URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/AED/apreelzchan04-24-09.htm

Friday, April 24, 2009
ReelzChannel Debuts in New Mexico
By Heather Clark
Associated Press
   
   Film historian and critic Leonard Maltin holds a world record for the shortest film review, but luckily for cable television network ReelzChannel that recently relocated to New Mexico the program host says that's not his usual style.
    Maltin, host of "Secret's Out," once reviewed the 1948 musical "Isn't it Romantic?" in one word - "No" - before giving it two out of four stars in the movie guide he's been publishing since he was 17 years old.
    "That's not my normal approach to film criticism," Maltin said in an interview Thursday. "I try to avoid smart alecky film criticism, but I'm only human and when I saw that title and decided the film wasn't very good, I though we could have a little fun with it."
    Maltin appeared with ReelzChannel executives as production of the network's programs began at the company's new 30,000-square-foot, all-digital headquarters at Albuquerque Studios on a desert mesa on the city's southeast side.
    The privately held ReelzChannel, owned by Hubbard Media Group, will employ about 100 people in Albuquerque, where it has started producing its programming, 80 percent of which is original. It will maintain a bureau in Los Angeles to cover entertainment events. Advertising sales will remain in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
    ReelzChannel is the latest company to respond to New Mexico's efforts to attract the film and television industry. In the past seven years, more than 115 major film projects - including the Oscar-winning "No Country For Old Men" - have been produced in the state.
    Maltin said he's "impressed" with the state's work to attract the entertainment industry.
    "When I started becoming aware several years ago of New Mexico as a new hub of filmmaking, I was, like a lot of people I think in Los Angeles, a little skeptical," he said. "... But then when I started hearing about films coming here and shooting indoors, that was different and I started paying closer attention."
    ReelzChannel chairman and chief executive Stan Hubbard said the network's move from Minneapolis-St. Paul and Los Angeles also made economic sense.
    "Our break-even in terms of viewership is about half of what it was if we would have kept operating out of Los Angeles and the Twin Cities," he said.
    Gary Thorne, ReelzChannel's president and chief operating officer, said moving to New Mexico with its tax incentives, lower wages and lower cost of living will save the company $10 million to $20 million annually.
    ReelzChannel can be seen in about 45 million households, Thorne said. About 65 million households receive digital television nationwide.
    The Hubbard family has been in the radio, and later television, business since 1923 and has owned KOB-TV, the NBC affiliate based in Albuquerque, since the late 1950s. KOB executives encouraged ReelzChannel to consider the city for its offices.
    The network, which began airing in September 2006, is not yet profitable, Hubbard said.
    "ReelzChannel is still very much a startup," he said. "We're still funding losses. We expect to be funding losses for the next few years, but we believe in what we're building."
    The network, which has just started being rated by Nielsen Media Research, hopes to have an all-day rating of 0.1, which means 0.1 percent of households that receive the show watch it.
    Right now the network's all-day rating is 0.02, but at times hits 0.3 to 0.4, Hubbard said.
    The company also produces Web content and is on pace to have 1.6 million visitors to its Web site this month. Last year, the company's video clips were seen by more than 95 million viewers on YouTube, Hubbard said.
    Digital television customers have 200 to 300 channels and 4,000 movie titles to choose from every month, said Hubbard, who said the idea for ReelzChannel grew out of the company's experience in digital television.
    "One of the things that we learned in that business is to get people to watch more movies made them a better subscriber to Showtime or HBO, but if they didn't recognize the title, there's almost no chance of them watching the movie. And, if they don't watch the movie, they don't value their subscription and you see where that takes us," Hubbard said.
    ReelzChannel's programming celebrates films, including made-for-television movies, older movies, major releases, independent films and documentaries.
    The network's office reflects its dedication to its subject. Offices are marked with placards that list the occupant's favorite movie, whether it's "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb," "The Graduate" or "Dumb and Dumber."
    Visitors are encouraged to judge the employees' choices.
    Maltin taped "Secrets Out," which includes an interview with Gov. Bill Richardson, on the company's new set Thursday. The program will air today on Comcast channel 161, DirecTV, Dish Network and cable stations across the country.
   

Copyright ©2009 Associated Press.
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