New York, U.S.A. – Two leading television industry publications, Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News have announced that Comcast Cable will be the first-ever recipient of their new award for Leadership in Hispanic Television. This recognition will be presented to leading executives of Comcast Cable during the Awards Luncheon at the Tenth Annual Hispanic Television Summit, to be held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square of New York City on Wednesday, October 3, 2012.

Louis Hillelson, the Group Publisher for the two publications said, “Comcast has long demonstrated a remarkable tenacity toward an on-going commitment to effectively serve Hispanic customers. The management and employees of Comcast are well-deserving of this recognition because they continue to innovate and re-invigorate their efforts to provide exceptional programming, promotions, technology, and customer service for the Hispanic consumer base within the company’s market areas.”

Hillelson went on to mention, “We are very happy to be able to recognize Comcast as the first recipient of this note-worthy acknowledgment.”

The award for Leadership in Hispanic Television is being introduced in celebration of the tenth anniversary of this signature conference for those in the business of television for Hispanic viewers. The award acknowledges a single company or organization for their extraordinary efforts to serve Hispanic viewers.  This is one of two recognitions to be made at the Awards Luncheon.

The other award to be presented will go to an individual who has demonstrated their ability to support the growth and development of the Hispanic television industry. This other award has traditionally been presented annually and is called the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television.

“Meeting and exceeding the needs of the Hispanic market is a high priority for Comcast,” said Marcien Jenckes, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Video Services for Comcast. “We are honored to accept this award as a testament to the outstanding work of our dedicated multicultural team who continue to find ways to deliver compelling new products and the best content lineups for current and prospective Hispanic customers every day.”

The Hispanic Television Summit has been presented each autumn since 2003. It has become a “must attend event” for those in the business of television and digital video targeted to the US Hispanic and Latin American viewing audience. Last year, the Hispanic Television Summit attracted 500 attendees from across the country, Latin America and Spain. This year’s event is expected to meet or exceed prior attendance records

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Savannah, U.S.A — Verizon Wireless and Comcast today announced they will offer each other’s services in Southeast Georgia and deliver a variety of offers and incentives for new and existing customers. Now, consumers in Savannah looking to stay connected to the people and things they love while on the go or at home have new options for outstanding video, phone, Internet and wireless services.

Based on the package chosen, customers of both Comcast and Verizon Wireless could qualify for a variety of offers and incentives, including Visa prepaid cards valued up to $300, a complimentary 12-month subscription to Xfinity Streampix, and Comcast HD DVR at no additional cost for six months, and/or a complimentary 12-month upgrade to Blast!, the Xfinity Internet service that provides download speeds of up to 30 Mbps with PowerBoost.

“Our momentum with Comcast in delivering these value packages in other markets is continually drawing praise from customers,” said Jonathan LeCompte, president, Verizon Wireless Georgia-Alabama Region. “Because mobility is a top priority for the consumer, we have developed an offering that provides a terrific wireless, entertainment and communications experience in one spot. Comcast’s product suite continues to deliver exceptional entertainment and communications services and the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network is the ideal complement to complete the package.”

Comcast Vice President of Marketing Kerry McKelvey said, “Together with Verizon Wireless, we’re delivering more value for more consumers by providing an entertainment and communications solution that aligns with their lifestyles. Now, Comcast customers in Georgia will have the option of building a great in-home experience through our Xfinity services, along with the reliability of Verizon Wireless’ network while on the go.”

In addition to Augusta, Savannah and Snellville, Comcast and Verizon Wireless are expanding the offer to several cities across Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee today. Verizon Wireless and Comcast have previously introduced this offering in the following markets: Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; San Francisco, California; and Seattle, Washington.

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AEG, Ryan Seacrest Media, and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) recently announced a joint venture that will rebrand HDNet and HDNet Canada to launch AXS TV (pronounced: access). Scheduled to debut this summer, AXS TV will leverage the global reach and portfolio of content opportunities of its partners to create live entertainment and lifestyle programming.

Capitalizing on AEG’s unrivaled presence in live events and affiliation with more than 100 of the industry’s pre-eminent venues worldwide, AXS TV will provide viewers with exclusive behind-the-scenes access to live concerts and music festivals, red carpet premieres, award shows, parties, pop culture events, and in-depth interviews with the people and artists who make live entertainment so uniquely fascinating.

HDNet’s signature programming including HDNet Fights, Inside MMA, award-winning Dan Rather Reports, Sunday concert series, and select non-scripted series will continue on AXS TV. As part of their agreement with the joint venture, DISH will offer a variety of unique music services to their subscribers.

“I’m incredibly excited to be in business with AEG, Ryan Seacrest, and CAA,” said Mark Cuban, Co-Founder and Chairman, HDNet. ”This is a major step on our way to offering more live programming than any other entertainment and lifestyle network. And our partnership with DISH to offer unique subscriber services will allow AXS TV to change the value proposition between networks, distributors, and subscribers. AXS TV will unquestionably be able to leverage our unique assets to do things no other network will be able to replicate.”

With production facilities at AEG’s owned and operated L.A. LIVE (which includes venues such as STAPLES Center, Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, Club Nokia and The GRAMMY Museum’s Clive Davis Theater), as well as their access to their worldwide network of the busiest venues of all sizes, AXS TV will have the inside track to programming that will connect audiences with the complete live experience.

From show creation and development to rehearsals, sound-check and performance and right thru the after-party, viewers will get an immersive look into their favorite acts touring today, AXS TV will span the globe to bring viewers the best live entertainment events. AEG is very pleased to be involved with Mark Cuban and HDNet and equally as proud to have partners like Ryan Seacrest Media and CAA,” said Timothy J. Leiweke, President & CEO, AEG.

“The live business continues to grow and expand and the ability to give fans the opportunity to experience live in a different way is something we have been looking for a way to do for years.”

“As part of a point of emanation for content, we are excited to provide the resources of L.A. LIVE, the O2 and our London campus among the many assets we are bringing into the partnership. In addition, we are excited that AXS TV will have a host studio at L.A. LIVE. This is a natural tie-in for our ticketing platform, AXS Ticketing, as well as our facilities around the world.

This is a platform for all agents, all promoters and all managers. It is not the creation of an AEG channel.  It is about the fans and bringing the live experience to them,” Leiweke added.

Representatives of the joint venture also announced that DISH, the nation’s third largest pay-TV provider, has agreed to expand its carriage of the rebranded HDNet by offering it in the America’s Top 120 programming package, bringing millions more DISH customers access to the rebranded channel and resulting in AXS TV reaching well over 35 million North American households.

In addition to the increased distribution of the re-branded network, DISH will begin offering a large selection of AXS-branded Video On Demand concerts starting on March 15, 2012.  Capitalizing on AEG’s unrivaled presence in the promotion of live events and nationwide network of clubs, DISH will work with AEG to offer unique ticketing opportunities for DISH viewers of AXS TV.

Amenities include special ticketing opportunities, premium seating, private viewing areas and food & beverage specials. Starting August 1, 2012, DISH and AXS TV will launch AXS Headliner Club, an online audition site providing local bands and musicians the opportunity to audition to perform at an AEG-affiliated club or theater.

“AXS TV brings DISH subscribers a premier TV destination for concert-goers to watch the most popular concert acts and provide opportunities for unique ticket sales at venues near them,” said Joe Clayton, CEO, DISH. “The new DISH is all about ‘more music, more movies, and more magic.’  So, we’re pleased to provide a majority of our subscribers front row seats to this innovative channel.”

AXS TV will continue to be available on HDNet’s existing distributors including DIRECTV, Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, Charter, NCTC-member systems, Suddenlink and Shaw (in Canada).

Ryan Seacrest Media holds an ownership stake in AXS TV, and will provide access to multi-media platforms, and celebrity and brand relationships, as well as assist in the corporate brand development for AXS TV. As part of the deal, Ryan Seacrest Productions, an independent entertainment production company, will also develop and produce programming for AXS TV.

“Over the last year, we’ve been diligently working with our partners AEG and CAA to strategize and explore how we could deliver quality live entertainment and lifestyle programming to a large audience. HDNet is the perfect partner to help us translate our vision into a reality, giving us an instant reach into 35 million homes when we rebrand the channel and launch AXS TV,” said Ryan Seacrest.

“Mark Cuban and Tim Leiweke bring a tremendous amount of entrepreneurial experience and spirit to this venture, and I’m confident our collective collaboration will make AXS a success,” he added. CAA will access its extensive experience, expertise, and relationships in entertainment to help create valuable content relationships for the network and provide strategic advisory services in the areas of corporate development, marketing, technology, and brand integration and sponsorship, among others. Seacrest is represented by CAA.

“We have worked closely with AEG and Ryan Seacrest to conceptualize a new network that could benefit from our combined resources and create a new distribution opportunity for artists and content creators and their high-quality entertainment and lifestyle programming,” said David O’Connor, Managing Partner, CAA.

“Mark Cuban and his HDNet make a terrific partner for this venture, and we look forward to joining forces to help build AXS into a premier cable destination for entertainment enthusiasts.” Financial terms of the new venture were not disclosed.

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