Tony Ponturo, Fran Shea, and Seth Waugh Join BACK9NETWORK Advisory Board

HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- BACK9NETWORK, the golf lifestyle network, has comprised a diverse team of business luminaries with vast expertise in entertainment, cable television, sports marketing, and finance to serve on the newly launched network's Advisory Board.  BACK9NETWORK's Advisory Board will initially include Tony Ponturo, Fran Shea, and Seth Waugh.

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As BACK9NETWORK looks to extend its golf lifestyle brand across both linear and digital platforms, the Advisory Board will lend a wide scope of expertise to further drive value and opportunity for the network, since debuting September 29, 2014 nationally in 20M DIRECTV homes and via its website, www.back9network.com, which continues to grow, having reached the 2 million monthly unique visitor mark this summer.

"We are honored to have such a remarkable group of highly successful business leaders work with our senior management team to further develop strategic opportunities for our lifestyle brand, and help achieve key goals within our advertising, programming, marketing, and distribution efforts," said Charles Cox, Chief Executive Officer, BACK9NETWORK.

Tony Ponturo, sports and entertainment industry veteran, commented, "BACK9NETWORK is a great example of a company meeting the marketplace, and I look forward to helping their growth strategies through an active role within its Advisory Board."

Fran Shea, former President, E! Entertainment Television added, "As an advisor to BACK9NETWORK, I see a unique opportunity to serve viewers not simply interested in watching golf on television, but where golf is a significant element of their lifestyle.  BACK9NETWORK's target audience authentically loves the game, yet is equally interested in where it is played and the entertainment that surrounds it.  Back9's launch slate of programming is uniquely strong, and the future potential of the network is exciting."

Seth Waugh, former Deutsche Bank CEO, remarked, "BACK9NETWORK represents a real opportunity to fill a gap by entertaining and engaging those of us who love the game and the lifestyle surrounding it.  I look forward to being actively involved on the Advisory Board towards realizing that goal."

ABOUT BACK9NETWORK'S ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS:

Tony Ponturo – Tony Ponturo currently serves as Partner, Kirmser Ponturo Group, LLC- a sports and entertainment consulting firm that has produced Tony Award-winning plays including "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf" and "Memphis" as well as sports productions including "Lombardi" "Magic Bird" and "Bronx Bombers."  Previously, Ponturo spent 26 years at Anheuser-Busch, serving as Vice President, Global Media and Sports Marketing for 17 of those years.  Throughout his career Ponturo has been ranked among the top 20 most powerful people in sports and ranked 14 among Business Week's top 100 most prominent executives.

Fran Shea – Fran Shea was formerly the President of E! Entertainment Television and is now a consultant for broadcast, cable, and digital media firms with a broad range of experience in business, content, and audience development.  Under her leadership, E! Entertainment Television, which is available in 90M homes, reached record profitability and launched a second network, Style.  She oversaw international business and managed E!-Online to continued revenue growth, managed a technical staff of 700, and was responsible for the creative growth of the channel, including the development of all original programming including True Hollywood Story, Talk Soup, and E! News Daily.  Prior to E! Shea was a production executive at HBO, where she produced Emmy Award-winning "James Stewart's Wonderful Life."  Additionally, Shea founded and developed HBOlab- a content-driven, creative experiment within HBO to create multi-platform content for the many digital and various social network businesses.

Seth Waugh – Waugh currently serves as the Vice Chairman of Business Development at Florida East Coast Industries, LLC.  Prior to his role with FECI, Waugh spent 13 years with Deutsche Bank serving as CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas Holding Corp, CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas Finance LLC, and acted as Chairman of Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, which administers the philanthropic activities of Deutsche Bank within the United States, Canada, and Latin America.  Previously, Waugh spent 11 years in senior management at Merrill Lynch.

ABOUT BACK9NETWORK:

BACK9NETWORK is a golf lifestyle television network and media company based in Hartford, CT.  BACK9NETWORK was developed as a complementary alternative to traditional media's focus on professional golf tournament coverage.  Focused on compelling storytelling and personalities, features and fashions, interviews and instruction, travel, gear and much more, fans of all kinds will want to hang with the BACK9NETWORK.  BACK9NETWORK.com, the online clubhouse for BACK9NETWORK, delivers a fresh perspective on the golf lifestyle and its worldwide influence.  BACK9NETWORK'S leadership includes respected and outspoken executives from the golf and media industries.  For further information, visit www.BACK9NETWORK.com, @BACK9NETWORK on Twitter or BACK9NETWORKTV's YouTube Channel.

SOURCE BACK9NETWORK

Related Links

http://www.back9network.com

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