Edward Huguez to Head Sales for Starz Encore
Multichannel vet Edward L. Huguez joins Starz Encore Group, Llc. as evp, sales, filling the position vacated by Robert Clasen when he was promoted to president/coo earlier this year.
"Ed brings to us a nearly ideal set of skills and experiences," Clasen said. "His experience as a DBS operator complements my own background as a cable operator. Between us we have almost two decades working for Starz' two largest distributors (Comcast and DIRECTV). In addition, Ed brings a good understanding of the cable business from his days at ESPN. I especially like the mix of program acquisition, affiliate sales and new technology platform experience. Finally he led entrepreneurial companies involved in new technologies such as on-demand and Internet distribution, which will be the key to the future of Starz on all distribution platforms."
Clasen noted that he has known Huguez for more than six years and served on the board of advisors for Midsteam during Huguez' term as head of the company.
Huguez said, "Starz has a solid foundation as a nearly billion-dollar business, but I believe its greatest opportunities lie ahead. In the second quarter of this year we saw the launch of STARZ! Ticket on Real Movies and the addition of a record breaking 950,000 new STARZ! subscribers on cable and satellite. I look forward to the challenge of continuing to accelerate the growth of our base business even as we pioneer the concept of an Internet-delivered subscription movie service."
Huguez comes to Starz from Midstream Technologies Inc., where he served for three years as president, ceo and chairman. Midstream is a Seattle-based company that provides interactive and video-on-demand technology to cable television companies.
From 1992 to 1998, Huguez was vp/gm for DIRECTV new media and interactive programming and platforms group, and, prior to that, was vp, programming acquisitions. He was part of the executive team that launched DirecTV in 1992. DIRECTV is now the largest DBS service provider in the U.S., serving some 12.6 million customers.
Huguez began his career in the multichannel industry working for ESPN in affiliate sales from 1987 to 1992. He was coo at Intervu Inc., a pioneer in video streaming on the Internet for such companies as CNN. In 2000 Intervu was acquired by Akamai Technologies Inc., where Huguez served as svp.
Englewood, Colorado-based Starz Encore Group LLC (Starz) is the largest provider of premium movie services in the U.S. with approximately 164 million pay units. Starz Encore offerings include the Starz Super Pak, with up to 13 digital movie channels and more than 750 movies per month, Starz On Demand, the only on-demand pay TV subscription service available on cable, satellite and broadband platforms, and a suite of advanced video offerings, including STARZ! HD, Encore HD and Starz On Demand HD. Starz Encore (www.starzencore.com) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp.