Playboy Enterprises, Inc., Names Steve Smith Managing Director, Playboy TV International
April 03 2006 - 11:17AM
PR Newswire (US)
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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