Burly Bear Network
 |
|
| Type | Defunct cable television channel |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Availability | National |
| Owner | National Lampoon |
|
Launch date
|
1994 |
| Dissolved | July 2002 |
The Burly Bear Network was an American cable TV channel targeted at 18- to 24-year-old college students founded in 1994. The company was created by four friends from Connecticut, Danny Stein, Brian Nurenberg, Danny Ameri and James Mairs and led by CEO Stein. Programming was offered on some university TV stations, including Arizona State University, Louisiana State University, Ball State University, Iowa State University, Northern Kentucky University, Purdue University, the University of Dayton, the University of Missouri, Berry College, Michigan State University, and Indiana University East in Richmond, as well as late nights on TBS.
The Network was a privately held company, under CEO Danny Stein, who ran the company while Ameri and Mairs led production and Nurenberg led distribution. The Company become the premier college entertainment television network, ultimately passing 8 million college students at hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States. The network also included an events business that brought its branded entertainment to campuses and through online exploits at the dawn of the commercial internet boom.
Stein led a sale to Lorne Michael's Broadway Video in May 1997, and then departed in 1999 after the company was integrated into Broadway Video. Howard Handler, was hired in 1999 as CEO with Ted Jessup as the head of programming. In September 2002, the company was bought by National Lampoon for an undisclosed amount. This sale corresponded to the end of programming on TBS.
Some programming included
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