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Turner Boss Steve Koonin: ‘Industry Has Reached a Tipping Point’

May 15, 2013  •  Post A Comment

TBS and TNT today rolled out development slates involving major players in the industry, including Steven Spielberg, Dick Wolf, Steve Carell and Sylvester Stallone.

In making the announcement, Turner Entertainment Networks President Steve Koonin said: "For a decade, we’ve been beating the drum the loudest — that cable is as good as broadcast. Now, our industry has reached a tipping point. From creative strength to ratings power, cable has emerged as the leader in television. I’m proud of the role we’ve played at TNT and TBS. Today, we’re looking toward the next horizon — becoming a multiscreen video company serving multiple audiences."

Koonin spotlighted the company’s successes in the multiscreen world, including inviting fans to re-create an entire episode of TBS’s “Conan” through crowd-sourcing and fostering the creation of "Rizzles," an online community of “Rizzoli & Isles” devotees who create fan fiction based on the TNT drama series.

“Using a new, multi-dimensional research tool called ATHENA (Advanced Tool for Harnessing and Evaluating Network Audiences), TBS and TNT have begun to measure viewer engagement with the networks through social media and other digital platforms,” the company announced.

Execs took the wraps off the programming strategies today at the upfront presentation in New York. Other high-profile industry partners in developing new projects include Diablo Cody, Denis Leary, Nicholas Sparks, Marcia Clark, Dee Johnson, Walt Becker, Jamie Foxx and James Duff.

Koonin also announced that this summer TBS and TNT will become the industry’s first national entertainment networks to offer live streaming of their on-air lineups 24/7, as we reported separately.

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