19th July 2009
TVS viewers have appealed to the Prime Minister via video asking for support for the inclusion of Community TV on digital television.
The on-screen appeal was masterminded by Joy Hruby OAM, the host and producer of Joy's World - one of TVS's longest running programs. Twenty-two loyal viewers recorded their pleas in a series of 'vox pops' that were sent to the Prime Minister on DVD.
"All the other channels have been given digital spectrum except ours", said Joy Hruby. "We just want TVS to be given the same opportunity as the others".
The Federal Government recently embarked on a campaign to encourage Australian households to switch to digital television. "Yet, while all the other free-to-air stations are broadcasting in both analogue and digital Community Television remains marooned on analogue," said TVS Chief Executive Laurie Patton.
With its predominantly local content Community TV offers a vital source of programs that encourage and support Australian culture, ideas and interests. After just over three years on air forty percent of the programs screened on TVS are produced by community groups and individuals based in Sydney.
Each year Community TV provides a valuable training ground for hundreds of young Australians wanting careers in television and a platform for innovative new programs and emerging talent. People like Rove McManus, Corrine Grant and Hamish and Andy proudly acknowledge their start came on Community TV.
Despite Government assurances that Community Television will not be left behind as Australians are urged to switch to digital the Community stations are still waiting for the allocation of desperately needed digital spectrum.
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TVS
Channel 31
Joy Hruby
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Community News
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Monday, July 20, 2009
Dear Prime Minister - Community Plea on Digital TV
TVS viewers have appealed to the Prime Minister via video asking for support for the inclusion of Community TV on digital television.
The on-screen appeal was masterminded by Joy Hruby OAM, the host and producer of Joy's World - one of TVS's longest running programs. Twenty-two loyal viewers recorded their pleas in a series of 'vox pops' that were sent to the Prime Minister on DVD. Starting today, these community pleas will be screened on TVS throughout the day in an effort to gain added public support for the channel.
"All the other channels have been given digital spectrum except ours", said Joy Hruby. "We just want TVS to be given the same opportunity as the others".
The Federal Government recently embarked on a campaign to encourage Australian households to switch to digital television. "Yet, while all the other free-to-air stations are broadcasting in both analogue and digital Community Television remains marooned on analogue," said TVS Chief Executive Laurie Patton.
"Every time another household does as the Government asks and buys a new digital TV or a digital set top box they potentially lose the ability to watch their Community channel".
With its predominantly local content Community TV offers a vital source of programs that encourage and support Australian culture, ideas and interests. After just over three years on air forty percent of the programs screened on TVS are produced by community groups and individuals based in Sydney.
Each year Community TV provides a valuable training ground for hundreds of young Australians wanting careers in television and a platform for innovative new programs and emerging talent. People like Rove McManus, Corrine Grant and Hamish and Andy proudly acknowledge their start came on Community TV.
"The availability of high quality low cost digital recording and editing equipment means that local community based groups and individuals are able to create their own programs. All they need is an outlet and this is what Community TV is all about," Mr Patton added.
Despite Government assurances that Community Television will not be left behind as Australians are urged to switch to digital the Community stations are still waiting for the allocation of desperately needed digital spectrum.
"CTV programming is targeted at audience groups that are under-served by the other free-to-air channels. The sector provides access for special interest groups, multicultural communities and social networks that are not well catered for by the mainstream media," Mr Patton said.
LAURIE PATTON
Chief Executive
Television Sydney (TVS) Limited
Tel: (02) 9852-5000
Fax: (02) 9852-5050
TVS is Sydney's new free TV channel. For more information visit www.tvs.tv
Media Man Australia Profiles
TVS
Channel 31 Community TV
Joy Hruby
Broadcasting
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Community News
The on-screen appeal was masterminded by Joy Hruby OAM, the host and producer of Joy's World - one of TVS's longest running programs. Twenty-two loyal viewers recorded their pleas in a series of 'vox pops' that were sent to the Prime Minister on DVD. Starting today, these community pleas will be screened on TVS throughout the day in an effort to gain added public support for the channel.
"All the other channels have been given digital spectrum except ours", said Joy Hruby. "We just want TVS to be given the same opportunity as the others".
The Federal Government recently embarked on a campaign to encourage Australian households to switch to digital television. "Yet, while all the other free-to-air stations are broadcasting in both analogue and digital Community Television remains marooned on analogue," said TVS Chief Executive Laurie Patton.
"Every time another household does as the Government asks and buys a new digital TV or a digital set top box they potentially lose the ability to watch their Community channel".
With its predominantly local content Community TV offers a vital source of programs that encourage and support Australian culture, ideas and interests. After just over three years on air forty percent of the programs screened on TVS are produced by community groups and individuals based in Sydney.
Each year Community TV provides a valuable training ground for hundreds of young Australians wanting careers in television and a platform for innovative new programs and emerging talent. People like Rove McManus, Corrine Grant and Hamish and Andy proudly acknowledge their start came on Community TV.
"The availability of high quality low cost digital recording and editing equipment means that local community based groups and individuals are able to create their own programs. All they need is an outlet and this is what Community TV is all about," Mr Patton added.
Despite Government assurances that Community Television will not be left behind as Australians are urged to switch to digital the Community stations are still waiting for the allocation of desperately needed digital spectrum.
"CTV programming is targeted at audience groups that are under-served by the other free-to-air channels. The sector provides access for special interest groups, multicultural communities and social networks that are not well catered for by the mainstream media," Mr Patton said.
LAURIE PATTON
Chief Executive
Television Sydney (TVS) Limited
Tel: (02) 9852-5000
Fax: (02) 9852-5050
TVS is Sydney's new free TV channel. For more information visit www.tvs.tv
Media Man Australia Profiles
TVS
Channel 31 Community TV
Joy Hruby
Broadcasting
Social and Community Entrepreneurs
Community News
Thursday, July 09, 2009
UFC 100 is only the beginning for MMA, by Kevin Iole - Yahoo! - 9th July 2009
LAS VEGAS – Dana White, the cocky kid from New England who never had much money and who survived until he was nearly 30 on little more than his guile and cunning, phoned his buddy, Lorenzo Fertitta, the well-to-do son of a powerful Las Vegas casino baron, and breathlessly told him he heard the Ultimate Fighting Championship might be for sale.
In 2000, that might have been like telling him there was a ’75 Eldorado he could get for $2,500 down at the salvage yard.
Had Fertitta hung up, as he probably should have, there wouldn’t be a UFC 100 on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, a card which is expected to sell upwards of 1.5 million on pay-per-view and for which a pair of front-row tickets is going for as much as $45,000 on StubHub.
There would be no UFC Fan Expo on Friday and Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center that will essentially serve as a celebration of mixed martial arts.
If Fertitta had laughed in White’s ear, hung up the telephone and gone back to the business of slot machines and blackjack tables, mixed martial arts as we know it today would not exist. White’s telephone call on that fateful day not only would make him rich and famous beyond all measure, it essentially saved the sport.
Fertitta and his older brother, Frank, agreed to partner with White to create a company called Zuffa and buy the struggling promotion, but what they got for their money wasn’t much.
There was no mainstream media coverage, no stars, no free television, no pay-per-view outlets, no merchandising, no sponsorships and, it seemed, no interest in what they had to sell.
The first pay-per-view under Zuffa’s steward came in about 85 percent less than expected. Fertitta was hoping for 150,000 sales and wound up with 25,000.
It’s not exactly the kind of investment the casino executives had in mind.
But a combination of the Fertittas’ wealth, business acumen and connections, White’s vision, instincts and relentlessness and just plain good luck helped to forge one of the great business turnaround stories of the decade.
This is a company that cost $2 million to buy in 2001 that was estimated by Forbes to be worth $1 billion in early 2008.
Things went their way before they even realized it, in some cases. In September 2000, the New Jersey Athletic Control Board approved what became known as the unified rules, the basic set of rules that cover the sport to this day. UFC 28 was the first card fought under those rules, when the company was still owned by Bob Meyrowitz and his Semaphore Entertainment Group.
White, who had been managing boxers and MMA fighters before buying the UFC, understood the UFC had no chance to survive long-term without regulation because it was too brutal for regulators’ tastes and without regulation, there would be no television.
Zuffa actively pursued regulation upon taking control of the company, though it didn’t hurt that Lorenzo Fertitta had built a reputation as one of boxing’s finest regulators during a distinguished stint on the Nevada Athletic Commission.
“Without regulation, people wouldn’t see it as a sport,” White said.
And so they actively sought regulation wherever they turned. Not long after New Jersey adopted the unified rules and sanctioned the sport, Nevada followed suit.
It was a huge day for the sport because two of the most active boxing states had given their OK and in the process lent legitimacy to MMA.
“Getting Nevada was [expletive] huge for us, because when we got Nevada, we got pay-per-view back at the same time,” White said.
Pay-per-view had long been critical in boxing and, to a much lesser extent, MMA, because the revenue streams that existed in other sports, such as the NFL, NBA and MLB, either didn’t exist at all or produced piddling revenues in the combat sports.
Getting the OK from New Jersey and Nevada essentially re-opened the pay-per-view door for the UFC and created a steady stream of income. Without it, none of the Fertittas’ business wizardry or White’s vision and determination would have meant a thing.
Pay-per-view was only one element, though. And while the revenue it generated was a lifeline, it was clear that some sort of free television would be a requirement.
That’s why, already down more than $30 million since buying the UFC, Zuffa management opted to spend another $8 million in 2004 to create a reality series on Spike TV.
The Ultimate Fighter was an instant hit when it went on the air in 2005. By the sixth episode, it had pulled a 2.1 household rating and was demonstrating the strength among 18-to-34-year-old males that would eventually make it so attractive to advertisers.
White, though, is convinced the UFC would have gone under had Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar not put on one of the great slugfests in the sport’s history in the live televised finale of that first season.
There wouldn’t be a UFC 100 without the jaw-dropping fight between Griffin and Bonnar, won by Griffin via unanimous decision, in the tiny UNLV practice gymnasium on April 9, 2005.
There wouldn’t have been Elite XC shows on CBS or Strikeforce shows on Showtime if the Griffin-Bonnar fight had never been held.
And there wouldn’t have been shows in Canada, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Germany, as there have been since that fight, had it been anything less than the MMA equivalent of boxing’s classic Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns bout.
“We wouldn’t be talking today were it not for that fight,” White said. “At one point during that fight, we got up to 10 million viewers, whether through channel surfing or people calling each other and asking, ‘Are you watching this fight?’ Once that fight happened, things started to turn the other way.”
The UFC suddenly had leverage and the things that White wanted to do from the minute he gained control of the company suddenly seemed within reach.
Pay-per-view sales for a single fight reached 1 million for the first time in the last bout of 2006, when Chuck Liddell knocked out Tito Ortiz at UFC 61 and sales skyrocketed to 1.05 million.
In 2007, pay-per-view revenues for the year surpassed both boxing and professional wrestling. In 2008, blue chip sponsors such as Bud Light and Harley Davidson lent their support.
And in 2009, the UFC not only added blue-chip sponsors such as Burger King, but it released a spectacularly successful video game that sold three times the expected number.
The UFC is not the only MMA promotion in the world, nor is it the only successful MMA promotion. Strikeforce, which has a deal with Showtime, regularly turns a profit.
And while the sport’s hard core fans decry a media – including Yahoo! Sports – that they view as far too UFC-centric, it’s hard to argue with numbers.
Affliction Entertainment, the promotion that some see as the UFC’s primary competition, has only put on two cards in the last year. The UFC has had at least three shows – UFCs 91, 92 and 94 – that sold around 1 million each in PPV sales in that time frame.
There are a lot of excellent basketball players in the CBA, including some who are probably better than a few of those in the NBA, but it’s the NBA that commands the fan and media attention.
White didn’t invent the sport and he didn’t write or have anything to do with the creation of its rules, but MMA in its current form and with its present popularity wouldn’t exist today without him. The future, though, will largely by shaped by Lorenzo Fertitta, who in 2008 quit a job as an executive at Station Casinos that a year earlier had paid him $113.8 million in salary. In the last 13 months, Fertitta has been working full-time for the UFC, concentrating largely on expanding the company’s global reach.
White has long said that the UFC will someday exceed soccer in worldwide popularity among sports fans. And while that’s a stretch, it’s no stretch to say that for all the success the UFC has had, it’s only 10 percent or so of the way toward where it will be in 10 or 15 years.
“This fight on Saturday is going to be available in something like 100 million homes,” White said. “Since Lorenzo’s been with us, look at the progress we have made. He’s gotten us a TV deal in China. We’re going to France. We’re going everywhere. Lorenzo is opening doors and the stuff he’s doing is setting the stage.
“I’m telling you, the best thing that ever happened to this company was the day Lorenzo quit his job and came to work here. We’ve come a long way, but we’re not even close to being where we’re going to be.” (Credit: Yahoo!)
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In 2000, that might have been like telling him there was a ’75 Eldorado he could get for $2,500 down at the salvage yard.
Had Fertitta hung up, as he probably should have, there wouldn’t be a UFC 100 on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, a card which is expected to sell upwards of 1.5 million on pay-per-view and for which a pair of front-row tickets is going for as much as $45,000 on StubHub.
There would be no UFC Fan Expo on Friday and Saturday at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center that will essentially serve as a celebration of mixed martial arts.
If Fertitta had laughed in White’s ear, hung up the telephone and gone back to the business of slot machines and blackjack tables, mixed martial arts as we know it today would not exist. White’s telephone call on that fateful day not only would make him rich and famous beyond all measure, it essentially saved the sport.
Fertitta and his older brother, Frank, agreed to partner with White to create a company called Zuffa and buy the struggling promotion, but what they got for their money wasn’t much.
There was no mainstream media coverage, no stars, no free television, no pay-per-view outlets, no merchandising, no sponsorships and, it seemed, no interest in what they had to sell.
The first pay-per-view under Zuffa’s steward came in about 85 percent less than expected. Fertitta was hoping for 150,000 sales and wound up with 25,000.
It’s not exactly the kind of investment the casino executives had in mind.
But a combination of the Fertittas’ wealth, business acumen and connections, White’s vision, instincts and relentlessness and just plain good luck helped to forge one of the great business turnaround stories of the decade.
This is a company that cost $2 million to buy in 2001 that was estimated by Forbes to be worth $1 billion in early 2008.
Things went their way before they even realized it, in some cases. In September 2000, the New Jersey Athletic Control Board approved what became known as the unified rules, the basic set of rules that cover the sport to this day. UFC 28 was the first card fought under those rules, when the company was still owned by Bob Meyrowitz and his Semaphore Entertainment Group.
White, who had been managing boxers and MMA fighters before buying the UFC, understood the UFC had no chance to survive long-term without regulation because it was too brutal for regulators’ tastes and without regulation, there would be no television.
Zuffa actively pursued regulation upon taking control of the company, though it didn’t hurt that Lorenzo Fertitta had built a reputation as one of boxing’s finest regulators during a distinguished stint on the Nevada Athletic Commission.
“Without regulation, people wouldn’t see it as a sport,” White said.
And so they actively sought regulation wherever they turned. Not long after New Jersey adopted the unified rules and sanctioned the sport, Nevada followed suit.
It was a huge day for the sport because two of the most active boxing states had given their OK and in the process lent legitimacy to MMA.
“Getting Nevada was [expletive] huge for us, because when we got Nevada, we got pay-per-view back at the same time,” White said.
Pay-per-view had long been critical in boxing and, to a much lesser extent, MMA, because the revenue streams that existed in other sports, such as the NFL, NBA and MLB, either didn’t exist at all or produced piddling revenues in the combat sports.
Getting the OK from New Jersey and Nevada essentially re-opened the pay-per-view door for the UFC and created a steady stream of income. Without it, none of the Fertittas’ business wizardry or White’s vision and determination would have meant a thing.
Pay-per-view was only one element, though. And while the revenue it generated was a lifeline, it was clear that some sort of free television would be a requirement.
That’s why, already down more than $30 million since buying the UFC, Zuffa management opted to spend another $8 million in 2004 to create a reality series on Spike TV.
The Ultimate Fighter was an instant hit when it went on the air in 2005. By the sixth episode, it had pulled a 2.1 household rating and was demonstrating the strength among 18-to-34-year-old males that would eventually make it so attractive to advertisers.
White, though, is convinced the UFC would have gone under had Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar not put on one of the great slugfests in the sport’s history in the live televised finale of that first season.
There wouldn’t be a UFC 100 without the jaw-dropping fight between Griffin and Bonnar, won by Griffin via unanimous decision, in the tiny UNLV practice gymnasium on April 9, 2005.
There wouldn’t have been Elite XC shows on CBS or Strikeforce shows on Showtime if the Griffin-Bonnar fight had never been held.
And there wouldn’t have been shows in Canada, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Germany, as there have been since that fight, had it been anything less than the MMA equivalent of boxing’s classic Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns bout.
“We wouldn’t be talking today were it not for that fight,” White said. “At one point during that fight, we got up to 10 million viewers, whether through channel surfing or people calling each other and asking, ‘Are you watching this fight?’ Once that fight happened, things started to turn the other way.”
The UFC suddenly had leverage and the things that White wanted to do from the minute he gained control of the company suddenly seemed within reach.
Pay-per-view sales for a single fight reached 1 million for the first time in the last bout of 2006, when Chuck Liddell knocked out Tito Ortiz at UFC 61 and sales skyrocketed to 1.05 million.
In 2007, pay-per-view revenues for the year surpassed both boxing and professional wrestling. In 2008, blue chip sponsors such as Bud Light and Harley Davidson lent their support.
And in 2009, the UFC not only added blue-chip sponsors such as Burger King, but it released a spectacularly successful video game that sold three times the expected number.
The UFC is not the only MMA promotion in the world, nor is it the only successful MMA promotion. Strikeforce, which has a deal with Showtime, regularly turns a profit.
And while the sport’s hard core fans decry a media – including Yahoo! Sports – that they view as far too UFC-centric, it’s hard to argue with numbers.
Affliction Entertainment, the promotion that some see as the UFC’s primary competition, has only put on two cards in the last year. The UFC has had at least three shows – UFCs 91, 92 and 94 – that sold around 1 million each in PPV sales in that time frame.
There are a lot of excellent basketball players in the CBA, including some who are probably better than a few of those in the NBA, but it’s the NBA that commands the fan and media attention.
White didn’t invent the sport and he didn’t write or have anything to do with the creation of its rules, but MMA in its current form and with its present popularity wouldn’t exist today without him. The future, though, will largely by shaped by Lorenzo Fertitta, who in 2008 quit a job as an executive at Station Casinos that a year earlier had paid him $113.8 million in salary. In the last 13 months, Fertitta has been working full-time for the UFC, concentrating largely on expanding the company’s global reach.
White has long said that the UFC will someday exceed soccer in worldwide popularity among sports fans. And while that’s a stretch, it’s no stretch to say that for all the success the UFC has had, it’s only 10 percent or so of the way toward where it will be in 10 or 15 years.
“This fight on Saturday is going to be available in something like 100 million homes,” White said. “Since Lorenzo’s been with us, look at the progress we have made. He’s gotten us a TV deal in China. We’re going to France. We’re going everywhere. Lorenzo is opening doors and the stuff he’s doing is setting the stage.
“I’m telling you, the best thing that ever happened to this company was the day Lorenzo quit his job and came to work here. We’ve come a long way, but we’re not even close to being where we’re going to be.” (Credit: Yahoo!)
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Las Vegas
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Branson winds up the Aussies with the ultimate sledge
Virgin Media tycoon beams himself onto Sydney Harbour Bridge
Richard Branson has thrown down the gauntlet to the Australian nation by beaming a tongue-in-cheek image of himself onto one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, to mark the start of the Ashes series.
The image, referencing Australia captain Ricky Ponting and featuring Branson’s face painted with a St George’s Cross, was unveiled in the shadow on the famous Sydney Opera House with the slogan “Good luck Ricky. You’ll need it. Dicky x” to promote Virgin Media’s ‘Fifty50’ campaign, designed to spur England on as they fight to win The Ashes this summer. The company has pledged to donate £1,000 to charity for every England batsman who scores a half century during the series to celebrate the national roll-out of the broadband provider’s ultrafast 50Mb broadband service.
Richard Branson said: “I love Australia and I know that the Aussies are always up for a spot of light-hearted banter, especially when it comes to The Ashes. Every Australian I know wants to stuff us in the upcoming series and I wanted to do my bit to encourage the England team in the hope that they can win the Ashes this time round.”
Laurinda Rio-Copeland, who lives in Sydney but is originally from London, was passing by as the image was beamed onto the bridge. She said: “I have had so many Aussies rib me about England’s defeat in the last series, telling me how we are going to get beaten again. I think this image is really funny and it’s nice to see the Aussies being on the receiving end for a change.”
The unique ‘Fifty50’ scheme will run throughout The Ashes and will see Virgin Media donate to a selection of good causes favoured by the England players. Launched by former England skipper and Yorkshire player Michael Vaughan, the charity donations will go to each English batman’s chosen charity, every time he scores 50 runs or more in a single innings, throughout the series.
To find out more about Virgin Media’s 50Mb service, visit www.virginmedia.com/50
Media Contacts
Verity Henderson, Virgin Media, 0207 299 5712, verity.henderson@virginmedia.co.uk
Toby Steele, Frank PR, 0207 693 6999, tobysteele@frankpr.it / virginmedia@frankpr.it
Notes to Editors
Terms and Conditions
Virgin Media will donate £1,000 for every England player who scores 50 runs or more in a single innings, throughout the 2009 Ashes series.
One charity per player is permitted which should be communicated to Virgin Media before the end of the series.
The prize is non-transferable, and there is no alternative.
Virgin Media reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the initiative or amend these terms and conditions where reasonably necessary.
About Virgin Media
With almost 10 million customers, Virgin Media is the UK's first quad-play provider of broadband, TV, phone and mobile.
The company is the largest residential broadband provider in the UK, using a unique fibre optic cable network to deliver next generation ultrafast internet access of up to 50Mb to just over half of all homes. Combined with a high speed ADSL service and mobile broadband products, Virgin Media is able to offer broadband internet access to virtually the entire country.
Virgin Media has the UK’s most advanced TV on demand service and is the only TV platform to carry BBC iPlayer. It is the second largest provider of pay TV, was the first to launch a high definition TV service and offers a high-specification, HD-ready V+ personal video recorder.
The company operates the most popular virtual mobile network in the UK which, when launched, was the world’s first such mobile phone service. It is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the country.
Virgin Media also owns Virgin Media Television (VMtv) which runs eight entertainment channels, including Virgin1, Living, Bravo and Challenge. VMtv is a 50 per cent joint partner with BBC Worldwide in UKTV, which consists of ten channels including Dave, G.O.L.D., Watch and Alibi.
With operations based entirely in the UK, Virgin Media Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (VMED).
For more information, go to www.virginmedia.com.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Broadband
Virgin Media
Virgin Enterprises Limited
Richard Branson
Broadcasting
Media Companies
Richard Branson has thrown down the gauntlet to the Australian nation by beaming a tongue-in-cheek image of himself onto one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, to mark the start of the Ashes series.
The image, referencing Australia captain Ricky Ponting and featuring Branson’s face painted with a St George’s Cross, was unveiled in the shadow on the famous Sydney Opera House with the slogan “Good luck Ricky. You’ll need it. Dicky x” to promote Virgin Media’s ‘Fifty50’ campaign, designed to spur England on as they fight to win The Ashes this summer. The company has pledged to donate £1,000 to charity for every England batsman who scores a half century during the series to celebrate the national roll-out of the broadband provider’s ultrafast 50Mb broadband service.
Richard Branson said: “I love Australia and I know that the Aussies are always up for a spot of light-hearted banter, especially when it comes to The Ashes. Every Australian I know wants to stuff us in the upcoming series and I wanted to do my bit to encourage the England team in the hope that they can win the Ashes this time round.”
Laurinda Rio-Copeland, who lives in Sydney but is originally from London, was passing by as the image was beamed onto the bridge. She said: “I have had so many Aussies rib me about England’s defeat in the last series, telling me how we are going to get beaten again. I think this image is really funny and it’s nice to see the Aussies being on the receiving end for a change.”
The unique ‘Fifty50’ scheme will run throughout The Ashes and will see Virgin Media donate to a selection of good causes favoured by the England players. Launched by former England skipper and Yorkshire player Michael Vaughan, the charity donations will go to each English batman’s chosen charity, every time he scores 50 runs or more in a single innings, throughout the series.
To find out more about Virgin Media’s 50Mb service, visit www.virginmedia.com/50
Media Contacts
Verity Henderson, Virgin Media, 0207 299 5712, verity.henderson@virginmedia.co.uk
Toby Steele, Frank PR, 0207 693 6999, tobysteele@frankpr.it / virginmedia@frankpr.it
Notes to Editors
Terms and Conditions
Virgin Media will donate £1,000 for every England player who scores 50 runs or more in a single innings, throughout the 2009 Ashes series.
One charity per player is permitted which should be communicated to Virgin Media before the end of the series.
The prize is non-transferable, and there is no alternative.
Virgin Media reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the initiative or amend these terms and conditions where reasonably necessary.
About Virgin Media
With almost 10 million customers, Virgin Media is the UK's first quad-play provider of broadband, TV, phone and mobile.
The company is the largest residential broadband provider in the UK, using a unique fibre optic cable network to deliver next generation ultrafast internet access of up to 50Mb to just over half of all homes. Combined with a high speed ADSL service and mobile broadband products, Virgin Media is able to offer broadband internet access to virtually the entire country.
Virgin Media has the UK’s most advanced TV on demand service and is the only TV platform to carry BBC iPlayer. It is the second largest provider of pay TV, was the first to launch a high definition TV service and offers a high-specification, HD-ready V+ personal video recorder.
The company operates the most popular virtual mobile network in the UK which, when launched, was the world’s first such mobile phone service. It is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the country.
Virgin Media also owns Virgin Media Television (VMtv) which runs eight entertainment channels, including Virgin1, Living, Bravo and Challenge. VMtv is a 50 per cent joint partner with BBC Worldwide in UKTV, which consists of ten channels including Dave, G.O.L.D., Watch and Alibi.
With operations based entirely in the UK, Virgin Media Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market (VMED).
For more information, go to www.virginmedia.com.
Media Man Australia Profiles
Virgin Broadband
Virgin Media
Virgin Enterprises Limited
Richard Branson
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Monday, July 06, 2009
PartyPoker.com And PartyCasino.com Launch New Global Campaign
Gibraltar – 9th June 2009 – An exciting new global campaign has been launched for both PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com.
Extensive worldwide customer research helped PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com develop a new proposition and this is delivered through the new strapline ‘Feel it’. The research identified ‘it’ as the intense rush as the river card is turned or the wild anticipation as the roulette wheel begins to slow. In fact ‘it’ is something different to every player and with its range of new games, promotions and tournaments PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com are constantly innovating to deliver the best customer experience in online poker and casino.
The campaign will roll out on TV, online, billboards and in press in territories worldwide. At the heart are thrilling TV commercials for both PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com that show players caught up in a whirlwind of excitement. The whirlwind captures the journey of the game for poker and the fun and excitement of casino as players enjoy the games in a virtual world. The campaign also sees the introduction of a redesigned logo.
The television advertisements were filmed on the biggest stage at the famous Shepperton Studios in the UK where so many blockbusters including the Bond movies are shot. All the action was overseen by Hollywood film director Paul WS Anderson - his experience in directing Event Horizon, Resident Evil and Alien versus Predator was key to delivering the action packed footage. A look at the tv ads can be found at http://www.partypoker.com and http://www.partycasino.com
The campaign was created by Leeds based agency Home, in conjunction with PartyGaming’s in-house team.
A PartyGaming spokesman said: “The new campaign has gone global and you will already see the brand changes when you log on to PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com. PartyPoker.com has just launched the Million Dollar Hand promotion for June, while PartyCasino.com is the world’s largest online casino and is continuing to expand at a rapid pace. The Gold Mega Jackpot at PartyCasino.com currently stands at just over a record breaking $2,281,000 and is waiting to be hit!”
At the end of June, PartyPoker.com will be improving the PartyPoints store. Customers are advised to hold on to their PartyPoints until then to make the most of the changes that will be introduced.
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Extensive worldwide customer research helped PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com develop a new proposition and this is delivered through the new strapline ‘Feel it’. The research identified ‘it’ as the intense rush as the river card is turned or the wild anticipation as the roulette wheel begins to slow. In fact ‘it’ is something different to every player and with its range of new games, promotions and tournaments PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com are constantly innovating to deliver the best customer experience in online poker and casino.
The campaign will roll out on TV, online, billboards and in press in territories worldwide. At the heart are thrilling TV commercials for both PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com that show players caught up in a whirlwind of excitement. The whirlwind captures the journey of the game for poker and the fun and excitement of casino as players enjoy the games in a virtual world. The campaign also sees the introduction of a redesigned logo.
The television advertisements were filmed on the biggest stage at the famous Shepperton Studios in the UK where so many blockbusters including the Bond movies are shot. All the action was overseen by Hollywood film director Paul WS Anderson - his experience in directing Event Horizon, Resident Evil and Alien versus Predator was key to delivering the action packed footage. A look at the tv ads can be found at http://www.partypoker.com and http://www.partycasino.com
The campaign was created by Leeds based agency Home, in conjunction with PartyGaming’s in-house team.
A PartyGaming spokesman said: “The new campaign has gone global and you will already see the brand changes when you log on to PartyPoker.com and PartyCasino.com. PartyPoker.com has just launched the Million Dollar Hand promotion for June, while PartyCasino.com is the world’s largest online casino and is continuing to expand at a rapid pace. The Gold Mega Jackpot at PartyCasino.com currently stands at just over a record breaking $2,281,000 and is waiting to be hit!”
At the end of June, PartyPoker.com will be improving the PartyPoints store. Customers are advised to hold on to their PartyPoints until then to make the most of the changes that will be introduced.
Media Man Australia Profiles
PartyGaming
PartyPoker.com
PartyPoker.com News
PartyCasino.com
PartyCasino.com News
Casino News
Online Casino News
Technology News
Entertainment News
Media News
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