"MEDICAL AND FASHION CABLE CHANNELS PLANNED
It may be almost impossible to launch a new cable channel in today's
environment, but Ramy El-Batrawi, president and CEO of Genesis Media
Group, Inc., of Miami, is going to try. While no mention has been made of
any cable operators expressing interest, Genesis has contracted with Home
Shopping Network to use their uplink facilities to Galaxy 7, for two new
channels. The Medical Channel will offer such esoteric fare as "medical
sitcoms, news, informative programs on virtually all common ailments,
graphic medical procedures, first aid instruction, mental health, human
behavior and live call-in talkshows with experts in every field of
medicine." The new fashion network is dubbed The Fashion and Beauty
Network, dubbed FAB-TV. (Young Anthony Guccione, son of Bob Sr., is trying
to launch a fashion channel called FAD-TV, and we hear a lawsuit in the
making.) The channel, according to Genesis, "propels the viewer into the
fast-paced international fashion world. Viewers will rub elbows with `the
beautiful people' and share this extraordinary lifestyle through the magic
of Cable Television." (We're not making this up, the release came this
way). "FAB-TV will feature all the latest runway shows, fashion news, all
the inside gossip, talkshows, home fashion shopping, beauty tips and `how
to' seminars from fashion and beauty experts around the world," Genesis
boasts, adding that it will broadcast live from Miami's South Beach, "with
some of the world's top celebrities as guests." Jill St. John, a job
awaits."
From: MediaSeven (mediaseven@aol.com)
Subject: INSIDE MEDIA REPORTS 7/6/94
This is the only article in this thread
View: Original Format
Newsgroups: rec.video.cable-tv
Date: 1994-07-06 07:40:26 PST
This is Inside Media Reports, a regular update of TV and cable-related
news from Inside Media, a biweekly business magazine covering the world of
media. Inside Media Online is also offered on America Online, keyword
Inside Media. For more information, contact John Motavalli at
MediaSeven@aol.com.
ALL STAR GAME A HIT WITH ADVERTISERS
By Mike Reynolds
With Major League Baseball's All-Star Game now just a week away (July 12),
The Baseball Network is closing the door on the handful of advertising
spots that remain in NBC's coverage of the Mid-Summer Classic from
Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. Media buyers report that recent
purchases from movie studios, Nike (four 30-second spots), Reebok and
Orkin have left TBN, the joint venture comprising NBC/ABC and MLB that was
created in May 1993 to peddle advertising/sponsorships, with only two or
three units to sell in the contest. For the most part, TBN has been able
to hold the line on its pricing gameplan, scoring about $300,000 per :30.
TBN officials were not immediately available for comment. For Orkin, the
Atlanta-based marketer of pest- control products, the 30-second spot it
bought on the All-Star Game will mark its first network commercial in a
decade, according to Bruce McTague, vice president, account supervisor at
J. Walter Thompson, Atlanta. "Orkin has used some sports in the past, with
spot TV and radio in major markets, but most of its consumer base is
women. However, there is a very high cross-over in terms of women watching
the All-Star Game," says McTague in explaining the client's strategy. "In
addition to getting the message to a lot of consumers, Orkin's sales force
has an internal promotion, so the Game is the right vehicle for the middle
of the year."
TCI, AT&T, US WEST DECLARE VOD TEST A SUCCESS
The powerful information superhighway combination of AT&T, TCI, and US
West have proclaimed their cooperative market trial of video-on-demand and
enhanced pay-per-view services, concluded June 30, a success. The
companies said the VCTV (Viewer-Controlled Cable Television) test had
achieved the goals set for it: "to gather data and consumer insight on how
consumers use these services, called Take One and Hits at Home; how often
they use them; what features of the services they find most convenient.
The companies also disclosed that they will release a final report on the
VCTC trial in the next several months, following an analysis of the
second-phase data. Phase One of the trial, which offered Hits at Home and
Take One seperately to 150 homes each, began in July 1992. Phase Two,
which provided all 300 customer homes with both services, began in July
1993. In November 1993, the companies reported some of the results from
the first phase, including a usage rate of both services at 1w times the
national PPV buy rate, as projected by Paul Kagan Associates. TCI and AT&T
are exploring the possibility of testing additional modifications to the
services.
MEDICAL AND FASHION CABLE CHANNELS PLANNED
It may be almost impossible to launch a new cable channel in today's
environment, but Ramy El-Batrawi, president and CEO of Genesis Media
Group, Inc., of Miami, is going to try. While no mention has been made of
any cable operators expressing interest, Genesis has contracted with Home
Shopping Network to use their uplink facilities to Galaxy 7, for two new
channels. The Medical Channel will offer such esoteric fare as "medical
sitcoms, news, informative programs on virtually all common ailments,
graphic medical procedures, first aid instruction, mental health, human
behavior and live call-in talkshows with experts in every field of
medicine." The new fashion network is dubbed The Fashion and Beauty
Network, dubbed FAB-TV. (Young Anthony Guccione, son of Bob Sr., is trying
to launch a fashion channel called FAD-TV, and we hear a lawsuit in the
making.) The channel, according to Genesis, "propels the viewer into the
fast-paced international fashion world. Viewers will rub elbows with `the
beautiful people' and share this extraordinary lifestyle through the magic
of Cable Television." (We're not making this up, the release came this
way). "FAB-TV will feature all the latest runway shows, fashion news, all
the inside gossip, talkshows, home fashion shopping, beauty tips and `how
to' seminars from fashion and beauty experts around the world," Genesis
boasts, adding that it will broadcast live from Miami's South Beach, "with
some of the world's top celebrities as guests." Jill St. John, a job
awaits.
USA'S BRAUN JOINS TURNER
Bruce Braun, Western regional vice president of ad sales at USA Network,
has resigned to join Turner Entertainment Networks as vice president, West
Coast national sales manager. Braun, who has long been active in the L.A.
ad community, joined USA 10 years ago this month. He previously was a
regional vp at Showtime/The Movie Channel, and has a long background in
radio at CBS.
Copyright 1994, Cowles Business Media, Inc.
Transmitted: 94-07-05 16:11:01 EDT |
