Documentary Channel (DOC) is proud to announce the acquisition of 2012 Academy Award nominee ”Incident in New Baghdad.”  A film by James Spione, ”Incident in New Baghdad” is an eye-opening look into the WikiLeaks video that rattled the world as recounted by a United States soldier who was there. The film will premiere on Documentary Channel Sunday, May 27th at 8p ET/PT.

This compelling documentary shines a spotlight on one of the most notorious incidents of the Iraq War – the July 2007 slaying of two Reuters journalists and a number of other civilians (some armed, many not) by U.S. attack helicopters – through the powerful testimony of an American infantryman whose life was forever changed by his experiences on the scene.

U.S. Army Specialist Ethan McCord bore witness to the devastating carnage, found and rescued two children caught in the crossfire, and soon turned against the war that he had enthusiastically joined only months before.  In April 2010, WikiLeaks released the stunning cockpit video of the incident, spurring McCord into speaking out about his role that day.  In”Incident in New Baghdad” the former soldier tells his story.

“We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of this impactful Academy Award-nominated film,” said James Ackerman, President and CEO of Documentary Channel.  “Documentary film is a powerful medium that offers a window into some of the most important stories of our time.  Jim Spione and Ethan McCordhave courageously shed light on an astonishing event.  We congratulate Jim on this phenomenal nomination and are honored to bring ”Incident in New Baghdad” to our channel.”

“I am so pleased to be partnering with the Documentary Channel in bringing this story to the wide American audience it deserves,” said Mr. Spione.  “The on-the-ground reality of our wars is too often kept hidden from us—so I applaud the Documentary Channel’s courage in bringing Ethan McCord’s story to center stage.”

The 2012 Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject will be presented on Sunday, February 26. ”Incident in New Baghdad” comes to Documentary Channel May 27th, 2012 at 8p ET/PT.

Documentary Channel is primarily available through satellite television services DISH Network (Channel 197) and DIRECTV (Channel 267).

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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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Hispanic Group, an independent, minority-owned agency specialized in offering customized approaches aimed at targeting specific nationalities within the U.S. Hispanic market, is reaching a major milestone:  its 10-year anniversary.  To celebrate its decade-long trajectory, Hispanic Group is rolling out the red carpet, literally, for the VIP guests:  its clients.

Clients were invited to a cocktail reception that will take place on Wednesday, January 18 at the iconic, newly renovated Rusty Pelican in Key Biscayne.  Guests will be treated to a night of music and live entertainment with Miami’s most amazing skyline views as a backdrop. Hispanic Group credits its staggering growth and overwhelming success to its loyal clients, for whom this anniversary celebration is all about.

“Ten years ago we embarked on a journey, we have walked a long path, never slowing down and only stopped to check our baggage…and now we celebrate 10 years of relentless commitment as we gear up for the challenges the next 10 years will bring,” reflected Jose Luis Valderrama, President and Founder of Hispanic Group.

The celebration warrants highlighting the top achievements of the last decade:

• Trailblazer as an independent, minority-owned agency aimed at ultrasegmentation within the U.S. Hispanic market.
• Restructured operations to spin off three business units: Hispanic Group, LatinAmerican Ethnic TV (LAETV) and Broadcast Productions.
• Amassed expansive rolodex of clients that now includes DISH Network, LAN Airlines, XOOM and Discovery en Espanol, to name just a few.
• Ranked #12 in Advertising Age’s Hispanic Fact Pack 2007 list of Top 50 Hispanic Agencies in the U.S. and among the top 10 independent Hispanic Agencies on the same list.
• Employs forty-communications professionals specializing in marketing, branding, advertising, television and media buying.
• Pioneer in its ability to offer immediate access to street marketing research teams in 42 cities throughout the U.S.
• Unique capability to leverage more than 700 individuals working on specific campaigns, tailored to meet the individual needs of the company’s clients.

“The entrepreneurial spirit is born from adversity, gets fertilized with ideas and flourishes with hard work.  That has been the recipe for the last decade that enables us today to fill up with pride and say we have earned the confidence of our clients, esteem of our colleagues and credibility from the media,” noted Valderrama.

“Our tenth anniversary event is a celebration of our culture, what we represent and all those who have supported us from our humble beginnings to share in our success today,” added Valderrama.

Hispanic Group (www.hispanicgroup.net) has a keen ability to identify the behavior, location, culture and colloquialisms for each Hispanic group within the United States and reach them by speaking in their own language, customs and cultures.  An Argentine will not generally be a regular customer for tacos and a Mexican will not be a fan of Colombian soccer teams.

This know-how and market segmentation enables Hispanic Group to be effective and innovative reaching this demographic in the U.S. ”In this our 10th anniversary, I want to thank each and every Hispanic in the U.S., regardless of legal status, language preference or education, because beyond all the classification we (Hispanics) represent 50 million people living in the U.S.,” added Valderrama.

“I want to thank them all for this roller coaster ride.  Cheers to the next 10 years,” concluded Valderrama.

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