06/01/2009

Travel Channel and Delaware North Companies Partner to Launch Airport Stores

Los Angeles, CA (June 1, 2009) – Travel Channel, the only television network devoted exclusively to travel entertainment, and travel hospitality leader Delaware North Companies have partnered to develop Travel Channel-branded retail locations in airports throughout the United States.
The deal, brokered by Los Angeles-based business development consultancy Brand Sense Partners, leverages Travel Channel’s dedication to immersive exploration and Delaware North’s world-class hospitality expertise to deliver a unique retail experience to millions of domestic and international travelers.

Ramez Toubassy, President of Brand Sense Partners, Travel Channel’s exclusive brand extension agency, anticipates the first store will be unveiled within 6 months. He states, “Travel Channel’s foray into airport retailing is the first of many initiatives that will creatively extend the Travel Channel brand to highly relevant product and service categories, and strengthen its position as the nation’s premier travel authority.”

The new stores will entertain shoppers with the prominent display of Travel Channel’s extensive library of media content and through interactive brand experiences that engage travelers with their destinations. Travel Channel stores will also feature a wide array of merchandise, ranging from travel-related essentials, such as snacks, drinks and magazines, and added-value items that make traveling easier and more enjoyable, to products for fans of Travel Channel’s hit shows.

“Partnering with Delaware North to create Travel Channel-branded retail locations presents a great opportunity for us to build our brand presence and engage travelers with our entertaining content as they embark on their journeys,” says Pat Younge, president and general manager of Travel Channel Media. “Offering travelers an entertaining experience at the airport is a natural extension for our business, and we look forward to bringing the Travel Channel brand to life through this retail endeavor.”
Travel Channel, available in more than 93 million U.S. cable homes, is a dedicated and trusted window on the world, bringing knowledge, insight and information to a community of people who want to experience their world and satisfy their curiosity. Travel Channel Media offers a vast array of consumer touch points that directly engage veteran travelers ready to plot their next trip, novice travelers not quite sure where to go and armchair travelers who are just along for the ride.

“We take pride in partnering with innovative brands like Travel Channel to continually evolve the airport retail experience,” says Bob Stanton, Vice President of Business Development at Delaware North Companies. Stanton explains that the company has yet to determine where the first Travel Channel store will be located, but confirms the concept is under consideration for several of the largest airports in the United States.

Delaware North Companies is a global leader in food service and hospitality with operations at such places as Wembley Stadium in the UK, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, Busch Stadium in St. Louis and Yosemite National Park. The company’s Travel and Hospitality Services division operates at more than two dozen airports worldwide including Los Angeles International Airport, Detroit Metro Airport and Melbourne Airport in Australia.

About Travel Channel Media

Travel Channel Media is an integrated travel media business, and is wholly owned by Cox Communications, Inc., a leading multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company. Travel Channel Media includes: the Travel Channel television network, available in more than 93 million U.S. cable homes; Travel Channel HD™, the network’s high-definition simulcast; travelchannel.com, the network’s broadband travel hub; Travel Channel’s video-on-demand (VOD) and HD VOD offerings; its mobile content platform, Travel Channel GO™; World Hum (worldhum.com), a leading online travel blog; and FlightDeck™, an innovative content-sharing and advertising network for online publishers and advertisers.

About Delaware North Companies

Delaware North Companies is one of the world’s leading hospitality and food service providers. Its family of companies includes Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment, Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services, Delaware North Companies Sportservice, Delaware North Companies International and Delaware North Companies Boston, owner of TD Banknorth Garden. Delaware North Companies is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States with revenues exceeding $2 billion annually and 40,000 associates serving half a billion customers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. For more information, please visit www.DelawareNorth.com.

About Brand Sense Partners

Established in 2001, Brand Sense Partners, LLC (BSP) is a strategic new business development consultancy with an integrated turnkey infrastructure designed to execute the firm’s recommendations. Headquartered in Los Angeles, BSP manages more than 200 partnerships for its Fortune 500 clients with approximately $1.5 Billion in retail sales in the consumer products, media, technology, celebrity and fashion industries. For more information, please visit www.bsp.com