AEG Takes Fests To AXS TV

AEG, which owns a number of festivals as well as a stake in cable music channel AXS TV, is putting the two investments together and expanding its offering of live televised events like New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Coachella, and Stagecoach fests in 2015.

Five of the world’s top festivals, all AEG properties and accounting for more than 70 hours of live performances, will be televised by AXS TV next year, including Rock On The Range and Firefly festivals.

In previous festival seasons AXS TV has televised festival highlights, but with the expanded lineup and longer lead time, the broadcasts are expected to help AXS to better establish itself as a go-to channel for live concert events.

AXS TV was established in 2012 as a joint venture with AEG, CBS, Creative Artists Agency, Mark Cuban and Ryan Secrest, and boasts availability in 44 million households in North America.

While it’s not tracked by Nielsen, AEG TV President Charles Hirschhorn told the New York Times that Coachella’s 2013 highlights shows reached viewers in some 5.5 million homes, with Jazzfest reaching 8 million.

“Each of these festivals is a multiday, multi-hour programming commitment that has its own brand awareness,” Hirschhorn told the paper. “Having multiples of them and creating a festival season gives us scale and urgency, and helps us create a brand identity for the channel.”

AXS TV also shares a brand identity with AXS Ticketing, another AEG joint venture. The 2015 schedule kicks off with Coachella April 17-19; Stagecoach, April 24-26; New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, May 1-3; Rock on the Range, May 15-17 and Firefly Music Festival, June 19-21.

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