New agreements with DIRECTV, Verizon, Warren Miller Films and SKI Magazine likely spell success for soon-to-launch The Ski Channel
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Millions of active lifestyle buffs will get an extra present under the tree this December 25 as The Ski Channel confirmed via news release that it will reach more than 15 million households when it goes live next month on Christmas Day.
Owned by Atonal Sports and Entertainment, The Ski Channel just announced it has signed long-term agreements with DIRECTV, Verizon, Warren Miller Films and SKI Magazine. (The company also announced it has closed a “significant” round of funding.)
Programming on The Ski Channel will focus on destination travel, equipment, instruction and real estate through a combination of news, weather, magazine shows, movies and events.
In addition to its newest partners, The Ski Channel also counts the following among its corporate partners: Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Brighthouse Networks, Verizon, Panasonic, Marquis Jets, Fender Guitars, Mirage Resorts, Rage Films, Ride Guide, World Heli Championships, Teva Mountain Games, Level One Productions, Skiers World and Olympic Gold Medalist Jonny Moseley.
I’ve now been “officially” working in the Sports, Outdoor, Athletics and Recreation industries for slightly more than 3-and-a-half years now, and I must say I continue to be shocked at the overall lack of new media sophistication I see within these industries.
Understand that this is not meant as a slam against all companies in these markets (although it may come across as such).
I also recognize that almost every company I now find in any industry has a Web site. But for many companies, that’s it. And in some instances, companies have little more than a brochure-ware Website.
Others are beginning to step forward and are beginning to embrace newer forms of interactive media, sometimes known as Web 2.0 technologies. These solutions and tools include
- Blogging,
- Online video,
- Social networks (MySpace and Facebook being the most popular, but not the only ones),
- Microblogging (through such tools as Twitter and Pownce, to name two), and
- Podcasting.
What’s even more amazing to me, however, is the seeming lack of interactive / Web 2.0 sophistication among the media companies serving the outdoor and recreation industries. Here again, I’m not attacking every media-publishing company serving clients and/or end-users in the recreation, sports, athletics and/or outdoor industries. Just most of ‘em.
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Last December David blogged about meeting US Ski Team mogul skier Shelly Robertson. Well, this weekend is the Deer Valley Resort Visa Freestyle Invitational and Shelly is in town.
When we first met Shelly she was returning home to Reno after taking 7th place in the women’s moguls competition at the 2008 World Cup season opener in Tignes, France. Since then we have traded emails back and forth with a plan to see her ski in person at the Deer Valley event.
After France, her next event was the Nature Valley Freestyle Cup on January 20 in Lake Placid, New York. I’m signed up for the US Ski Team email newsletter (You can sign up in the middle of the page at (www.usskiteam.com), and I saw that she took 5th place, so I sent her a congratulations email. She responded, “I was definitely excited about 5th- skiing really well- just went way too big on the bottom jump and almost over-rotated the backflip.” That statement turned out to be prophetic for her next event.
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So we’re on the downward slide of Summer and it’s been a hot one here in Salt Lake City. And although I don’t like snow very much, I just thought putting up this video would be just a little reminder of cooler days.
This is extreme outdoor sports for sure!
Oh yeah, and just a reminder that we have great skiing in Utah.
