Local Channel Undergoes Olympic-Sized Expansion

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A reduction in ad dollars and a migration of viewers to new media has hurt even established broadcast operations. But there’s at least one flourishing L.A.-based network.

Universal Sports, a cable channel dedicated to Olympic and lifestyle sports, recently moved into larger headquarters at Westlake Village Studios, reflecting a recent growth spurt.

NBC Universal took an undisclosed equity in the seven-year-old company 18 months ago, renaming it and upping its cable distribution from 5 million to 57 million homes. It’s also grown from 40 to 100 employees over that time.

Now, the network will get its biggest exposure ever with the Vancouver, Canada-hosted Winter Olympics, whose U.S. broadcast rights are owned by NBC Universal. Universal Sports will carry five hours of daily programming from Westlake Village; Vancouver; and Whistler, Canada, the site of alpine events. NBC reporters, who will primarily serve the national network, will provide commentary to Universal Sports.

“This is a big undertaking for us,” acknowledged Claude Ruibal, chairman and chief executive of Universal Sports.

The network was co-founded by Ruibal, a marketing executive who has worked at Coca-Cola and ad firm Saatchi & Saatchi, and Tom Hipkin, a board member.

The goal was to provide a 24-hour network dedicated to year-round coverage of Olympic and lifestyle sports like skiing, swimming, marathons and triathlons.

The business, originally called World Championship Sports Network, started off as a subscription Web site offering programming such as ice-skating world championships. Then in 2005, the pair sold a minority interest to MLB Advanced Media, the investment arm of Major League Baseball, and a majority stake to private equity group Intermedia Partners LP in 2007.

The investments allowed the business to make the move to cable, though it retains a content-filled Web site, UniversalSports.com.

Ruibal has purchased rights from many national and international sports sanctioning bodies, and now offers 2,000 hours of original programming annually. But prior to the NBC Universal deal, it never expected to be able to broadcast Olympic-related coverage from Vancouver.

“It was going to be difficult to gain the rights (from NBC),” he said.

Now, with its explosive growth, the company recently moved from studios in Glendale to the 40,000-square-foot studio and office space that Dole Food Co. Chairman David Murdock built a few years ago as part of his California Health & Longevity Institute and Four Seasons Hotel complex.

The high-definition facilities were originally supposed to support Murdock’s own health and wellness programming, but the billionaire has not pursued that. Ruibal said the network may incorporate such programming in the future.

Tee Time

Farmers Insurance Group made news last week when it stepped in at the last minute as title sponsor of the annual PGA Tour event held at Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla. The L.A.-based insurer spent $3.5 million to put its name on the golf tournament formally known as the Buick Invitational.

What is less known is that the property and casualty insurer, an affiliate of Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services, has done this sort of thing before. The company signed a last-minute deal in 2009 to become presenting sponsor at the L.A. Tennis Open held at UCLA.

“We have a theme developing,” said Kevin Kelso, Farmers chief marketing officer. “The tennis tournament was in a position where they didn’t have a title or presenting sponsor. As a hometown company, we wanted to step up.”

Still, the last-minute nature of the Torrey Pines sponsorship was not ideal. Some promotional materials, such as programs, and the tickets were sold without the Farmers name and logo.

“Television coverage will still say Farmers and we’ll be able to run advertisements, but the short lead time cuts into our ability to use it as an entertainment venue,” Kelso said.

Farmers first got into sports sponsorship three years ago when it partnered with California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports in the state. Now, it is partners with the governing bodies for high school sports in 19 states. The company’s logo also can be found on the jerseys of the L.A. Sparks women’s basketball team.

Staff reporter David Nusbaum can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 236.

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