User:Lynnhatmaker/sandbox

Kevin Annison
Kevin D. Annison (born September 1967) is a television executive with over 25 years of experience working in sports and cable television. He currently (2015) holds the position of Vice President and General Manager of Speed Channel, Inc, a unit of Fox Sports cable networks group.

Annison is based in Charlotte, NC and oversees the Digital Media group of Fox Sports SPEED.

Annison grew up in Canada, attended University in Florida and has lived in 4 cities during his sports and cable television career including St. Petersburg, Tampa, Orlando, and Charlotte.

'''

Sports and Cable Television Network
'''[edit]

Annison started his career in finance at the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey club (1993-1996) overseeing hockey operation budgets and assisted with Ice Palace stadium financing.

He was then was hired as the Director of Business Affairs (2006) at Sunshine Network regional sports network Fox Sports and was responsible for oversight of all network business operations along with sports rights and cable affiliate pricing and deal analysis. He was promoted to Assistant General Manager of Sunshine Network (2000).

In 2001 Fox Sports acquired Speedvision network and Annison was promoted and hired as Vice President of Finance & Operations (2001-2006) and transferred to Charlotte, NC to oversee the acquisition of Speedvision and played a key role in the realunch, relocation and rebranding of the network to Speed Channel, Inc. He also oversaw the networks Canadian Affiliate agreement negotiations.

Digital Media Expertise
In 2005 while at SPEED, Annison pioneered and launched the digital and interactive media division for the network and was promoted to Vice President and General Manager where he was responsible for oversight of all the networks digital initiatives including the networks websites, mobile web & app's, editorial/program development, TV anywhere initiatives, video on-demand distribution, integrated ad sales & marketing initiatives, social media brand extensions, along with all technology and digital operations. Annison and his team recorded many successes:


 * In 2010 Annison and his digital team launched one of the first 24/7 "authenticated" broadband channels SPEED2.com that had live and on-demand motorsports racing from around the world along with on-demand SPEED Original auto enthusiast programming.
 * Created and launched the highly successful and innovative interactive Fantasy Bid game around the Barrett Jackson Collector Car Auction broadcasts where viewers watched the telecast & had a chance to win prizes buy guessing the correct final dollar amount a car would be auctioned. The game was nominated for CableFax Best of Web Award and in 2012 with the grand prize a 2012 Ford Mustang, the game hit a record high and registered over 1.6m Fantasy Bids and was a major sponsor. Further successes occurred in 2013 and 2014 with other vehicles as the grand prize.
 * Launched exclusive SPEED Originals online VOD libraries on Hulu & iTunes
 * Launched and created multi-platform second-screen digital deals with NASCAR and Turner Sports (Hong) including cable affiliate deals (Comcast) and exclusive video mobile deals used in the Sprint Cup Mobile application.
 * Expanded Formula 1 digital media rights and was the first entity to stream F1 on-board car cameras online as a PPV offering and then expanded the right into a multi-year sponsored offering starting with the United States Grand Prix in 2008.
 * Launched exclusive on-board streaming platforms from MotoGP, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Barrett Jackson Auto Auction, American Le Mans, Rolex and United Sports Car series.
 * Oversaw the expansion of SPEED and NASCAR on SPEED social media accounts that transitioned to NASCAR on FOX & Fox Sports SPEED

Education
Annison graduated from University of Tampa with a BS degree in Business Management.