IN THE NEWS: SENIOR VP OF PROGRAMMING ROB FARIS TALKS WITH C21MEDIA

January 4, 2012

(Westport, CT)

C21 Reorter: If you could find the answer to one question at Natpe 2012, what would it be and how would it help your business?

Rob Faris: The answer I’m hoping to take away from Natpe 2012 is whether there is enough high-quality content from around the globe that fits our brand for Outside Television. Ultimately, I want to establish key relationships with content producers and distributors from around the globe that can help build our brand into a strong and entertaining network here in the States.

Outside Magazine has been the active lifestyle market leader for over 30 years and we are now building the TV network and digital platforms that mirror that. From sports and environmental issues to adventure and travel, I feel there is great story-based, non-fiction programming to be found and Natpe is my first stop in what I believe will be a very aggressive 2012 on the programming front.

C21: How will the content business be different a year from now and what are you doing to adapt your business in order to evolve?

RF: At the end of the day we have to find the stories and story-makers that produce great content, but what we are doing is making sure we are providing our consumers content on every platform. Whether it’s digital, TV, print, tablet or mobile, the Outside brand is going to be there, and in many cases we are already there. Our audience is a very affluent one that tends to be early adopters of new technology, so it’s our job to provide them with compelling content on all of these platforms. That is a major focus for us.

C21: What is the single biggest threat to your business during the next 12 months and how do you intend to overcome it?

RF: A threat is a tough thing to define; the current economy is a threat to every business today so staying nimble and flexible is an absolute must. We are actually in a growth stage for Outside Television and expansion of our footprint is key, so having the patience and proper game plan in place allows us to meet our goals while delivering a new high-quality product to our audience.

C21: What is the greatest opportunity for your business in the next year and how to you intend to best exploit it?

RF: The greatest opportunity for our TV network in 2012 is increased distribution. Whether that be through conventional cable operators or other avenues. We have done a lot of groundwork in the last 18 months to prepare us for this moment and we feel we are in the perfect place.

C21: Is there one event, technology, innovation or trend you think will most significantly define the content business in 2012?

RF: I’m personally a big fan of Twitter so I’m curious to see what they have in store for 2012 in regards to sharing content. From a content creation standpoint – no question – the story is YouTube. They are spending a lot of money in the marketplace and I’m curious to see where this all goes. One thing for sure, people are consuming more content than ever and now they can do it in so many ways.

This interview was reprinted from c21 Media