New NBC chief unveils strategy

NBC Super Channel is planning further programming changes this autumn to consolidate recent sales and audience growth, the channel said this week as it announced the appointment of a new European head.

NBC has named Roger Ogden president and managing director of NBC Super Channel. He joins in August and replaces Ruud Hendriks who left the pan-European channel earlier this year.

“There are a number of priorities,” says Ogden. “Maintaining and building our distribution is near the top. As is continuing to refine our programming. We will look for creative ways to provide local content, country by country.”

Establishing an improved method to calculate pan-European TV ratings will also be a priority, he adds.

Sales director Peter Bullard reports advertising business up 50 per cent year on year, between January and June 1995. New advertisers on air in recent months include Chrysler, DHL and Perrier, which has been signed up in the channel’s second sponsorship deal.

Perrier has committed itself to sponsoring the movie show Entertainment Express on NBC Super Channel in Europe until the end of July. The deal also covers NBC Super Channel Asia, which launches in September, and is likely to be extended to an in-flight relay of the series following a recent programme supply deal with United Airlines.

The soft drink brand is running a promotion themed to the channel, offering consumers the chance to win a trip to visit behind the scenes of top-rating NBC series Tonight with Jay Leno.

“We are enjoying steady growth,” Bullard says. “Last year we doubled revenue, this year we are also enjoying strong growth.”

New investment will resultin a number of programme enhancements from the autumn, he adds. This is likely to include a new early evening celebrity talk show.

NBC Super Channel claims it can now be seen in more than 66 million homes and 350,000 hotel rooms across Europe.