SAM Magazine-Portland, Me., Dec. 12, 2006-John Cumming, the CEO of Powdr Corp, which owns Park City Mountain Resort, Alpine Meadows, Mt. Bachelor and Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort, is part of a group which has purchased Resort Sports Network (RSN), the television network dedicated to the creation and distribution of outdoor content in ski resort communities. The channel is ubiquitous in mountain towns, and in addition to feeding the powder jones of ski bums with reruns of classic ski films, also has targeted weather, dining and real estate coverage. The channel is available at more than 100 resort destinations across the U.S.

Cumming, who also founded Mountain Hardware, is joined by Mark A. Burchill, a co-founder of 24/7 Media, an Internet advertising company; Len Conway, a former equity partner in Telluride Ski and Golf Corp.; and John Cooney, an owner of EUE Screen Gems, Ltd., one of the largest film production companies in the US.

"We are big believers in the marketing power of resort based media," says Burchill, who heads the investor group. "We intend to build upon RSN's leadership position in resort media and grow all aspects of the business. We plan to add key resources including capital investment, media expertise and resort industry experience. Our ownership will be hands-on and passionate, we live and work in resort communities."

The sale is subject to FCC approval of the transfer of RSN's broadcast licenses, expected in early 2007. Once approval is given, the new ownership group will implement its plan to expand into additional markets and offer more resort based marketing opportunities to advertisers.

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