H&C TV Strengthens Board with Experienced Broadcast and Equestrian Industry Execs
Monday 02 December 2013
Horse & Country TV, the specialist international equestrian sports and lifestyle network, is pleased to announce changes to its Board of Directors designed to accelerate the company’s international expansion and its commercial activities.
Jeff Kupsky, former President of Turner Broadcasting EMEA, and Phil Duff, most recently Managing Director of Ariat Europe, the leading equestrian footwear and apparel brand, and responsible for EMEA, will join the Board over the coming months. Both appointments will be effective January 1, 2014.
H&C TV CEO and Chairman, Heather Killen, said: “I am delighted to bring the tremendous talents of both Jeff and Phil to bear on the future of H&C TV. Their skills in the Pay TV industry and the equestrian sports and lifestyle sector respectively, along with the deep international experience they both possess, will be invaluable in this next phase of the company’s growth.”
Over the past 18 months, H&C TV has added to its distribution in the UK, Ireland and Malta, by launching localized services in both The Netherlands and Sweden, where it is available on a variety of cable and IPTV platforms including Ziggo and Com Hem.
Jeff Kupsky, a 20-year veteran of Turner Broadcasting, who shaped the company’s European business from its earliest days, said: “Horse & Country TV’s audience is a highly aspirational passion group that is attractive to distributors and advertisers alike. The channel has an established position in mature pay TV markets and ample opportunity for future growth. The strong digital community that has developed around H&C TV also makes it a model for a contemporary specialist channel.”
Phil Duff, who established the iconic Ariat footwear and apparel brand in Europe, the Middle East, Japan and southern Africa, commented: “Equestrian sector brands have traditionally been well served by print media, however with readership of many titles static or in decline, H&C TV represents a slew of new opportunities for companies seeking to capitalize on the multi-billion dollar equestrian sports and lifestyle markets. We live in a digital age and although our industry can be slow to change, it has never failed to do so. H&C TV is leading the way and represents a very exciting prospect for the future.”
Kupsky and Duff will join Desi Dillingham MBE, who has held multiple high profile roles in the UK equestrian sector including President of the British Horse Society, and who is now Special Advisor (Dressage) to Equine Canada, Killen, and H&C TV Managing Director, Richard Burdett, on the Company’s board. Current directors Sir Roger Jones and Tim Forrest, are stepping down following the end of their terms of service.
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