BACK9NETWORK
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CSGA, Back9Network Form Unique Partnership for 2014 Season
he CSGA and Back9Network,
the golf lifestyle multi-platform
media network, announced a
new partnership for the 2014 season.
The two parties collaborated in creating
and distributing “Connecticut centric”
golf programming across their shared
distribution platforms. In addition,
Back9Network sponsored the 77th Mixed
Team Championship conducted at Suffield
Country Club.
The Back9Network provided
production crews and produced videos
covering the Julius Boros Challenge Cup,
Connecticut Open Championship and
Mixed Team Championship. In addition,
the network covered the Connecticut Open
press conference and produced a short video
portraying Bob Ferrarotti and his Fairview
Farm Golf Course in Harwinton. In all,
eight videos were produced during the 2014
season that appeared in the CSGA’s e-mail
revisions and digital magazines in addition
to Back9Network’s distribution platforms.
Mike Moraghan, CSGA Executive
Director, expressed his enthusiasm for the
new venture, “Back9Network brings an
imaginative spirit and a unique perspective
to the golf media space, and we are excited
to partner with them across our various
platforms. We have great stories to tell in
Connecticut, and in Back9 we have an ally
that is committed to expanding the game
and reaching a broad audience. We couldn’t
be happier with this new partnership and we
are pleased with the results so far.”
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Back9Network, based in Hartford,
CT, is a lifestyle multiplatform television
network and media company. Back9Network
was developed as a complementary
alternative to traditional media’s focus on
professional golf tournament coverage. The
network focuses on compelling storytelling,
interesting personalities, features and
fashions, interviews and instruction, travel,
gear and much more.
In September, Back9Network
debuted on DirecTV, leading off its first
week of programming with guests that
included actor/comedian Bill Murray, threetime Major Winner Padraig Harrington,
former PGA Tour player and 2008 Ryder
Cup Captain Paul Azinger and University of
Connecticut Men’s Basketball Coach Kevin
Ollie. In addition to Azinger, Harrington
and Murray, Back9Network hosts were
joined by Open Championship winner
Stewart Cink, sportscasters Gary McCord
and James Brown, former PGA of America
President Jim Remy, Rap Artist Mike Stud,
actor/comedian Lenny Clarke, business
analyst Brian Sozzi, and season one winner
of NBC’s “The Voice” Javier Colon.
The network launch on DirecTV
puts their programming in 20 million
homes. Its flagship hour of golf, pop culture,
debate and entertainment is entitled “The
Turn”, co-hosted by Shane Bacon, Lou
Holder and Erica Bachelor. In its inaugural
year Back9Network will air nearly 1,100
hours of original programming featuring
other signature daily studio shows including
Connecticut State Golf Association 2014
“Off-Par,” starring Matty Blake and Caite
Upton, and “The Clubhouse,” featuring Jeff
Rude, John Maginnes and Will Christien.
Back9Network will also utilize Charles
Everett and Universo Pereira as network
co-hosts and Alexis Morgan and Katie
Sundseth as lifestyle correspondents. All
will offer personalized, satirical, and at times
brutally honest opinions on what’s trending
in golf. The network’s primetime lineup is
highlighted by the debut of “Ahmad Rashad,”
which is one of three Back9Network
30-minute, original primetime series.
Back9Network’s
Corporate
Headquarters and TV/Video Production
Studio are a central part of the rebirth of
downtown Hartford. The network’s original
programming is produced in its $9 million
studio at Constitution Plaza and it employs
82 full-time employees and 14 full-time
contractors.
It took Back9 about four years to
get to this point. The company was founded
in 2010, launched a website in 2012, and
revamped the site in 2013. The move to TV is
a major development, one that Back9 hopes
will lead to larger and larger audiences. As the
network invests in programming, it hopes
to greatly extend its reach with the goal of
becoming a fully distributed TV network in
as many homes as the Golf Channel, roughly
80 million. Back9Network has joined
ESPN, NBC Sports and YES Network in
Connecticut, which is quickly becoming the
sports media capital of the world.
www.csgalinks.org