/ 09.13.2010 12:00AM
Executives Appointed for Joint Venture 3D Channel
LOS ANGELES: Two executives have
been tapped to help spearhead the 3D
joint venture between Sony, Discovery Communications and IMAX. Julia Rao has
been named chief financial officer and Mark Ringwald is the new director of scheduling
and acquisitions. The announcement was made by joint venture president and
CEO, Tom Cosgrove. The triad announced in January the development of a 24/7 3D
channel for Discovery to launch next year.
“Julia and Mark bring extensive industry experience and incredible enthusiasm
to our fast-growing 3D team,” Cosgrove said in a prepared statement. “By
leveraging the unmatched strength and expertise of Sony, Discovery and IMAX, we
will establish this network as the leader in 3D with the most extensive library
of original and exclusive high-quality 3D content available anywhere.”
As CFO, Rao is responsible for strategic planning, financial analysis and
budgeting for the joint venture, including forecasting and analysis of all
revenue and expenses relating to advertising sales, affiliate sales,
programming, marketing, communications, research and staffing.
Rao previously served as CFO for several Discovery U.S. networks, including
Animal Planet, Planet Green, Discovery Health and FitTV. She also served
as senior director for the network portfolio comprised of Discovery Channel,
Science Channel, Military Channel and Investigation Discovery, where she
managed program investments for nearly 1,000 hours of original content. Before
joining Discovery, Rao served in consulting capacities at The World Bank and
National Science Foundation. She received her MBA from the Robert H. Smith
School of Business at the University of Maryland.
As director of scheduling and acquisitions, Ringwald will oversee scheduling
and programming strategy for the joint venture, including long-form and
short-form program acquisition and long-term programming and scheduling
strategy. Most recently, he was vice president of programming for AmericanLife
TV Network, a basic cable family-themed network available in over 13 million
U.S. homes. He also produced and directed educational programming and
documentaries for Educational Television Services. Ringwald is a graduate of
Texas Tech University