Los Angeles (June 4th, 2007) – Steve Bellamy, Founder and CEO of The Ski Channel announced today that they have entered into a broad partnership with Olympic gold medalist, skiing icon and television personality, Jonny Moseley that encompasses a vast array of involvement in many aspects of the network and its media platform.
The partnership will make Moseley a spokesperson, on-air talent, analyst, instructor, advisory staff member and he will make an investment in the channel. “Jonny is to skiing what Michael Jordan is to basketball or Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras are to tennis,” said Bellamy. “He is an icon in snow sports, an amazingly gifted on-air talent, an incredibly creative mind and a roll up your sleeves type of guy who will add value to the channel on a daily basis across a broad array of disciplines. We know how to build big media vehicles, especially devoted to sports and he knows the mountain world and can carry a television broadcast – it’s a good fit.”
A show tentatively called “Air it out with Jonny Moseley” will utilize Jonny’s talents as an interviewer along with his broad knowledge of the snow sports industry and the people in it. The show will feature icons of the snow sports world as well as the most influential and notable industry experts. Jonny will also star in an instructional series that will be available on DVD as well as on-air. Moseley who has successfully transitioned his ski career to a television career will still work on other networks as a television personality.
“The time is perfect for The Ski Channel and I am honored and excited to devote my time and effort to help make it great,” said Moseley. “The mountain world and all the sports and activities on top of them are going to be an incredible backdrop for a television network. We will now have one distinct place where everyone around the United States can go to find the best snow sport and mountain activities right in their own living room. Our whole industry is going to benefit significantly from The Ski Channel just like Golf, Tennis, NFL, Auto Racing and the NBA have benefited from their networks.”
Moseley won the 1998 gold medal in Nagano, Japan the same year he won the World Cup Title with 9 event wins. He has won numerous other competitions including 17 Individual World Cup Events. He has a substantial television career as he has hosted Saturday Night Live and was the host of MTV’s Real World/Road Rules Challenge for 3 years. He has worked for the Tonight Show as a special correspondent and has been a television personality for CBS, CSTV, HGTV, Fox Sports Net and Fine Living. He has also been a corporate pitchman for Sprint, Chevrolet and Kellogg’s.
“We want to help grow snow sports by shinning a bright light on the stars, but we are standing a good ways behind the starting line largely because the athletes identities are covered from head to toe in clothing.” said Bellamy. “Jonny has unique value to us because he has the access, talent and credibility to yank out those hard to reach story points that will help make these characters larger than life. Right now, there are too many anonymous athletes going really fast down a hill or doing a bunch of flips. Jonny will be conduit between the athlete and the fans and help change that. He will be a face of the network, he will have his own skin in the game and will carry a vested interest to burn the midnight oil.”
The Ski Channel is set to launch in the 1st quarter of ’08 and has a long-term deal with Time Warner Cable which includes some of best US feeder markets for skiing, including: New York City, Los Angeles and Dallas. Other distribution deals will be announced in the near future. The channel also has charter advertising agreements with Panasonic, Marquis Jet, Mirage Resorts and Fender Guitars.
Jonny Moseley (www.jonnymoseley.com) is one of the most world-renowned skiers in the history of the sport. He won the 98 Olympic Gold Medal in Nagano, the 98 World Cup and 17 World Cup Event Titles. He is a prolific product endorser and has served as the face of countless top brands. He created the “dinner roll” trick that was one of the most controversial and famous tricks in the sport. He has been a prolific show host and television personality since retiring from competitive skiing.
The Ski Channel (www.theskichannel.com) is an original ad supported network delivered via VOD, web, wireless and other means of distribution. The Ski Channel is the only National cable television network devoted to the wide variety of year round mountain activities such as skiing, snowboarding, hiking, biking, backpacking, climbing, etc, along with many off-slope activities. The Ski Channels’ content will inspire and inform its audience with magazine shows, reality shows, movies, events, and shows that focus on destination travel, equipment, instruction, real estate.
Steve Bellamy is Founder and President of Atonal Sports & Entertainment. He is Founder of The Tennis Channel where he was president for 7 years. The Tennis Person of the Year named by Tennis News is called “The Bellamy Award” in his honor.” Bellamy has devoted his career to lifetime sports. In addition to the Tennis Channel, he owns tennis and golf facilities, which include – Palisades Tennis Center, Westwood Tennis Center, and the LA Golf Academy and he is the inventor of “liveball.” Atonal’s media businesses include Atonal Films, Atonal Television and Palisades Studios.
