Julia Rao and Mark Ringwald have been named Chief Financial Officer and Director of Scheduling and Acquisitions, respectively, for the new 3D joint venture of Sony Corporation, Discovery Communications and IMAX Corporation -- one of the first 24-hour, fully programmed 3D television channels. The announcement came Monday morning from President and CEO of the joint venture Tom Cosgrove.
Rao's responsibilities as CFO include strategic planning, financial analysis and budgeting for the joint venture. She joins the venture from her post as CFO for several U.S. Discovery networks, including Animal Planet and Discovery Health.
As Director of Scheduling and Acquisitions, Ringwald is in charge of scheduling and programming strategy for the joint venture, including long-form and short-form program acquisition and long-term programming and scheduling strategy. Ringwald most recently served as VP of Programming for AmericanLife TV.
"Julia and Mark bring extensive industry experience and incredible enthusiasm to our fast-growing 3D team," said Cosgrove. "By leveraging the unmatched strength and expertise of Sony, Discovery and IMAX, we will establish this network as the leader in 3D with the most extensive library of original and exclusive high-quality 3D content available anywhere."
Plans to launch the network were announced in January.
The channel will feature an extensive library of 3D content across genres including natural history, adventure, theatrical releases and IMAX movies.
