart reporter,” Multichannel News editor in chief Mark Robichaux said. “I’m confident he’ll be setting the agenda for news on this beat. We’re lucky to have him.”