Tag: Jonathan Miller

  • Time Warner hires NBC’s Randy Falco as CEO of AOL unit

    Time Warner hires NBC’s Randy Falco as CEO of AOL unit

    MUMBAI: Time Warner Inc. has hired NBC Universal Television group president Randy Falco as chairman and chief executive officer of its AOL unit, replacing Jonathan Miller.

    The announcement was made by Time Warner Inc.’s chairman and CEO Richard D Parsons and president and COO Jeff Bewkes, asserts an official release.

    Commenting on Falco’s appointment Parsons said, “Jeff Bewkes and I are very pleased that a top operating executive of Randy Falco’s expertise and experience will be leading AOL into its next stage of development. A key to Time Warner’s digital future, AOL is showing early success in transitioning to an advertising-focused business model, and Randy is a first-rate choice to ensure AOL realizes its promise.”

    As president of NBC’s broadcast and network operations division, Falco was in charge of the facilities and operations of the NBC television network worldwide, adds the release.

    Falco added, ” My challenge will be to execute on the strategy that I believe will make AOL once again the leader of the online world. I see a tremendous opportunity for meaningful growth at AOL and will work hard with the fine people at AOL to make sure the company lives up to its full potential.”

    Time Warner, parent of AOL is a US based integrated media and communications company whose businesses include interactive services, cable systems, filmed entertainment, television networks and publishing.

    Based in Dulles, Virginia, AOL is a global web services company that operates web destinations, runs the country’s Internet access business, and provides a full set of advertising solutions.

  • South Korean service wins interactive Emmy

    South Korean service wins interactive Emmy

    MUMBAI: The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Iatas) has announced the winners for the first International Interactive Emmy Awards.

    This was organised in partnership with Reed Midem, at the television event MipTV in Cannes, France. A channel, an interactive service and a programme from the UK, South Korea and France respectively won the first ever International Interactive Emmy Award in their category. The inaugural Pioneer Prize was presented to AOL chairman and CEO Jonathan Miller, for his contributions to the field of interactive television.

    The award for the best interactive television service went to Hello D, a service provided by CJ CableNet in South Korea. Hello D was the world’s first digital cable broadcasting to succeed in the OCAP. Hello D, a simple and convenient form of interactive digital broadcasting, offers over 100 different channels, 30 high quality audio channels, 21 PPV channels, and a VOD service.

    It is CJ CableNet’s digital cable service that offers a variety of information as well as interactive television. Hello D is Korea’s leading digital broadcasting that centers on high quality, easy navigation, and easy access. CJ CableNet is opening the door to a richer lifestyle and is ushering in a new tomorrow in the digital world.

    The best programme went to France 5’s Cult. It is a daily interactive one-hour live TV show dedicated to urban culture. Hosted by Ray Cokes, Cult targets the 15 to 35 year old demographic and offers a fast-paced anti-conformist show with a never-seen-before-in-France interactivity. Every viewer equipped with a webcam and a high-speed Internet connection could contribute, participate and react live from their homes during and after the show through the website.

    Cult also offers blogging, local news and live video messaging from concert halls using 3G phones. Cult provides an uplifting place for urban young adults and teens where their opinions are taken seriously and interactivity supports multiculturalism.

    Scamp in the UK was voted the best channel. It is the first and only dedicated interactive on-demand kids channel in the UK. Kids can view all their favorite shows back-to-back, work their way through all the episodes of a series or add any show to a personal favorites list with a simple button press. For those who haven’t yet learnt their ABCs, Scamp incorporates easy-to-navigate video walls, linking them to programming through all their favorite characters.

    Parents can also manage their kids’ viewing in the ‘Scamp for Grown Ups’ area, and the unique ‘Time for Bed’ feature automatically schedules 10 minutes of viewing interspersed with time-for-bed messages to help children wind down.

    Iatas president and CEO Bruce Paisner says, “We are proud to be at the forefront of the television industry with these three new International Interactive Emmy Awards”.

    The sold-out black-tie ceremony was attended by over 250 international key-players from the television, Internet and mobile industries including sponsors: AETN, AOL, Bold and Beautiful, Colorchips, Ericcson, Homechoice, Intel, KBS, Open TV and Sky.

    The International Interactive Emmy Awards at Mip TV was the first ever Emmy Awards ceremony held outside the US.