SBC Communications has beefed up its “Project Lightspeed” IPTV initiative with people who know a thing or two about video services.
Joining the programming team are:
Amy Friedlander, formerly of Xantham Partners and now-defunct IP VOD provider Intertainer, will oversee advanced products and new media at SBC.
Three former DirecTV execs: Chris Lauricella, who will handle sports programming; Richard Levine, who will head up local programming and broadcast transmission; Richard Wellerstein, will focus on video on demand. Wellerstein also is of In Demand and Sony Pictures Television.
Martin Sansing, a former consultant for Roll Strategy who also handled business development at Intertainer, will concentrate on SBC’s content strategy and new media.
Denita Willoughby, a nine-year SBC vet, will join the programming team to concentrate on “ethnic and emerging” networks.
SBC’s programming team is based in Los Angeles and headed up by Dan York.
SBC is in the process of spending $4 billion on fiber-to-the-node (FTTN) and fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) networks that will reach a combined 18 million homes by year-end 2007.
