Joe Durkin
Senior Director Corporate Communications
(727) 329-2926
Joe.Durkin@mybrighthouse.com
BRIGHT HOUSE NETWORKS AND BRAVO ANNOUNCE LOCAL STUDENT AS A WINNER IN NATIONWIDE COMPETITION ‘BRAVO ON THE SET’
Valrico, Florida Student Wins an Internship with NBC Universal Cable in New York City
( Tampa, Florida – June 30, 2006) – Bright House Networks and Bravo, the premier arts and entertainment network, are proud to announce Cathryn Skinner from Valrico, FL is a winner in the nationwide competition, Bravo On The Set. Bravo On The Set is Bravo’s national educational initiative designed to provide students hands-on experience in television production while building essential professional skills and fostering diversity in the workplace. This talented student is one of fifteen students from across the country selected (by a panel of judges) to go to New York City to participate in a seven-day television production internship.
In July, Miss Skinner will work with industry professionals to learn the fundamentals of television production and create programming that will be available to air on local channels. During the week, she will visit several television facilities including the NBC Studios and will spend time working on the set of an NBC Universal production. The culmination of this training will be a screening of the videos produced by the students.
In addition to sending Miss Skinner to New York City, Bright House Networks and Bravo will donate $1,000 to Brandon High School, which can be used to the fund its media arts programs. An official presentation recognizing her achievement will be made at the School District of Hillsborough County. The date and time will be announced when plans are finalized.
“We congratulate Cathryn Skinner on this accomplishment and are proud to partner with Bravo in providing our local youth with such a positive community program,” said Greg McLaughlin, Assistant General Manager of Bright House Networks. “We know she will do a fantastic job in New York and wish her the best.
Students ages 14 - 18 entered Bravo On The Set's National Contest by submitting a 250-500 word essay on the importance of diversity in television. Television industry judges chose the15 finalists based on the quality and creativity of their essays, and teacher recommendations.
“As a network committed to showcasing innovative and entertainment programming, Bravo is also dedicated to improving media arts programs in schools across the country,” said Lauren Zalaznick, President, Bravo. “Bravo is proud to team up with Bright House Networks in offering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our future television producers in this community. “Bravo On The Set will help pave the way in cultivating a more diverse landscape in our industry by reaching out to today’s youths at a critical point in their lives.”
Broadening the program’s reach, Bravo partnered with National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) and The Cable Center to create opportunities and invite a more diverse pool of young talent to consider further education and, ultimately, careers in the television industry.
Bravo On The Set is a natural extension of the Bravo cable network’s unique programming. This national promotion seeks to raise the awareness of the positive impact of media arts participation on teens, while providing them with an avenue to voice their opinions through the creation of their own television programming. To find out more about Bravo’s unique programs, visit www.bravotv.com.
About Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is managed by Advance/Newhouse Communications and serves over 2 million subscribers in cable television systems in and around Tampa Bay, Central Florida, Indianapolis, Birmingham, Bakersfield and Detroit, along with several smaller systems in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Public affairs, social responsibility and community involvement continue as major initiatives for the company as an ongoing commitment to the families and communities Bright House Networks serves. This includes long-term commitments to education and to what matters in the lives of the Bright House Networks customers. The company also exclusively provides Central Florida News 13 and Bay News 9, 24-hour local news stations in Central Florida and the Tampa Bay area.
About Bravo
Bravo is the cable network that plugs people into arts, culture and pop culture with original programming, movies and by showing a whole different side of celebrities. Currently available in more than 80 million homes, Bravo is known for breaking exciting new personalities, shaking up the way we look at style, media, fame and Hollywood, pulling back the curtain on the creative process and making influential and inventive original programming. Its critically acclaimed and award-winning original programming includes "Inside the Actors Studio," "Celebrity Poker Showdown," "Project Greenlight," as well as the 2004 Emmy winner for Outstanding Reality Program, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." The network's latest hits include "Project Runway," "Blow Out" and "Being Bobby Brown."
About NBC Universal Cable
NBC Universal Cable, a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's preeminent media companies, drives the company's cable strategic development and growth including video-on-demand, pay-per-view, HDTV, TV EST (electronic sell-through), TV Wireless distribution and retransmission consent, and oversees the cable distribution, marketing and local ad sales of fourteen properties (Bravo, CNBC, CNBC World, MSNBC, mun2, NBC Weather Plus, SCI FI, ShopNBC, Sleuth, Telemundo, Telemundo Puerto Rico, Universal HD, USA and the Olympics on cable). NBC Universal Cable also directs and manages the company's cable and new media investments including A&E, The History Channel, History Channel International, The Biography Channel, National Geographic International, the Sundance Channel and Tivo.
