Apr 22
2011

A group led by Ambassador Andrew Young and Martin Luther King III is expected on Monday to announce plans to launch a new over-the-air television network aimed at African-American audiences in the fall.

Based in Atlanta, Bounce TV, is trying to line up distribution through the digital signals of local television stations. It plans to broadcast a mix of theatrical movies, live sports, off-net series and original programming aimed at adults 25-54. It has made deals to acquire TV rights to 400 African-American oriented films from NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution, Sony Pictures Television, Codeblack Entertainment and Image Entertainment.

Bounce TV will be run by a founding group comprised of Young and King and Andrew Bo Young III. The co-founders of African-American-owned production company Rainforest Films are also involved, with Rob Hardy serving as chief content officer and Will Packer holding the title chief strategy and marketing officer. Also involved in management are two former Turner Broadcasting executives, Ryan Glover and Jonathan Katz, who have been named executive VPs.

My father envisioned the day that African Americans would play major roles in entertainment within ownership, not just serve as entertainers on the stage or in front of the cameras. Thats what makes this even more exciting to me as we embark on this new endeavor of an independently owned and operated broadcast television network featuring African Americans, said King

Former executive VP of US syndication sales for Sony Pictures Television, Jeffrey Wolf, will handle network distribution of Bounce TV. The network plans to offer half of its ad time for insertion by local affiliates.

Bounce TV will be televising football and basketball from the nations largest African American athletic conference, the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, under a rights agreement with Urban Sports Entertainment Group. The network will air the CIAA Championship football and some quarter and semi-final CIAA tournament basketball games.

Atlanta -based CSE, an independent sports, entertainment and television production agency, will provide marketing, digital, post-production and operational resources.

In targeting African-Americans, Bounce TV is moving into territory already occupied by cable networks such as Viacoms BET and TV One, a joint venture of Comcast, NBC Universal and DirecTV.

There are nearly 13 million Hispanic television households that are served by dozens of Spanish and Spanish-language versions of networks. Yet, the more than 14 million African American TV households have just a few dedicated cable channels – and no over-the-air networks, said Glover. Bounce TV will fill the need for an over-the-air television network exclusively for African Americans. At the same time, local broadcasters are looking for digital programming, as well as African American-skewing product. Bounce TV will fill both of those market needs for local broadcasters.

I am proud that our network will deliver free programming exclusively for our under-served community and be accessible to all homes around the country and not just those who pay for television, added Young.

A couple of networks targeting Hispanic viewers have used broadcast station digital networks to gain distribution, including Estrella TV and LATV.

Most TV stations are still trying to figure out the best way to make use of the extra channels they got when broadcasting converted from analog to digital. Some stations have used the channels to provide news or weather services.

ABC last year launched the Live Well channel designed to air high-quality programming produced by its owned and operated stations. A few Belo stations have signed up for Live Well.

Bounce TV is a new model; a demo-specific network designed for digital carriage that we believe is well-timed for the marketplace, said Wolf. We have built a smart and efficient business model created by people with the decades of television and entertainment experience. The initial response from stations has been overwhelmingly positive and we expect advertisers to embrace Bounce TV as well.

Bounce TVs package of films from NBCU is comprised of about 200 titles including Ray, The Hurricane, Do the Right Thing and Car Wash. Sony Pictures has licensed 100 titles, including Philadelphia, Glory, Ali and Boyz n The Hood.

Codeblack Entertainment is a new content company focused on African-American and urban audiences. The package it has licensed to Bounce TV has 50 movies and documentaries featuring such stars as Morgan Freeman, Vanessa Williams Bill Cosby and Terrence Howard. Bounce is also getting 50 comedies and dramas. The stars of the comedies include Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Charles Dutton, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.

We are launching as an entertainment-based network, built upon a foundation of movies for the African American audience, said Glover. As the network grows we will execute on Rob Hardys creative vision for original programming, plans of which are already in development.

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Apr 22
2011

When it comes to serving your clients, do you follow a specific model that drives your behavior or are you winging it? And, do you think your clients can tell the difference? You bet they can! Unfortunately, most financial professionals are winging it when it comes to how they stay in touch with the clients and how they provide ongoing client service.

Many of the most successful financial professionals I have interviewed have a very specific client service model. It drives their behavior as well as the behavior of their staff. Here are some important things to consider as you create your own model.

3 Types of Client Interaction

Transactional – You and your staff must have the systems in place and the standards set that will allow you to deliver superior transactional service. Good systems will help keep you from making mistakes. Good standards will ensure proper response times. Great transactional service should be a given. Every one of your clients expect this from you. It’s enough to keep many of your clients with you, but it won’t create true client loyalty or generate referrals. There has to be more to your relationships.

Value Added – Here’s where you have a chance to start building loyalty and referability. You probably already know that if you don’t continue to add value to the relationship, then you are no longer necessary. For your ‘A’ clients, you should think of 12 touches per year. The number of meetings you have will be determined by the complexity of their situation. Many advisors are turning to a concept I call “themed meetings.” They create a value-centered theme for each meeting and most of their phone calls. If you’d like some ideas about themed meetings, just send an email to info[at]referralcoach.com and put the words ‘Themed Meetings Report’ in the subject line. We’ll get this free report to you right away.

Business Friendships – When I talk about business friendships, I don’t mean telling your clients your deepest darkest secrets. I mean getting to know your clients on a more personal level and letting them know you in that way. It amazes me how many advisors think they have to keep a two arms-length distance from their clients. The truth is, most of your clients would like you to be their business friend.

One advisor I was talking to recently told me that he’s convinced the only part of his newsletter that his clients read is the section about his family and other personal interests.

There are many things you can do to establish and enhance your business friendships. Client appreciation events are a common and effective way. More personal events such as dinner, lunch, a round of golf, or trip to the theater are also very effective. Following your clients sports interests or the progress of their children are two great things to do.

There is something magical that can happen in a business relationship when you break bread at a client’s house or yours. Don’t miss these opportunities. In fact, structure them into your client service model.

Make a list of all the things you can do to build value for your clients and all the things you can do to build business friendships. Now you’ll be ready to start your client service matrix.

Segment Your Client Base

The ideal way to craft your client-service model is to think in terms of a matrix. To do this, you must first segment your client list into A, B, C, and Why clients.  (Your “Why” clients are the ones you’ve had for many years and you wonder why you keep them on the books.) The concept of segmenting your book is certainly not a new one. But have you done it? Have you done it lately?

If you want to keep and attract more ‘A’ clients, you need to be perfectly clear on who is an ‘A’ client is for you. Clear intentions produce clear results. Vague intentions produce vague results. Are you crystal clear on who you want to attract into your business?  Have you written it down?  Does everyone on your staff or team know?  Can you articulate it clearly and succinctly with your clients?

Now, take that list of all the things you can do to add value and build business friendships and create a matrix.  Your ‘A’ clients get everything. They get the First Class “Wow” treatment. Your ‘B’ clients get a subset of that list, and your ‘C’ clients get a little less.

Too Much to Do Right Now?

Does the thought of this matrix seem a bit daunting? Maybe you have a lot of clients. Okay… at least do this for your ‘A’ clients. To keep your clients loyal and to stimulate more referrals, work from a client-service model. Get your ‘A’ clients to see and feel the difference in how you are attending to them.  Stop winging it when it comes to client service. Have a plan and follow your plan.

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Receive your FREE subscription of Bill Cates’ highly acclaimed email newsletter “The Referral Minute.” Twice per week you’ll receive a great tip that will build your referral skill and keep referrals lively in your awareness.  Go to www.ReferralCoach.com to subscribe.

# # #

Bill Cates has just released The Referral Advantage(TM) Video Training Program. He is the author of Get More Referrals Now! and Don’t Keep Me a Secret! and is offering you a free copy of his report “7 Deadly Referral Mistakes” as well as a subscription to his free referral newsletter with 30,000+ subscribers. (What do they know that you don’t?)  Go to www.ReferralMinute.com.  To contact Bill, send him an email:  Info[at]ReferralCoach.com.

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