Another Ampex holder Brian went through all of the recent press releases and pulled out some very interesting comments. See what you think. Interesting to note that each person states a specific goal for the company. Also, as mentioned before, some streaming capabilities are in the air.
New Executive's Job Descriptions and History:
Carol Rudisill: vice president Interactive Development.
- responsible for the web sites of the company's new internal Internet video channels based in New York and for the integration of all of the company's
video web sites including those of its existing affiliates TV onthe WEB and Alternative Entertainment Network.
- career includes senior positions at Disney Interactive as Director of Production and at Washington Post Newsweek Interactive, where she was vice
president Design & Production at washingtonpost.com, and vice president Product Development for the launch of newsweek.com.
Tim Swift: TvontheWeb Co-CEO
- a 20-year Hollywood veteran and one of the leading producers of corporate, political and entertainment events, will leave his post as senior vice president
of Merv Griffin Productions to join TV onthe WEB
- renowned in entertainment, corporate and political circles for his ability to create and combine ''A-list'' talent with innovative broadcast technology and strategic marketing efforts.
- past credits include major national marketing event projects for Kodak, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Lexus, which sponsored the 1998 Eric Clapton Tour. He has produced the Pre-telecast Ceremonies for the prestigious Grammy Awards and The National Academy of Recording Arts and Science: Musicares Tributes,
which have honored: Gloria Estefan, Tony Bennett, Luciano Pavarotti, Quincy Jones, Natalie Cole and Phil Collins. At the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Mr. Swift produced the concert series for the AT&T Global Olympic Village. During the Reagan White House, he was the producer of record for several presidential galas and state dinners for diplomats and members of Congress.
- Prior to joining Merv Griffin Productions, Mr. Swift served as a senior vice president for Cossette Productions, working closely with legendary TV and Broadway producer Pierre Cossette, executive producer of the Grammy Awards for the past four decades. In addition, he served as president of Smith-Hemion Events, a division of the award-winning Smith-Hemion Productions, producing the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' ''Hall Of Fame'' shows.
Marc Chalom : Vice President Programming.
- responsible for establishing a new group of focused-interest Internet video channels to be produced in New York, where the Company's Internet video group is headquartered. The new channels will be complementary to those already offered by the Company's existing affiliates: TV onthe WEB and the Alternative Entertainment Network.
- Chalom's programming and production career includes senior positions at A&E Networks, Children's Television Workshop, Food Court Entertainment Network
and Lifetime Cable Network, where he held production responsibility for numerous programs such as The Biography Series, The MacNeil-Lehrer Report and Sesame Street.
Hugh Downs : President- AXCInteractiveNews.com
- Just Kidding
Raymond J. Marione : Vice President - Brand Strategy
- based in New York City where the Company's web-based video services
group is headquartered.
-associated with several leading advertising firms, most recently J. Walter
Thompson (JWT), one of the world's largest advertising and communications agencies. He was a JWT Global Partner and a member of the Executive Committee, working in the firm's Chicago office. Among his clients at JWT was Kraft Foods, where his assignments included the development and evolution of brand equities for the Kraft product portfolio. Also a past President of the Chicago Advertising Federation.
Drew Cummings: President and Chief Executive Officer of AENTV
- Veteran television producer/director Drew Cummings and founder of
AENTV brings 15 years of entertainment and television programming experience,
as well as pioneering streaming media on the Internet. He was one of the first people to recognize and act on the vision of a truly interactive video platform and has since developed one of the premier content archive, development, and production companies in the business.
- Development and production of video content for the web, CD-ROM
and broadcast through Cummings Multimedia Entertainment and AENTV. Development and production of direct response television and print campaigns for Twentieth Century Fox. Author of the best selling book on direct-response marketing and electronic retailing entitled "The Infomercial & DRTV Handbook". Development and production of a wide variety of content through Cummings
Entertainment Group, including: Casino; Dayton-Hudson's Home Shopping; The Making Of:… series, plus variety specials, documentaries, and reality programming for network, syndication, cable networks, and home video markets.
-Supervised the development, production and management of all live entertainment at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino. Executive Producer of the world famous Follies Bergere stage show. Produced and directed over 300 hours of network and syndicated entertainment television programming, including Entertainment Tonight, That's Incredible, The Body Human series (PBS), plus comedy Specials for HBO and Showtime with both George Carlin and Don Rickles. Cummings also has produced live music concert specials for HBO and A&E. He was also the creative consultant on the development of the hit television
show "Inside Editon" which is produced by King World Productions.
-currently developing a dynamic schedule of new and compelling content for AENTV.
Dave Gardy : Enough said
Executive's Quotes:
Rudisill: ''Internet technology and streaming video are combining to create a powerful new medium,''. ''My goal is to create an online style and interactive experience that clearly establishes Ampex and its affiliates as the leaders in developing video content for this rapidly growing segment of the world wide web,''
Swift : ''TV onthe WEB is known for its cutting-edge technologies in video streaming as well as its full-service, live Webcasting production capabilities,'' ''My goal is to combine that technology with high-profile, strategic alliances that will bring greater information, entertainment and E-commerce opportunities to the Internet. I also will be seeking out opportunities to attract large-scale events to TV onthe WEB.''
Chalom : ''I believe that bringing video to the world wide web is creating a powerful new medium. My goal is to create an online style that makes Ampex's New York channels a stimulating experience that attracts and rewards visitors to our site. Simply, we want to capture the 'Wow!' factor on the Internet.''
Marione: "I see the unequalled communications power of video combining with the global reach of the Internet to create an exciting new medium for targeted marketing," "My goal is to build for Ampex and its strategic partners the pre-eminent brand that consumers worldwide will look to for web-based video.”
Cummings: ''The technology and capital backing from Ampex will allow us to increase our content acquisition rapidly and provide added infrastructure and marketing support for our growth. We have aggressive plans to syndicate programming to other web sites and the Ampex relationship supports these efforts. I believe that Ampex really understands how Internet video will develop and I look forward to working with them to achieve our mutual goals.”
Ampex's Statements Regarding the Internet Video Business:
- Ampex Corporation, headquartered in Redwood City, is one of the world's leading providers of technologies for the acquisition, storage and processing of visual
information. The company is further expanding in image-based markets by building an early presence in Internet video. Ampex's strategy is to increase the range, content and quality of its video offerings over the World Wide Web in line with future increases in the availability of high-speed Internet access. (Anyone know or understand what “range, content and quality” means??)
- The company stated that it is engaged in discussions to add Internet video production and distribution operations in major U.S. and overseas cities through strategic
investments and acquisitions, and that it is evaluating additional internal development projects. ''This appointment (Rudisill) adds significantly to the senior management team that is creating Ampex's national and global Internet video network,'' ''Carol's thorough knowledge of web technology, animation and interactive video is the unique combination that we have been looking for.”
- “With the appointment of Chalom to run our New York channels, Ampex adds another major media city to existing operations and affiliates in the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. areas. This is a major step in building the national and global Internet video network that we are aiming for.”
- Ampex Corporation will operate primarily through subsidiaries and affiliates. In addition to Ampex Data Systems, the company owns all of the common stock of MicroNet Technology, Inc. (which manufactures high performance disk arrays), and has strategic investments in web services and Internet video through Reiter Associates, TV onthe WEB, Inc., and the Alternative Entertainment Network.
-''As Ampex's commitment to new markets expands, our business units increasingly have differing needs and strategies. This new organizational structure helps to focus the plans of each unit and to execute them faster. Our growth strategy for Internet video envisions additional internal projects, strategic investments and acquisitions, which makes a holding company increasingly appropriate.''
- Ampex is a pioneering innovator in digital video and audio and is now extending its technical experience into the area of streaming visual images on the world wide web.
-Ampex announced that it plans to open a new program production, encoding and Internet distribution facility in the Los Angeles area to which AENTV will relocate its video production and Internet operations. The facility is intended to support new “channels'' to be developed by Ampex internally and through acquisition and will also be available as a southern California base for strategic partners such as TV onthe WEB and Reiter Associates.
-“AENTV's content is well targeted for Internet distribution and we expect entertainment programming will be an important category in our web video offerings in the future.”
- The Company is building a marketing-oriented organization to leverage its digital image technology and expertise internally and through selected strategic investments, such as those in AENTV, TV onthe WEB, and Reiter Associates. The Company indicated that it is continuing to evaluate additional Internet initiatives and strategic investments to achieve its goal of developing integrated audio, video and electronic commerce offerings for delivery over the world wide web. (Does Marketing Oriented mean no proprietary technology?? But they are leveraging digital image technology…)
- “Additional specific factors that could prevent the Company from realizing any benefits from its world wide web-based initiatives discussed above include: future demand for the services of Alternative Entertainment Networks, Inc., TV onthe WEB, Inc. and Reiter Associates and their ability to obtain and manage resources for growth from their present size and to become profitable; (and) Ampex's ability to transfer audio or video technology to web based applications and its ability to find and consummate suitable strategic investments” (hmmmmm….)
- The Company will continue to evaluate additional technology initiatives and strategic investments to achieve its goal of developing integrated audio, video and electronic commerce offerings for delivery over the World Wide Web. "By establishing an early market presence in broadband web applications," Mr. Bramson stated, "we are positioning ourselves to expand the range, content and quality of our offerings in line with future increases in the availability of high speed internet access."
(again, hmmmm….)
- The Company has announced the construction of Internet video production and distribution facilities in New York City and Los Angeles where streaming video content specifically designed for distribution on the world wide web will be produced for the Company and third parties.
- Ampex has for some years been a quality and technology leader, but in markets that have not been expanding. As a result, we are redeploying resources into Internet video
projects. This is an image-based market, related to our core expertise, that is experiencing high rates of growth. (I think he's trying to hit us over the head with this…)
- “I would like to restate the point that Ampex is an electronic imaging company. We have learned how to take electronic images and audio, process, manipulate, compress and store them, and to make them look and sound better”
- I wrote last year of our belief that the Internet has the potential to become the key
video delivery medium, eventually eclipsing television, DVD or VCRs, but that the timing of this occurrence is uncertain. Since my letter of last year there has been a key market development that makes the time for Internet video, if not now, then very soon indeed. This development is the dramatic growth in streaming video software. Ampex and other video companies have used streaming in video applications for many years. The technique has now been adapted for the Internet. The arrival of streaming video could well be the next advance that dramatically broadens Internet usage. The required software is available from various suppliers and the versions offered by two companies in particular, Real Networks and Microsoft, are available to millions of PC users now, and more downloads are occurring everyday. (why mention Microsoft and Real Networks?)
-Many individuals and companies believe that the key to success in Internet video is the availability of high speed (broadband) Internet access because, until then, the network cannot deliver acceptable video. We think that streaming software is the real revolution because it delivers video today whereas broadband delivery is primarily an evolution that will make the video look better over time.
- Internet video will evolve as a distinct medium, incorporating elements of television, the telephone and the printed word, but different from all of them. This medium will require specialized production values and techniques to maximize its impact. We believe that in this environment, video will be only a part of an experience that includes text, audio and the interactivity of the Internet, but makes them more compelling and effective.
- Our strategy is to target relatively small groups of highly interested consumers, to assemble a large number of such groups and to reach them through web narrowcasting. In this way we can justify an organization to produce, brand and market our collective content on a major scale. Finally, and importantly, we foresee an opportunity to use Ampex Data Systems' and MicroNet's image storage expertise to archive all of our material, thereby building a content library that will have long-term value, much as television, film and information libraries do today.
- We have begun construction of our own Internet video production and distribution center in the Los Angeles area to be followed closely by a similar operation in New York City. These facilities will give Ampex a base for its own set of "channels" yet to be named. These new channels will be complementary to those of AENTV and TV onthe WEB which will develop as independent brands. (IMO: They will develop as independent channels—meaning they can be IPO'd when ready--- and BCST showed us the market is ready!)
- While the Internet is an ideal vehicle for delivering content to the whole nation or across the globe, the availability of content tends to be concentrated regionally; for example, entertainment in Los Angeles or fashion in New York. Accordingly, the efficient gathering of Internet video content requires us to be in the places where the interesting content is. With operations or affiliates in the New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. areas, Ampex is already present in three of the world's key media and content centers and we will be adding more of them in this country and overseas.
- Those of you who are familiar with Ampex or have been shareholders for a while have a good view of our challenges and of the opportunities created by our unequalled experience in electronic imaging. At first glance, Internet video might seem to be a major departure for Ampex, but in fact, our knowledge base is what gives us insight into this opportunity and the resources to be successful.
- For our employees and our shareholders, l999 promises to be an exciting year.
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