Crunchyroll and GSN have teamed up to launch a new Crunchyroll free ad-supported streaming television channel that will promote anime 24 hours a day.

The new channel launched Wednesday on LG Channels, The Roku Channel and Vizio WatchFree Plus. It will be added to Amazon Freevee on Oct. 17.

Crunchyroll and GSN are both controlled by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

“Crunchyroll Channel is a gateway to the world of anime where we will guide viewers to discover new worlds, new stories and new characters,” Rahul Purini, president of Crunchyroll, said. “And thanks to our distribution partners at launch, millions of fans have easy access to the medium that is taking the world by storm.”

Also Read: AMC Networks Adds to Streaming Portfolio with Sentai Anime Acquisition

The network will be programmed with series dubbed in English at launch. 

Series available at launch include Horimiya, Ranking of Kings, Moriarty the Patriot, PSYCHO–PASS, Arifureta, Sugar Apple Fairytale, To Your Eternity and Code Geass. 

Going forward, blocks will be scheduled for viewers to sample the wide range of anime being created from Japan.

New and premium anime content will remain on Crunchyroll’s SVOD and AVOD services.

Also Read: Crunchyroll News Relaunches With Expanded Coverage and Features

“GSN is thrilled by the massive response from our platform partners for this channel, which is a testament to Crunchyroll’s brand and library.  We are grateful to bring this channel to market,” said Tim Carry, executive VP of distribution for GSN, 

Game Show Network has been blacked out to Dish Network satellite-TV customers and Sling TV virtual MVPD subscribers in a carriage dispute.

“We have been working with Game Show Network for months to finalize a fair agreement for our customers,” Dish senior VP of programming Andy LeCuyer said. “Unfortunately, Game Show Network made the decision to remove its service from Dish and Sling, backpedaling out of a handshake agreement to continue carriage of their service on our platforms. This is a deceitful negotiation tactic aimed at our customers, putting them in the middle.”

Dish said it remains open to working with GSN to reach a fair agreement and hopes to restore the channel soon.

“We’re deeply disappointed in Game Show Network’s decision to remove its channel at the expense of its viewers,” LeCuyer said. "We will continue fighting on behalf of our customers to come to a fair deal that is beneficial for all."

In a statement, GSN said it tried to get a deal done with Dish, “but after eight months of negotiations we could not agree to their demands.”

GSN noted that Dish has previously removed stations seeking retransmission payments and regional sports networks. "Dish is choosing to do this to Game Show Network, an independent network, that costs virtually nothing compared to local retransmission or sports networks,” it said.

On its website, GSN warned Dish subscribers they could lose the channels and urged them to get in contact with the satellite operator. 

Dish noted that its subscribers could still watch many popular Game Show Network programs via Pluto TV. It added that new episodes of Family Feud can be found on ABC. 

GSN is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, which bought out a minority interest held by satellite-TV rival DirecTV in 2019. ■

Sony’s GSN said it reached a distribution agreement with Google’s YouTube TV that will add Game Show Network and getTV to YouTube TV’s basic package.

YouTube TV is one of the biggest virtual MVPDs with about 4 million subscribers.

GSN’s Sony Cine will be launched as part of a Spanish-language add-on package expected to debut soon...

Also: John Zaccario Named President at Sony’s GSN Operations

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“We are thrilled YouTube TV is now providing the best in game show and iconic TV series with Game Show Network and getTV to all of it customers, along with delivering the excitement of blockbuster movies to their Hispanic audience with Sony Cine,” said Tim Carry, executive VP distribution for Game Show Network, getTV and Sony Cine. ■

John Zaccario has been appointed president of Sony’s GSN.

Zaccario, previously executive VP for ad sales, GSN, will oversee the GSN cable network. He will also be responsible for Game Show Enterprises, getTV, Sony Movies, Sony Cine and the distribution of the Game Show Network and Sony libraries via free ad-supported streaming TV channels.

He succeeds Mark Feldman. Feldman left he company to join Scopely, which bought GSN Games.

“As a longtime member of GSN’s management team, John has demonstrated terrific leadership and delivered strong ad sales results for the organization over the years. We are delighted to have him step into the position of president, leading GSN and our digital and FAST channels business in the U.S.,” said Ravi Ahuja, chair, global television studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment corporate development. “Our game show businesses are incredibly important areas of focus for us and we will continue to invest and expand them into the future.”

Zaccario joined Game Show Network in 2008. Before that he was with ESPN Digital Media, ABC Entertainment, ABC News, Raycom Sports and Katz Television.

“GSN is in the advantageous position of being able to access Sony Pictures Television's vast resources and leadership in game shows. We will continue to demonstrate our commitment to our core audience on Game Show Network and other platforms by producing and distributing exciting game shows that families can enjoy together,” said Zaccario. “I am beyond grateful for the opportunity to lead this high performing team as we navigate the exciting opportunities provided by the dynamic media landscape.” ■

Game Show Network said it has offered distributors a free preview of the service through April, charging no additional license fees for incremental customers gained in that period. 

“Game Show Network is offering its family friendly programming in free preview in an effort to support our clients at a time when more of their customers are at home and need entertainment,” said Tim Carry, executive VP of distribution at the network, which is in about 64 million homes and is owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

A network representative said affiliates had responded positively to the offer, and the network expected to gain about 10 million homes during the preview. 

Related: Hallmark Channel Offers Christmas Fare March 20-22

Networks in the family friendly space have been either doing scheduling changes or just trying to draw attention to their programming during a period when many schools are closing amid coronavirus fears and kids are being educated at home, including by parents forced to telecommute. NewsNet, which operates as a digital subchannel on TV stations' bandwidth, said Thursday it was offering short-term affiliations to stations wanting to add more news programming temporarily.  

Pictured: John Michael Higgins and America Says on Game Show Network.

Game Show Network, heading into the 2019 upfronts, said it has renewed freshman series Common Knowledge (hosted by Joey Fatone) and Caroline Rhea-starrer Caroline & Friends and greenlit two new strip series, Best Ever Trivia Show and a Catch 21 reboot.

Other returning shows include survey-matching game show America Says, hosted by John Michael Higgins (pictured), for a third season, and short-form sweepstake program Game Show Network Daily Draw, hosted by Trish Suhr.

Common Knowledge, which tests contestants on facts that should be commonly known, launched in January 2019 to become the network's top show in terms of total viewers. America Says, meanwhile, is the network's top show among the core demographic of women ages 25-54.

“Game Show Network has more than tripled its original programming output over the last few seasons, and we are introducing an even larger slate of originals in 2019,” Fran Shea, executive VP, programming and marketing at the channel, said in a release. “We have dedicated viewers who see us as their leave-on channel for family-friendly escapist fun and games, and we are committed to entertaining them with a consistent viewer experience.”

“In a crowded space, our story is unique. We are experiencing growth in metrics that seem unlikely given today’s landscape,” network ad-sales executive VP John Zaccario added in the release. “This coupled with an audience composed of prolific consumers, makes Game Show Network an attractive option for advertisers.”

In the Best Ever Trivia Show, three contestants face off against three trivia experts. The winning player then goes head-to-head against the expert with the highest score in the final round – the ultimate trivia challenge. The expert is asked six multiple choice questions and if the player gets one or more correct answers than the Expert, the player wins $10,000 and take his or her spot in trivia history. Produced by Game Show Enterprises for Game Show Network. Brennan Huntington serves as executive producer.

Catch 21, also from Game Show Enterprises, is a fast-action series blending pop trivia with the tension-filled excitement of the classic card game, 21. Dealing out larger-than-life playing cards, the host quizzes contestants with general-knowledge questions as they attempt to build the closest hand to 21. Part knowledge, part nerve, and part strategy, every correct answer is a chance to add a card and build a better hand or pass the card and “bust” the competition. In addition, every correct answer gives a player control of the deck and the option of “freezing” their hand to protect themselves from being “busted” later in the round. Putting a familiar twist on a classic game, players match wits and put victory on the line in every round with the turn of a card and the next correct answer. Produced by Game Show Enterprises for Game Show Network. Scott Sternberg and Merrill Heatter Productions, Inc. serve as executive producers.

Sony Pictures Entertainment and AT&T Entertainment Group jointly own Game Show Network.

GSN will continue to mine the competition/game show genre with renewals of two series, Snap Decision and Cover Story, as well as the greenlighting of two other shows, the network announced Monday.

The David Alan Grier-hosted Snap Decision, in which contestants test their preconceptions, first impressions and gut instincts, will return for a second season, said network officials.  

A second freshman series, Cover Story, also has been renewed after launching in January. The series of documentary specials looks at the fascinating personalities, memorable moments and outrageous scandals in and around the most popular games shows of all time, the network said.

The series join returning series Divided and Winsanity on GSN's programming lineup.

In addition, the network has greenlit two new shows, including America Says, an in-studio game where two teams of friends and family look to fill in the blanks to match survey responses that cover every topic under the sun; and Caroline & Friends, a comedic, family-friendly series hosted by Caroline Rhea (Sabrina The Teenage Witch) that showcases videos from around the web.

Other shows in development include Catch My Bluff, Movin’ Money and Mall Madness.

"GSN is the home for engaging game show programming that attracts high-value consumers looking for a family environment filled with winning and fun,” said Fran Shea, executive vice president, programming and marketing for GSN, in a statement. “Developing and producing new strip programming provides our loyal audience with a viewing destination they’ve come to expect and feel comfortable with, as GSN is an essential part of their daily routine.”

GSN has named tapped industry veteran Fran Shea as its executive vice president of programming and marketing for GSN TV, said network officials.

Shea will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game show-themed GSN TV's programming and marketing, including in-house production, acquisitions, development, network branding and messaging to viewers. Shea effectively replaces former GSN executive vice president of programming and development Amy Introcaso-Davis, who recently joined E!.

Shea most recently ran her own industry consultant firm, Fran Shea Consulting, which counted GSN as a client. Shea is also formerly president of E! Entertainment Television.

“Fran has an impressive track record of creating phenomenally successful and culturally relevant content, said GSN CEO Mark Feldman, to whom Shea will report. “Her creative vision and leadership will be critical to GSN as we continue to enhance our programming choices, both original and acquired, to engage our core viewers.”

E! has tapped TV programming veteran Amy Introcaso-Davis as its executive vice president of development and production, the network announced Wednesday.

Introcaso-Davis will lead all unscripted development and production for E! beginning Sept. 25. She will report to network president Adam Stotsky.   

Introcaso-Davis most recently served as executive vice president of programming & development for GSN. Prior to that she served as senior vice president of development & production for Bravo and senior vice president of original programming & development for Oxygen.  

“Amy brings extensive experience and a track record of success creating hit shows that appeal to women, as well as a deep understanding of today’s pop culture landscape,” said Stotsky in a statement.  “I look forward to partnering with Amy as she leads our talented development and production team, and we continue to innovate and expand our slate of hit unscripted franchises that are rooted in pop culture and celebrity lifestyles.” 

In Demand has tapped veteran cable distribution and marketing executive Dale Hopkins as its president and CEO, the company announced Tuesday. 

Hopkins, who replaces recently departed In Demand CEO Bob Benya, will oversee operations for the transactional distribution company, which provides movies, concert programming and live sports events — including this past Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor boxing match — on a pay-per-view and on demand basis to MVPDs.

In June Hopkins was named to the 2017 class of Cable TV Pioneers.

Hopkins was previously at the Sony Pictures Entertainment and AT&T Entertainment Group-owned cable network GSN, where she held multiple roles during her more than eight-year tenure, including serving as executive vice president of distribution and CMO.

Prior to that, Hopkins served as COO of Comcast-owned G4 Media.

“In Dale, In Demand is gaining a multi-faceted leader, someone with superb business acumen who has successfully delivered value and growth throughout her career,” said In Demand board chairman Tom Montemagno in a statement.  “She has a deep well of knowledge from across several business sectors, and is well known and respected within the media industry. We are excited that she has agreed to come on board, and look forward to her partnership with the strong leadership team that we have at In Demand.”

Sling TV is beefing up its progamming lineup, with the launch of three new channels to its Sling Orange and Sling Blue packages.

According to a blog post, Sing TV has added GSN (formerly Game Show Network), music channel AXS TV and movie channel HDNet Movies.

GSN, which offers classic game shows and new programming like Hellevator, Skin Test and Idiotest, is now part of the Comedy Plus Extra add-on package on both Sling Orange and Sling Blue for an additional $5 per month. AXS TV, which airs concerts, MMA fights, stand-up comedy and music-oriented programming like X-Factor UK is now part of the Sling Orange and Sling Blue core services.

HDNet Movies, which offers uncut and commercial-free films like E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, The Vanishing and The Sentinel, is now part of the Hollywood Extra add-on package, available to Sling Blue and Sling Orange customers at $5 per month.

Actress/producer Rebecca Romijn will return for a third season as host of GSN’s body-painting competition series Skin Wars, which premieres Wednesday, April 20. Romijn spoke with Multichannel News programming editor R. Thomas Umstead about the show’s popularity and what viewers should expect from the new season. Here’s an edited excerpt.

MCN:Heading into season three, are you surprised at the successSkin Warshas had?

Rebecca Romijn: I am … I wasn’t sure how much of an audience would be driven to the idea of a show about body painting. What I’ve been most surprised about is the demographic and how we’ve actually started reaching families. I wasn’t sure how families would feel about letting their kids watch our show, but I keep on meeting 10-year-old kids who are obsessed with it and special effects makeup and body painting. There are lot of families watching the show together, which I never saw coming.

MCN:What should we expect to see from the new season of the show?

RR: We have some great challenges this season including an underwater challenge which kind of blew my mind — I didn’t even know that it was possible. They are allowed to use a certain amount of appliances, including foam, and some of the painters were adding too much foam to the models and found out that the models weren’t able to dive down into the tank. We kept coming up against things like that that made for great television.

MCN:What drew you toSkin Warsand body painting in the first place?

RR: Well, I did play [body-painted character] Mystique in the first three X-Men movies, and I was also the very first model painted for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, so I have a lot of personal experience in the world of body painting. (Laughs.) I know a lot about what goes into it and what the models are going through because its not easy — it’s hard on the artists and the models. It’s intense and the hours on the show are very long; sometimes we have 14-hour days because it’s really watching paint dry. There’s a lot of downtime but the masterpieces that come out of it are so gorgeous.

Last week’s tipoff of March Madness brought on a mad rush of new apps and services from pay TV providers, ad-tech vendors and programmers that are tailored for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

On the streaming front, NCAA March Madness Live, an app for the tourney developed in partnership by the NCAA, Turner Sports and CBS Sports, is available across what they say is a record 12 platforms.

Those lending support this year include the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Roku players and Roku TVs, Amazon Fire tablets, iOS and Android mobile devices, Windows handsets, Web browsers, and even the Apple Watch. Additionally, viewers can access all games broadcast on CBS “with no registration required” on desktops as well as smartphones and tablets. Live streams will also be offered on digital platforms from TBS, TNT, truTV and CBS, as well as via participating TV provider websites and apps.

The NCAA March Madness Live app for the Apple TV offers a split-screen feature that lets users stream two live games at the same time.

Dish Network is literally doubling that with last week’s debut of “Sports Bar Mode,” a feature for its new 4K-capable Hopper 3 DVR that divides the TV screen into quadrants, with each displaying a different live TV program. That feature, also called “multiview” and offered on any Hopper 3 that’s connected to a 4K or HD set, decodes four streams, stitches them together and displays them simultaneously. The feature takes advantage of the tuner-rich Hopper 3, which sports 16 of them.

Comcast is also focusing on the big screen with the debut of a basketball “Extras” for its X1 Sports app that syncs up stats with live programming and relies on tech from OneTwoSee, the Philadelphia-based startup that Comcast acquired earlier this month.

The interactive app provides in-game, team-by-team stats such as steals, rebounds and foul counts, as well as a view of the updated tournament bracket. Post-game, the app feeds a recap of the matchup, including by-quarter scores and the “Xfinity Player of the Game.”

For the tourney’s Final Four round, the app will also let users pull up full-team rosters and detailed individual player stats, including shooting percentages by court location.

The tourney also created an opening for media data specialist 4C to take the wraps off Sports Sync, a platform that enables brands and other partners to deliver ads on social networks including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in concert with a specific live sports moment, such as a slam dunk or a game-changing three-point shot.

Several brands have signed on for Sports Sync for March Madness, 4C said, but the company wasn’t at liberty yet to name them. 4C also has built a version of its platform that triggers digital ads around political TV spots, as well as shifts in the weather.

Not all ad inventory is created equal, according to Aaron Goldman, 4C’s chief marketing officer. 4C’s approach is about delivering an ad message “when attentions are heightened,” he said.

— Jeff Baumgartner

‘Dirty Charades’ Behind the Scenes of ‘Skin Wars'

 Body-painting competition Skin Wars is GSN’s top original series, and behind the scenes it often takes hours for the painters to create their masterpieces on their nearly naked human canvases.

Host Rebecca Romijn and sejudge RuPaul Charles lamented during the network’s March 8 upfront presentation that episodes could take as long as 14 hours to tape as they literally and painstakingly watched paint dry.

They played games to pass the time, such as “Dirty Charades.” It’s like the traditional pantomime guessing game, but as Charles succinctly described, “It was just dirty.”

Michael Levitt said it was often di_ cult to begin shooting after several rounds of charades, because the host couldn’t stop laughing at the risqué gamesmanship.

Romijn quipped that the game’s content and gestures probably wouldn’t be suitable for air. “I don’t think you’re going to see our game on GSN anytime soon.”

— R. Thomas Umstead

Coming off its best ratings year ever, GSN will look to continue its momentum with the greenlighting of several new series including a spinoff of its most popular franchise Skin Wars, the network announced Tuesday during its upfront presentation in New York.

The network later this year will debut Skin Wars: Fresh Paint, hosted by entertainer RuPaul Charles in which new artists will compete in body painting challenges to win a $10,000 prize, said network officials. The series is a spinoff of the Rebecca Romijn-hosted Skin Wars, which launches its third season later this year.

Other new shows slated for GSN’s lineup include Winsanity, hosted by comedian/actor Donald Faison and features contestants who attempt to rank 10 facts in numerical order, from highest to lowest, to win prizes for both the contestant and the studio audience, and Window Warriors, a competition series which looks at the creativity of storefront window dressing, said network officials.

GSN has also ordered pilots for new shows Breaking App, which follows app inventors to see who can create the next great mobile application, and The Investigation, a one-hour crime-solving game set in a realistic police location with multiple departments.

GSN executive vice president of programming and development Amy Introcaso-Davis told Multichannel News that the new shows, along with returning shows like Idiotest and the newly-renewed Hellevator, have brought in younger viewers and helped evolve the network’s brand into a “fun” place for viewers and families to watch.

GSN will tap actor Donald Faison to host a new game show series set to debut in 2016, said network officials.

The half-hour show, Winsanity, will feature a contestant's attempt to rank 10 facts in numerical order. Each time the contestant is correct he wins a prize for himself as well as a randomly selected portion of the audience, according to GSN. Each time the contestant guesses wrong, the audience loses everything they've won.

Faison (Scrubs) will host the show, which is produced by Electus, according to GSN.

"Winsanity is a fun, raucous game where contestants play for prizes for themselves as well as members of the audience," said Amy Introcaso-Davis, EVP Programming and Development for GSN. "Donald Faison’s sharp comedic timing makes him the perfect host for this fast-paced game that is filled with terrific play-along."

Comedian and actress Kira Soltanovich will be the emcee and veteran industry executive Bridget Baker, formerly of NBCUniversal and now president of Baker Media, will provide the keynote address at the 2015 LEA Awards, set for Thursday evening (Nov. 12) at the Taglyan Complex in Los Angeles.

The 23rd annual awards gala, presented by the Southern California chapter of Women in Cable & Telecommunications, will honor five industry veterans for their outstanding contributions to the cable telecommunications industry.

A LEA Award is one of the most prestigious honors one can receive in the Southern California entertainment business.

The five honorees are:

Sherry Brennan, Senior Vice President, Distribution, Fox Networks;

Dale Hopkins, Executive Vice President, Distribution, Game Show Network;

Gail Kodama, Senior Sales Director, Charter Communications;

Suzanne Schlundt, Vice President of Marketing — West Region, Cox Communications; and 

Board Member of the Year:Emilio Rangel, Creative Supervisor, Time Warner Cable Media.

Born in the Soviet Union and raised in San Francisco, emcee Kira Soltanovich has hosted her own Showtime comedy special (Here Comes Trouble); was a series regular in Oxygen’s Girls Behaving Badly; and was the recurring voice of “The Photo Booth” on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. She’s also written for series on TV Land and Disney Channel and appears in comedy festivals around the world.

For more information about the event, visit www.socalwict.org.

SHERRY BRENNAN

Senior Vice President, Distribution,Fox Networks

Sherry Brennan is responsible for developing multiplatform growth strategies for FN’s video products, exploring potential new business models with alternative platform distributors, and contributing to FN’s long range digital strategy. She also oversees analysis of video-consumption trends and the changing value equation in the new multiplatform landscape, works closely with FN’s business development team on new channel ideas and acquisitions, and helps manage the strategy behind Fox’s investment in Hulu.

Brennan joined FN in 2005 as vice president of sales strategy and development. In that role, Brennan created strategic sales initiatives with the division’s top video distributors and worked closely with FN’s business-development team on new channel ideas.

Earlier Brennan spent seven years with Cablevision Systems in Bethpage, N.Y., as vice president, PPV and enhanced video products, and as programming consultant for the HDTV satellite service, Voom. Prior to Cablevision, she served as director of operations for Los Angeles’s Falcon Cable TV.

DALE HOPKINS

Executive Vice President, Distribution,GSN

Dale Hopkins has more than 20 years of deep C-level experience — including positions as CEO, chief operating officer and chief marketing officer — with digital and traditional high-growth media conglomerates such as Comcast, BSkyB, Star TV, Liberty Media, DirecTV, Sony and NBC. She has built and managed successful multimillion-dollar digital and traditional media companies with total invested and realized capital of more than $2 billion. These include E!, Style, G4, g4tv.com, eonline.com, GSN, CNBC and iwin.com.

She joined multimedia content provider GSN, owned by Sony and DirecTV, in 2009. As head of distribution, she works closely with the key decision-makers at top satellite and cable companies. Previously, she was executive VP and chief marketing officer for GSN. Prior to GSN, Hopkins served as interim CEO of CGS (Championship Gaming Series), a co-venture of DirecTV, BSkyB and Star TV. She spent seven years (including as COO) at the G4 network. She has also held executive positions at E! Entertainment Television, CNBC and CBS.

GAIL KODAMA

Senior Sales Director,Charter Communications

Gail Kodama serves in the Spectrum Business organization, the business-services unit of cable provider Charter Communications. In her current role, she is responsible for support of sales, operations, and process initiatives for the SMB organization nationally for the SMB space under Charter executive vice president Jon Hargis.

She has been with Charter for more than 10 years, starting out as a sales manager in Southern California in 2005 and then promoted to director for California and then a senior director for the West Region at the cable provider.

She has carried out key roles within the Charter organization, such as supporting the launch of All Digital, launching the Channel Partner Programs and migration of the SMB organization in 2015.

Kodama has been in the telecommunications industry for more than 18 years, starting out by “carrying a bag” as an account manager for a regional CLEC, and advancing to manager and then to regional director.

She continues to mentor and coach key sales people within the Charter organization.

SUZANNE SCHLUNDT

Vice President of Marketing — West,Cox Communications

Suzanne Schlundt’s territory includes San Diego, Orange County, Palos Verdes, Santa Barbara, Arizona and Las Vegas. She is responsible for the field execution of the cable company’s national marketing strategy, as well as the launch of new products and product enhancements.

Schlundt, who joined Cox in December 2012, has more than 20 years of marketing experience in fast-paced, highly competitive consumer industries including the restaurant, consumer product goods and entertainment sectors. Her background includes research, brand strategy, product development and integrated marketing communications.

Earlier, she was vice president of client services for Blueocean Market Intelligence, a global-market research and consulting company. She has also held leadership positions with Disney Consumer Products, Jack-in-the-Box and Mattel. She has a bachelor of arts degree from Occidental College and an MBA from the University of Southern California. She lives in San Diego with her husband, Dave, and two daughters.

EMILIO RANGEL

Creative Supervisor,Time Warner Cable Media

Emilio Rangel never saw the inside of a traditional classroom until he attended college. With his siblings, he was homeschooled by his mother where, at a young age, he discovered his passion in the creative arts. Educated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Thomas Aquinas College, he went on to graduate from California State University, Fullerton with a graduate degree in graphic design.

Throughout his nine years at Time Warner Cable Media, Rangel has proven to be an integral member of the corporate marketing team as creative supervisor. He spends his days working with his team on the TWC Media brand within projects that span from print, on-air, digital, social media, and events. He manages the brand in 46 markets.

His experience expands beyond the media and marketing world; he also wored a professional wedding cake decorator while in his early 20s. He resides in Belmont Shore, Calif., where he can be found enjoying a run along the beach, freeing space on his DVR, or traveling to an adventurous place.

A&E and GSN have each tapped major horror film producers to scare up viewers this month within the competition/ game show arena.

Eli Roth (Hostel) will team with A&E on a special to help contestants face their fears by burying them alive on live television, while Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity) will look to thrill contestants with grizzly and gruesome tasks as part of GSN’s new game show series Hellevator.

With the two shows, A&E and GSN will join other networks celebrating Halloween with programming stunts seeking to deliver frightfully good ratings.

A&E’s Oct. 26 special Fear: Buried Alive will feature three contestants who will be placed in underground coffins as part of a psychological experiment to test the limits of their fears and their strength to conquer them. The live special, produced by Roth, will take a more psychological approach to fear rather than delivering full-fledged scares to viewers.

“We wanted to get to the psychology of what’s going on around fear,” said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president of programming for A&E. “There’s no cash prize — they’re really volunteering to see if they can push themselves in a psychological social experiment conquering fear.”

Bryant said, though, that viewers will undoubtedly tune in to see how people react under scary and stressful situations.

“Some people maybe drawn to this because it’s thrilling to watch people be scared on live TV, not knowing the nature of what might happen, while others might be drawn to the psychology of it,” she said. “Certainly the live nature of it — and being in the week of Halloween — may attract either adrenaline junkies or those viewers that like the horror genre.”

She said the network is already exploring another show within the format that tackles a different common fear. “I don’t know yet if we roll it out as a series or keep it as an event,” she said. “I certainly hope there are more.”

GSN’s Hellevator is more in line with a traditional game show/competition series. A team of friends ride a haunted elevator into various level of an abandoned slaughterhouse where they encounter frightening challenges.

The series, which debuts Oct. 21, is the brainchild of Blum, who told Multichannel News that he was looking for a vehicle beyond movies and television series to tell a horror story.

“The scary genre is not the first thing you think of when you’re thinking about competitive game shows,” said Blum, who professed to be a huge game show fan.

“We have a lot of other outlets to do horror, but doing it through the game show format, we thought, was very unique.”

The series joins GSN’s lineup of original, non-traditional game shows/competitions that include the body-painting series Skin Wars and fashion design show Steampunk’d.

Buried Alive and Hellevator also join a list of specials and stunts cable networks are developing leading into Halloween. A partial list follows.

• FX will air a special six-hour marathon of Fox’s thriller/drama series Scream Queens Oct. 31.

• Nickelodeon is running several Halloween themed original movies and premieres from such shows as Blaze and the Monster Machines, Wallykazam, Dora and Friends and Bella and the Bulldogs.

• ABC Family today (Oct. 19) will launch its “13 Nights of Halloween” stunt featuring special episodes of its procedural drama Stitchers.

• Syfy will launch a new original movie, The Hallow (Oct. 24), as well as Halloween-themed episodes of Ghost Hunters and Paranormal Witness on Oct. 28 as part of its Halloween “spook-a-thon.”

• Destination America’s Oct. 30 special Exorcism: Live will air a televised exorcism from the house that inspired the film The Exorcist.

GSN said it has picked up a 10-episode third season of Skin Wars, the bodypainting competition series.

The network said the show, hosted by Rebecca Romijn (who will return), remains GSN's top-rated series, attracting more than 12 million viewers to the current season. The recent season finale had more than 1.1 million viewers, per GSN, citing Nielsen. GSN also said the show has more than doubled (+125%) the year-to-date time period average with total viewers and delivered its most-watched episode ever for the franchise in key demos women 18-49, women 25-54 and persons 25-54 on a Live+3 basis. The success of the series has been key in putting GSN on pace for both its best year and summer ever, as it is currently up 24% in prime time (8-11 p.m.) over a year ago and up 30% over last summer in total viewers, the network said. 

Along with Romijn, returning judges for season three include RuPaul Charles and body painting experts Craig Tracy and Robin Slonina. In season three, 12 artists will compete for $100,000 and additional prizes to be announced.

“Skin Wars has been an integral part of introducing GSN to millions of new, younger viewers and has truly become a game changer for us,” Amy Introcaso-Davis, executive vice president of programming at GSN, said in a release. “The success of the show has also provided us a great platform to showcase new series, as evidenced by the strong debut of Steampunk'd last week, which was one of our top-rated new series launches.”

Skin Wars is executive produced by Michael Levitt of Michael Levitt Productions, Jill Goularte, Colleen Sands and Rebecca Romijn. Craig Tracy and Robin Slonina serve as producers.

GSN will look to scare up viewers with the greenlighting of its new original game show Hellevator, the network said Thursday.

The eight-episode series, produced by Blumhouse (Paranormal Activity, Insidious) and Matador, will subject contestants to a series of scary challenges within an abandoned warehouse, said network officials. Hellevator will premiere later this year, said GSN.

“The teams from Blumhouse and Matador have created a frighteningly fun and spooky game environment,” says Amy Introcaso-Davis, Executive Vice President of Programming and Development for GSN, who touted Hellevator as a development project at GSN's upfront presentation this spring.. “Horror and game enthusiasts alike will love Hellevator's wild ride of fear, suspense, and unrelenting challenges.”

GSN, after adding millions of new viewers and enjoying its most-watched year in 2014, said it greenlit two more original series and has ordered three new pilots, including an unnamed spinoff of the Rebecca Romijn-hosted bodypainting competition series Skin Wars.

At an upfront breakfast event at the Sony Building in midtown Manhattan, network programming chief Amy Introcaso-Davis said the game-show based outlet's programming had turned in a "younger, cooler, hipper direction," helped by shows like Skin Wars, which she said set record marks as a new series last year in the network's key audience demographics. GSN has finished production on a second season of the show, which also features RuPaul Charles. Five of the network's roster of seven original series are returning in 2015, officials said.

Steampunk'd, one of the two new series GSN has ordered for 2015, is a competition series for artists and designers who work in the Steampunk genre, which blends science fiction and fantasy and technology into art. The other new show on order is Lie Detectors, a game show hosted by Australian comedian Rove McManus in which three comedians tell a story and the audience has to guess which one of the three is telling the truth. Network officials had no more information to provide in terms of when the shows would launch or how many episodes were ordered.

GSN in January said it was ordering a re-take on the old game show Chain Reaction, in which teams of contestants compete to complete chains of words. And at the upfront, the network said it ordered a 65-episode second season of game show Idiotest, hosted by Ben Gleib (pictured), who acted as emcee at the upfront event before invited press, advertisers and media buyers.

The network, co-owned by Sony and DirecTV, said it has two other shows developing a pilot besides the untitled Skin Wars spinoff (which will invite artists who excel in other media to learn to "use the human body as a canvas for the first time"). One is Hellevator, a game show that asks three friends to ride a scary elevator to the basement of a warehouse and compete in challenges there. Jason Blum (Paranormal Activity) is an executive producer. The other is Winsanity, a game show about guessing the order in which seven surprising facts should be ranked. Hellevator and Winsanity were previously announced as being in development.

GSN also ordered 50 three-minute episodes of a British interstitial series, Man Vs. Fly, in which a human does battle with a housefly in a sealed room.

GSN's development slate also includes Window Warriors, a competition show about retail-window designers.

GSN said it has acquired a new nationally-syndicated game show, Monopoly Millionaires' Club, and will air new episodes of the series starting Tuesday, March 31, at 8 p.m. ET.

Based on the iconic "Monopoly" brand, the show is a companion to the multi-state lottery of the same name, GSN said. That multi-state lottery is resuming after it was suspended in December after a slow start to the sale of $5 tickets, per the Associated Press. Hosted by comedian and actor Billy Gardell (Mike & Molly), the show is taped in front of a live studio audience comprised of lottery game winners who have won a trip to Las Vegas to participate in a taping, and who will have the chance to win $1 million, the network said.

In a twist, the studio audience is divided into groups corresponding to classic Monopoly game tokens, such as the shoe and wheelbarrow. Each player on stage will split winnings with members of the audience who share their same game token. Every contestant chooses to keep their winnings or risk losing it all in the final round, where they will attempt to land on “GO” to win $1 million.

Executive produced by Scott St. John and Kevin Belinkoff, each episode of will feature five members of the audience selected at random to play games derived from a popular Monopoly theme, such as Electric Company or Community Chest, and will offer up to $100,000 in each game. Monopoly Millionaires' Club is taped at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

GSN will develop a horror-themed game show and a matchmaking series as part of its 2015 development slate, the network announced Tuesday.

GSN’s development slate includes Hellevator, in which contestants compete in a series of scary, suspenseful challenges; Steampunk’d, in which contestants marry objects from the past and present to create futuristic designs and inventions; How-To-Games, which utilizes internet how-to-videos to spur contestants to complete a range of tasks; and Bingo Bash, based on the popular digital app.

Also on the docket is Winsanity, in which one contestant attempts to organize seven compelling and surprising facts in numerical order; and Face 2 Face, a matchmaking game show which uses an app to tailor each contestant’s ideal type before meeting their potential suitor.

The development slate announcement follows the network’s recent renewal of first year series Idiotest, the network's third freshman series renewal behind It Takes A Church and Skin Wars, said network officials. The network also said it has tapped actress Danica McKellar (The Wonder Years) to appear in its App Wars pilot.

“GSN has taken some big swings in development over the past year, pushing our brand into exciting new areas while still maintaining our leadership position in the traditional game show genre,” said David Schiff, senior vice president of programming and development for GSN in a statement. “That push is paying off, both in the diversity of projects that we’re working on, and in the increased amount of break-out original programming like Skin Wars and Idiotest.

GSN has ordered a 65-episode second season of the hit show, Idiotest, hosted by comedian Ben Gleib, the network announced today.

Following It Takes a Church and Skin Wars, Idiotest is the third GSN series pick-up this year.

“Idiotest's fresh take on brain teasers has resulted in ratings success for GSN in every daypart, across all demographics,” said executive vice president, programming, GSN, Amy Introcaso-Davis in a release.

With more than 12 million total viewers in the first season, the game show app series gives two contestants a chance to test their logic, requiring a quick response and keen observation skills. 

Produced by Little Wooden Boat Productions, Inc., executive producers are Mark Cronin of Little Wooden Boat Productions, Adam Rosenblatt, Jamie Rosenblatt and Christian Horner of H2R Productions. Ryan Devlin and Shawn Greenson of He Shoots, He Scores Productions, and Larry Barron and Ryan Curtis also serve as executive producers. Ben Gleib works as a producer on the series as well.

GSN has named cable veteran Chris Moseley as its executive vice president and chief marketing officer, the network announced Tuesday.

Moseley, who will join GSN Oct. 8, will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the GSN brand and messaging for the network, as well as coordinate closely with the leaders in GSN’s Games division in building global branding and promotional initiatives for all of GSN’s audiences and clients. She will report to GSN CEO David Goldhill and be based in the company’s Santa Monica office.

A veteran of the cable industry for more than 20 years, Moseley has worked at a variety of cable networks including History Channels, Hallmark Channels and Discovery Channels. Most recently Moseley worked at The Madison Square Garden Company, where she oversaw the brand strategy and product development for the Rockettes.

“Chris’ strong background in building and transforming brands is perfectly suited to guide GSN's current base of successful shows and our ambitious slate of upcoming new originals,” said Goldhill.  “Recognized as one of the industry’s top brand builders, Chris has proven ability as a leader, unafraid to innovate.”

GSN has announced five new episodes for the Emmy-nominated series, The Chase, to air Tuesday, November 11th at 8 p.m.

The third season will feature a celebrity edition, including actors Dean Cain, Seamus Dever and Boris Kodjoe, who will attempt to defeat “The Beast," in efforts to win money for their respective charities.

Each actor will play for their chosen charity. Dean Cain will compete for the Gary Sinise Foundation, Dever for the Beagle Freedom Project and Kodjoe wil play for Sophie’s Voice Foundation.

GSN’s most popular series is hosted by Brooke Burns, with Mark Labbett as "The Beast," who is the major contender with contestants in the trivia challenge.

Produced by ITV Studios America, Bob Boden, Michael Kelpie and Martin Scott serve as executive producers on the hit series.

GSN will air a special surrounding the Sept. 24 finale of its reality series Skin Wars, the network announced Monday.

The Skin Wars Reunion Show, which will air immediatly after the Skin Wars season ends, will welcome back all of the talented season one contestants, as well as Skin Wars judges and bod-painting icons Craig Tracy and Robin Slonia.

The show will also highlight the series’ most memorable moments and go behind-the-scenes to delve into relationships that evolved druing the show's freshman campaign, said network officials.

The reunion special will also feature a “sneak peek” of RuPaul’s new song, Color Me Love (featuring Rebecca Romijn), said network officials.  

As part of the reunion, viewers will have the opportunity to submit questions in advance via Facebook and Twitter about their favorite episode, challenge, contestant, model and more, with questions to be answered on-air, said the network.

GSN’s body painting competition series Skin Wars set a network ratings record in its Wednesday night series premiere, GSN officials said Thursday.

The series, hosted by actress Rebecca Romijin, drew nearly 700,000 total viewers based on overnight ratings, said the network. Skin Wars also delivered highs in women 25-54 (128,000), women 18-49 (124,000), adults 25-54 (240,000) and adults 18-49 (252,000). It was also the most-watched telecast for an original series this year among P18-49, according to the network.

The series, GSN’s first foray into reality competition programming, posted double-digit increases in all major viewership demos compared to the prior for weeks the time period against the Steve Harvey-hosted Family Feud.

Game Show Network said it greenlit a new traveling game show, The Line, from High Noon Entertainment, that will begin in Nashville by shooting five episodes, beginning on July 19. The show is slated for a fourth quarter launch, GSN said.

Hosted by Jeff Davis (Whose Line is it Anyway?) and Candace Bailey (Attack of the Show), the show offers hundreds of people the chance to win cash and prizes by playing "outrageous games" while waiting in a line for their shot at answering a series of trivia questions. Those who make it to the front of the line vie to win a jackpot that grows each time a contestant fails to answer his or her eight questions, the network said.

“The goal of The Line is to take the joy of game directly to communities across the country and we are so excited that GSN’s first stop is Nashville,” Amy Introcaso-Davis, GSN's EVP of programming and development, said in a release. “We have taken something most people dislike – waiting in line – and turned it into the most fun you have ever had, with cash, prizes and 500 new friends.”

"We love creating game formats and this one is terrific because it combines both the intellectual and the physical, as well as dual gameplay that takes place both inside the vault and outside in line," executive producer Jim Berger, CEO of High Noon Entertainment, said in the release.

GSN this summer will premiere new reality series Skin Wars on Wednesday, Aug. 6, at 9 p.m. ET, and competition show Idiot Test on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 8 p.m. ET.