CHICAGO, April 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Playboy Enterprises, Inc. announced the appointment today of Steve Smith as Managing Director, Playboy Television International, in its Entertainment Group. He will be responsible for the leadership, management and growth of Playboy TV International and report to Jim Griffiths, Senior Executive Vice President and President, Entertainment Group. He will be based in Playboy's Los Angeles office. "Steve brings a wealth of business and international experience to Playboy, which will benefit the company greatly as we continue our global expansion," said Griffiths. Smith is a 25-year veteran of the cable and satellite industry with experience in U.S., Asian and European markets. He was most recently the Managing Director of International Networks/AZN, responsible for the overall operations of the company under its ownership by Comcast Corporation. Prior to joining International Networks, Steve served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Encore International ("EI") where he was responsible for managing Encore's Mainland China operation out of Beijing. Before joining EI, Smith served as Chief Operating Officer of Intertainer Asia, a broadband content aggregator based in Singapore. He also served as Managing Director of Channel [V] Music Network, a youth-oriented bouquet of localized music channels owned by News Corp's STAR TV venture in Hong Kong. Steve's Asian experience began as President and General Manager of MGM Gold Networks (Asia), a premium movie channel distributed across Asia. Before moving to Asia, he spent 17 years with HBO, the last six as Managing Director for HBO Central Europe. In this role he was responsible for launching and managing three cable channels in Hungary. In addition, Steve led the construction and operation of Central European Uplink, HBO's transmission facility serving all its Central European markets. Smith has a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Colgate University and an MBA from Columbia University. Playboy Enterprises is a brand-driven, international multimedia entertainment company that publishes editions of Playboy magazine around the world; operates Playboy and Spice television networks and distributes programming globally via DVD and a network of websites including Playboy.com, a leading men's lifestyle and entertainment website; and licenses the Playboy and Spice trademarks internationally for a range of consumer products and services. DATASOURCE: Playboy Enterprises, Inc. CONTACT: Linda Marsicano of Playboy Enterprises, +1-312-373-2447

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