Extreme Sports Channel

Extreme Sports Channel
Launched 1999
Owned by EXTREME
(Owner of the EXTREME brand)
AMC Networks International
(Channel operator)
Audience share UK:
0.01% (September 2015 (2015-09), BARB)
Sister channel(s) AMC
CBS Action
CBS Europa
CBS Drama
CBS Reality
Horror Channel
Website EXTREME.comThe Brand
Availability
Satellite
Sky (Italy) Channel 218 (HD)
PAS 10 12.682 GHz H
Digiturk (Turkey) Channel 83
CanalDigitaal (Netherlands) Channel 36
Dolce (Romania) Channel 305
Focus Sat (Romania) Channel ?
Akta TV (Romania) Channel ?
TV Vlaanderen Digitaal (Flanders) Channel 31
OTE TV (Greece) Channel 308
Cable
UPC (Romania) Digital with DVR
Channel 208
Standard Digital
Channel 78
RCS&RDS (Romania) Channel 49
Ziggo (Netherlands) Channel 412
MC Cable (Monaco) Channel ???
UPC (Austria) Channel 306
UPC (Switzerland) Channel 172 (digital CH-D)
naxoo (Switzerland) Channel 234
UPC (Poland) Channel 571
IPTV
Movistar TV (Spain) Channel 102
KPN (Netherlands) Channel 204

The Extreme Sports Channel (ESC) is a growing sports and lifestyle brand driven by the cable, satellite and internet TV channel that launched from Amsterdam on May 1, 1999 with a legendary launch party with many sports and media celebrities in attandance.[1] Founded by Alistair Gosling, the channel delivers and covers extreme sport the lifestyle and sports which include surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, motocross, BMX, FMX, music, art and fashion to millions of fans 24/7 365 days a year in over 60 countries and 12 languages.[2]

History

In 1997 Alistair Gosling, an ambassador for Extreme sports and founder of the Extreme Sports TV distribution and production company Extreme, realised that there was opportunity to provide a channel for the 'undeserved community' that were passionate about the sports and the lifestyle on the basis that this large part of youth culture had been ignored by the large media companies. It took him a year looking for investors to back him and the idea before finding UPCtv, the programming arm of Europe's largest cable television operator UPC.

In April 1998, seeking new channels to offer their subscribers UPCtv's Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Cohen, approached Ben Barret at the MIP programming market in Cannes, France, with a proposal for a joint venture between the two companies. Gosling then drove the negotiations, and with the help from his management team: MD and shareholder Juanjo Márquez , Legal Director Adam Oliver; Head of Sales Ben Barrett, and programming Manager Andy Warkman, the brand was launched in May 1999 from Amsterdam, Holland. [3]

In 1999, The Extreme launched its United States operations, and charged veteran producer, Lloyd Bryan Adams with the task of heading up the North American presence. They launched EX TV, a branded block on Fox Sports Net in March 2012 with a reach of 70million households.

In 2009, after successfully launching the channel in over sixty countries, Alistair Gosling's company Extreme acquired full ownership of the EXTREME brand and sold its equity stake in the operating channel business for an undisclosed sum to John Malone's Liberty Global Inc. which had by then become owners of UPC.[3] Since this acquisition Extreme raised funds from Kleinwort Benson and with support for the sports at its core has developed beyond TV and operates as a brand development and marketing company and is active in the brand led sports and leisure property development sector

Extreme enables its partners to tap into its global brand presence and existing flow of ongoing marketing activities which include 80 sponsored athletes, 68 annual events, social media reaching on average over 100 million people per week,[4] video content, the Extreme Sports Channel, Extreme.com, trend led creative assets and consumer insights.

EXTREMEs Consumer product licensing division works with companies to deliver EXTREME branded products and services across sports resorts, hotels, events, drinks, apparel, tech, apps & gaming. Examples of this are Vimto a leading drinks company [5] and Kondor a leading electronics company for cameras, audio and VR products. Electronics, destinations, hotels, fashion,[6] and drinks[7] have launched in multiple territories.

EXTREME Brand marketing service [8] connects brands to fans through passion and experiences. Working with third party brands it enable them to tap into EXTREME's fan base through an array of activities which deliver a reason for people to engage and collaborate with a brand which ultimately drives engagement, loyalty and new business. Nat West, Tom Tom, M&C Saatchi, Ford, Red Bull and Monster are client examples.

Brand led sports & leisure property development [9] inspired by a passion for sports Extreme Destinations focuses delivering large scale resorts that not only showcase what EXTREME has to offer, but also inspire progression through sport & creativity, enabling fans to live the experience and the way of life in one place. Extremes portfolio of developments are across the UK, mainland Europe & North America.

Coverage

ESC broadcasts to over 60 countries with 12 different language soundtracks, and is generally available on digital cable as well as on many digital satellite packages, including UPC Direct in the Czech Republic, Cyfra+ and Cyfrowy Polsat in Poland, Kabel Deutschland in Germany and Canal Digital in Norway and in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Levant territories broadcasting via satellite, exclusively from the OSN pay-TV network.

Content from the channel is also narrowcast on Cabvision installed in London Black cabs. The UK version of the channel was free-to-air from launch in 2001 until Summer 2006, when a deal with BSkyB meant that it became encrypted.

ESC's on-air broadcast transmissions are handled by Chellomedia's playout and post-production facility (the Digital Media centre) in Amsterdam..

On 28 September 2011 the channel began broadcasting in widescreen (16:9) format.

On 1 February 2012 the high-definition version of the channel began broadcasting in Italy.[10]

The UK version closed down on 31 December 2015.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/business/1999/may/30/observerbusiness.theobserver5
  2. ↑ http://www.surfersvillage.com/news
  3. ↑ http://www.sportcal.com/news/news_print.aspx?ArticleID=51481&Title=Extreme+Sports+Channel+to+Launch+Dedicated+Feed+for+Polish+Market
  4. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/100m-people-reached-facebook-week-alistair-gosling?trk=prof-post
  5. ↑ http://www.slrmag.co.uk/vimto-launches-energy-market-with-extreme
  6. ↑ http://www.licensemag.com/license-global/extreme-signs-apparel-partners
  7. ↑ http://www.ltwmag.com/news/latest_news/the_extreme_sports_company_powers_into_youth_licensing_business_with_new_energy_drinks.aspx
  8. ↑ https://www.sportindustry.biz/news/extreme-launches-marketing-sponsorship-service
  9. ↑ http://www.boutiquehotelnews.com/home/news/2012/7/16/extreme-hotels-to-launch-in-russias-winter-olympics-venue
  10. ↑ http://realscreen.com/2012/01/26/extreme-sports-channel-enters-the-italian-market/

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, May 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.