ESPN founder Stuart Evey will help launch The Real Estate Network by early 2016.
The former chairman of the “worldwide leader in sports” has teamed up on the venture with real estate veteran Robert Atkinson, investor Jack Schneider and TV & film executive Robert Friedman. The independent, ad-supported network is billed as a premiere, multi-platform destination for real estate news, information and entertainment.
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Evey will serve as The Real Estate Network’s chairman of the board, with Atkinson listed as its founder and CEO. Schneider, the former managing director of Allen & Company, and Friedman, the current CEO of Bungalow Media Entertainment, have both been named board members.
In a statement obtained by TheWrap, Atkinson said: “Real estate is a vast market. Virtually all Americans have some interaction with real estate, whether they are primary or secondary home owners, renters, investors or they are facing special real estate needs like senior living or vacation housing. The Real Estate Network is being created to be a trusted source of real estate information and transaction capability for consumers, not just by aggregating information and service offerings from other sources, but by creating new and proprietary content that will fill the void currently existing.”
The multi-platform network hopes to provide a mix of informative and entertaining programming. It plans to develop original content across several verticals, including primary residence, second homes and vacation homes, investment real estate and senior living. The Real Estate Network will also offer VOD content.
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“I quickly recognized The Real Estate Network as being a tremendous opportunity to build an iconic television network, web marketplace and brand in the real estate space,” Evey said. “It has the same potential as ESPN and will revolutionize the real estate industry in the same way that ESPN did for sports.”
