Wednesday, July 14, 1999 | 12:04 p.m.
The Las Vegas experience would be the platform for a proposed international television network unveiled today.
Comspan Communications Inc., a Santa Monica, Calif.-based consulting firm specializing in television network development, has been retained by the Greenspun Corp. to develop the Vegas Television Network.
Principals hope to have a network on the air next year.
"This is one of the last big ideas left for cable television," said Larry Namer, head of Comspan. "We've already identified 30 television shows that logically can come out of Las Vegas that can be executed very well."
Namer, who founded E! Entertainment Television Inc., said many of the concepts being explored revolve around the entertainment industry.
"We could take the preview approach like I did with E!, showing clips of current shows," Namer said. "Clearly, there is an opportunity for a late-night (talk) show, dealing with the many celebrities that pass through Vegas. Clearly there's a morning show opportunity. There could also be an incredible cooking show.
"Everybody's putting their flagships in Las Vegas," so entertainers, chefs and celebrities are readily available here, he said.
Weekend programming, he said, could be devoted to sports fans with shows about current wagering lines.
"The line is set in Vegas," Namer said. "Before people sit down and watch those games, many are interested in the issues of the line."
Namer said the network would be headquartered in Las Vegas and would use production facilities that would be built in the city.
"The thinking is to buy or build the baseline stuff that we need to crank things out everyday and use production companies and production houses to deal with the ups and downs of production to maintain flow," Namer said.
Comspan, founded in 1989, developed business plans for several niche cable television networks, including The Documentary Channel, Recovery Networks, Hobby Craft Interactive, Museum World, Insight and Expo Networks International.
Because Namer has contacts within the industry and already has sold network concepts to cable and satellite companies, he is confident the Vegas Television Network would be accepted by several outlets.
He said he's also looking at international outlets in Asia, Europe and South America that may not take the feed 24 hours, but could get it at prime times during the day.
Comspan also was a consultant to Microsoft Corp.'s interactive television project, MiTV. Comspan and the company's new media division, Steeplechase Media, have worked on projects with several entertainment companies, including Big Ticket Entertainment, Pacific Motion Pictures, Film Roman, Internet Cable Corp., Big Online and WebTV.
Interactive television may be a key element to the network, Namer said. By using interactive capabilities of TV, the network could become a means to book reservations for hotel rooms and shows.
Comspan and Greenspun were brought together by Tony Oleshansky, a Hollywood manager and producer, and the Entertainment Development Corp. of Las Vegas. They will work with Comspan to plan, implement and manage the project.
Namer said it would take three months to develop the plan. He said he hopes to have a network in operation by mid- to late 2000.
"We're in the process of finding all the people we need, all the strategic partners," Oleshansky said. "The first thing we did was bring in Comspan. Larry Namer is one of the premiere guys in creating independent networks."
Because many viewers are fascinated by Las Vegas, Oleshansky believes an "all Vegas all the time" network would work.
"We hope to show anything and everything that takes place in Las Vegas," Oleshansky said. "News, sports, behind the scenes ... they're all part of it."
While Namer and Oleshansky have been contemplating a Las Vegas network for a few years, the concept has also been a dream of Danny Greenspun, vice president of the Las Vegas Sun, for nearly two decades.
The Greenspun Corp. operates the Las Vegas Sun, sister publications and the vegas.com Internet site. It is a partner with KLAS-TV and Cox Communications in Las Vegas One, a 24-hour cable television network that features newscasts and a new news analysis program called "POV Vegas."
"Tony (Oleshansky) and Larry (Namer) are developing the book to create this network," Greenspun said. "They're determining what programming is going to work, what we launch with, how much it costs. It definitely feeds off the Las Vegas entertainment experience."
When Comspan and Oleshansky deliver their network concepts, they'll also have some cost estimates. Greenspun believes it will take between $100 million and $200 million to get the network off the ground. How it would be financed is a part of the study.
The Entertainment Development Corp. of Las Vegas' role was bringing the parties together.
"What the Entertainment Development Corp. did was bring Tony (Oleshansky) and Larry (Namer) to the Greenspun family," said Mimosa Jones, president of the EDC. "Like in many other deals, we acted as a bridge for this company in Hollywood to the local community."
The introduction generated enough interest for Danny Greenspun to become chairman of the EDC's board of directors, he said.
"What we're doing now is serving as a resource to the parties," Jones said. "We're telling them what our crew base looks like, what some of the local costs are."
The project also could go a long way toward the EDC's goal of turning Las Vegas into a major competitor in the motion picture industry. Jones said the Vegas Television Network would bring in additional equipment and expertise that would be valuable to other film crews.
"It puts Las Vegas on another level," Jones said. "A worldwide cable network could touch thousands of households every day. It would also help us share other elements of our community that people don't know about that we'd like to share."
