SBC has appointed a number of television executives in support of its new internet protocol television initiative, Project Lightspeed.
The team, based in Los Angeles, will include executives previously responsible for programme acquisitions.
The appointments have been named as Amy Friedlander, Chris Lauricella, Richard Wellerstein, Richard Levine, and Martin Sansing.
Chris Lauricella joins SBC from DIRECTV, where he was director of programming acquisitions, while Richard Levine is a former acting director of programming acquisitions at the satellite broadcaster.
“We are very excited to add such a talented group of people to our team,” said Dan York, SBC head of programming. “They bring valuable experience and relationships as we continue to work with the programming community to deliver content to consumers in new and better ways.”
John Penny, a former executive with HBO and ACTV, was also recently appointed executive director of strategy and advertising management for the project, based at their headquarters in San Antonio. He says he will be aiming to provide a better environment for advertisers, likely to include targeted advertising.
Project Lightspeed is a $4 billion capital initiative by the American telecommunications company SBC to deploy fiber-to-the-neighborhood and fiber-to-the-premises technologies to 18 million households across 13 states by the end of 2007. The company plans to introduce its first products under the U-verse brand by early 2006.