By Millie Takaki
Sound designer Gus Koven—a former freelancer whose last company affiliation was with Nomad Editing Company, Santa Monica—has joined music/sound design shop Primal Scream. At press time, Koven had already wrapped his first assignment for Santa Monica-based Primal Scream: a three-spot package for The Weather Channel’s weather.com site, directed by Harry Patramanis of bicoastal Villains for TBWA/ Chiat/Day, Los Angeles.
Koven is now the second staff sound designer at Primal Scream; the other is company co-founder/creative director Reinhard Denke. Jason Johnson remains as the company’s resident composer. "We see in Gus the same star quality that Reinhard possesses," assessed Primal Scream co-founder/executive producer Nicole Dionne.
Koven started out at Nomad in October ’96 as an assistant editor. A year later, he formally diversified into sound design under the Nomad banner, his first job being Pepsi’s "Flying Geese" spot, directed by Kinka Usher of House of Usher, Santa Monica, for BBDO New York. "Flying Geese," which was cut by Nomad editor John Murray, debuted during the ’98 Super Bowl telecast.
During his Nomad tenure, Koven continued to work with BBDO. He contributed sound design to "Johnson’s World" for Mountain Dew, which was edited by Nomad’s Tom Muldoon. The spot, also directed by Usher, was honored earlier this year in the sound design category of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers Show at MoMA. Koven’s other Nomad sound design credits included Miller Light’s "Refrigerator" and "Boxer," helmed by Errol Morris of bicoastal/international @radical.media for Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis. Nomad’s Jim Hutchins cut the two Miller Light spots.
Koven departed Nomad in March ’99, explaining that he wanted to "strike out on my own" and shed the perception that he was "someone who kind of polished editors’ sound." He tried freelancing at first, but upon shopping his reel around, he elicited interest from Denke. "Being at a sound design house is a better situation for me to establish myself," reasoned Koven, who cited the high caliber of Primal Scream’s reel and the fact that he is one of only a pair of sound designers on staff.
During his relatively brief freelance stint, Koven served as sound designer on "Train," a spot for computer processor company AMD, directed by Samuel Bayer of bicoastal Mars Media for Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Boston. Koven secured the project via bicoastal Mad River Post. Dick Gordon of Mad River cut "Train."
Endeavor Group Sells Professional Bull Riders, On Location and IMG To Parent of WWE and UFC
The parent company of WWE and UFC is buying Professional Bull Riders, On Location, and IMG from Endeavor Group in an all-stock deal valued at $3.25 billion.
The deal is part of Endeavor's efforts to shed some of its assets as it looks to be taken private in a proposed transaction with private equity firm Silver Lake, which was announced in April. Ariel Emanuel, who serves as CEO of Endeavor, is also executive chair and CEO of TKO.
Professional Bull Riders is a bull riding league that has more than 200 annual live events, approximately 1.25 million fans, and reaches more than 285 million households in more than 65 territories. On Location is live event company for more than 1,200 sporting events, such as the Super Bowl, Ryder Cup and NCAA Final Four. IMG is a distributor and producer of sports content, packages and sells media rights and brand partnerships, and provides consulting, digital services and event management to clients such as the National Football League and National Hockey League.
Parent company TKO Group said Thursday that the acquisition from Endeavor Group will complement its existing businesses as well as broaden its reach in the premium sports market.
"PBR, On Location, and IMG are industry-leading assets that meaningfully enhance TKO's portfolio and strengthen our position in premium sports globally," TKO Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro said in a statement. "Within TKO, they will help power the growth of our revenue streams and position us to capture even more upside from some of the most attractive parts of our sports ecosystem: media rights, live events, ticket sales, premium experiences, brand partnerships, and site fees."
As part of the deal, Endeavor will receive about 26.14 million common units of TKO... Read More