The time is now ripe for breaking barriers to eliminate distracted driving. Distracted driving is now at the top of the list of problems to be solved to keep young drivers and those who share the road safe. That includes ALL drivers and pedestrians. Steve is the champion for the cause, and the team that he put together is methodically chipping away. With each week that passes, he's reporting more and more dealerships signing on. As this distribution continues to grow, Steve remains in hot pursuit of AAA and the insurance companies - BOTH of which will eventually fall in line with what I believe is Steve's strategy. The "event" of the purchase of a new or "re-purposed" vehicle - which in many cases involves a new driver - is a prime opportunity for "net new" accounts and new drivers to existing accounts... and retaining these accounts or luring them from other insurance brokers and policy underwriters. With this, there WILL be a new competitive advantage if the insurer has something to offer in support of the DD solution offered by the vehicle seller (the dealer). Or a DISadvantage, if not. And most folks realize that AAA is in direct competition with insurance companies on many fronts. This whole process will reach critical mass very soon, and we'll be hearing about the first new insurer or AAA "club" coming on board.
Steve will work out the bugs to get the Delaware tax issue solved, allowing the company to move forward with the broader plans involving other legs of the business. As he's said, he's got the attorney working on it, and he feels they are very close to getting the name/ticker change and related issues moving forward. That's great, but I'm more interested right now in what is on the plate today with the existing business. And Steve Berman is the right man for the job - couldn't ask for anyone more capable and qualified. Steve's statements in the articles below from his time with YES Network give a taste of how he thinks - forward thinking, an innovator, a strategist. There's also a reference to his 7.5 years with Time Warner before he went to work for YES Network.
DD - Steve Berman with YES Network & Time Warner
It can be seen with just a little bit of effort that Steve Berman, CEO of On4 Communications, has been very successful with sales & marketing. He's also a big thinker and innovator... who thinks big, acts and delivers. He didn't bask in limelight, so you won't find him all over the net, but there's a lot more out there than I've put here, if you really care to dig for it.
For "Steve the Business Entrepreneur," you can look here:
For pre-2009, it just takes a little bit more work.
Steve worked for Time Warner and YES Network. In MEDIA... ADVERTISING... SALES... MARKETING... YES - that's big money. What is YES Network? Well, Rupert Murdoch bought it (added 49%) for $3.4B in 2012 (this valued YES Network at $7B in 2012 - and Steve was the lead man running advertising, as SVP Advertising). Here's a bit more info about it - -
From 2012... "Last month Murdoch purchased 49% of the New York Yankees YES Network, the most-watched RSN in the country, for $3.4 billion, with Fox increasing its stake to 80% in three years." https://lawofficesofjonathanfranklin.blogspot.com/2012/12/?m=0
From December 2017... (and still a major national news item right now, as AT&T is still trying to buy Time Warner, and while Comcast is going all out to keep Disney from buying Fox Sports to rebrand under its ESPN platform.) "On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced plans to acquire all 22 regional Fox Sports networks from 21st Century Fox, including the company's 80% stake in YES. Once the deal is approved, the networks will be rebranded under ESPN.[9]"
YES Network expects to add a lineup of advertising opportunities when its new interactive telecasts come up to bat later this year.
The nation’s largest regional sports network, available to viewers in New York, Connecticut and parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, completed a deal last week with DirecTV and MLB.com to add several interactive elements to its regular-season New York Yankees games starting in July. Subscribers with interactive set-top boxes from DirecTV will be able to get updated statistics, box scores, out-of-town game scores and views from a special camera on-demand using their remote control. They’ll also be able to play interactive games against other viewers.
And YES plans to sell sponsorships for many of those features.
“The value proposition here is to get clients to be more involved in our broadcast,” said Steve Berman, senior VP of advertising for YES. “Even though the 30-second spot is a staple of what their base buy is all about, they’re trying to find different ways to reach the consumer.”
Ray Hopkins, chief operating officer of YES, said the interactive content will help sponsors form a closer connection with Yankees fans. “They’re watching on a daily basis. Now with the interactive element, they’ll be able to interact with it. Clients love that. If you can interact with not only the content, but in some fashion with their product, that creates sales volume.”
With the ink still wet on the deal, the network has only begun to think about elements of the interactive broadcast that can be sponsored, but already the list is growing.
“First of all, we have to play with it,” Mr. Berman said. “We have to see what it can do before we can go out there and sell it. We have to know what the bells and whistles are and we have to know how to package it, and we have to be able to say that it can do what it can do.”
Viewers who tune in during the fifth inning can check out Randy Johnson’s pitching line, a feature that might be sponsored by Chase, Mr. Berman said. Lists of who hit home runs and other statistics could also be sponsored.
On cable, McDonald’s sponsored the out-of-town scoreboard last season. The fast-food giant could also sponsor the interactive version of that feature, he said.
The special interactive camera, which would be aimed at one player per half-inning, could also be sponsored, Mr. Berman said. And the interactive game could be sponsored by a game company.
In addition to interactive content, the DirecTV technology allows viewers to receive additional advertising content, ranging from commercials on-demand to the ability to request more information or a sales call.
“All those capabilities are all doable from a technical standpoint,” Mr. Hopkins said. “What Steve needs to do is find out what’s of interest to the clients. And if we can monetize it, we will implement it.”
Some of the interactive ad opportunities might add value for important existing YES sponsors.
“When a client spends a lot of money, you want to make them as happy as you can because the more that they get out of it, the more we get out of it. We’re all about partnerships,” Mr. Berman said.
The new sponsorships also may open opportunities to other companies that currently can’t afford spots on the network.
“I get calls daily from people who really don’t have a lot of money to spend but want some way, shape or form to be associated with the Yankees and the YES Network. And these are the kind of opportunities that we can do with them.”
Mr. Berman also expects some interest from major companies and media buyers that would like to take batting practice with this latest bit of technology. “Being in the No. 1 market, it’s going to get a major amount of play,” he said. “People are going to test it, they’re going to try it. And they’re going to want to get in on the ground floor.” After all, if it works for YES, he said, it can be deployed in other markets where baseball is telecast by DirecTV.
Mr. Hopkins noted that while this deal relies on DirecTV technology, YES is prepared to work on interactive broadcasts on other platforms in order to maintain its pre-eminent position.
“We take a lot of pride in being the top regional sports network in the country,” Mr. Hopkins said. He noted that DirecTV is controlled by News Corp., which through Fox also operates a string of regional sports networks. “That Fox came to us speaks volumes,” he said. “This keeps YES Network on the cutting edge of technology.”
Here's another article with a quote from Steve Berman:
http://adage.com/print/109920
'Anytime Anywhere Media Measurement' in Place for 2007-2008 Season
By Abbey Klaassen Published: June 15, 2006
NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- In the wake of criticism that it has moved too slowly on measuring how people use content in an emerging multimedia digital environment, Nielsen unveiled an ambitious plan in which it promised electronic measurement of all media platforms, including MP3 players, cellphones, online video and out-of-home TV viewing.
...
Buyers and networks cheered the news that Nielsen would expand its measurement outside of the TV, but suggested there were still other issues that they hoped to see Nielsen making progress.
"The world is changing and people are viewing in different ways and looking to do things in different ways," said Steve Berman, senior VP-ad sales at local cable sports network YES. "Nielsen needs to be on that same page with the viewers."
...
YES Network was particularly buoyed that Nielsen would begin reporting out-of-home viewing. Sports networks have arguably the most to gain. An earlier out-of-home study Nielsen conducted in the New York market lifted YES's 18-to-49 ratings for men by almost 15%.
"It goes back to our point that there's more viewing going on than is being measured," said Mr. Berman.
Here's a 2005 article, an interview with a Time Warner exec:
Time Warner’s King Fischer JANET STILSON MAR 20, 2005
Larry Fischer began pioneering the cable system ad sales business 17 years ago when he created an ad sales division for ATC Manhattan Cable and Paragon Cable in New York City. But today Fischer has his eyes glued on a number of present brainteasers and future opportunities as the president of Time Warner Cable Media Sales. The division includes more than 30 field operations plus oversight of the Time Warner Cable’s involvement in several interconnects. Recently, Fischer talked with Multichannel News special projects editor Janet Stilson about a number of challenges and goalposts, including new audience-measurement tools now in the test phase that could bring startling clarity to the vulnerabilities and strengths of TV programming in local markets, as well as his high expectations for on-demand advertising revenue in the very near future. An edited transcript follows:
...
FISCHER: ...I’ve recently hired Howard Levinson to be our regional vice president in New York City, replacing Steve Berman who had been with the company for seven and a half years.
