The great and powerful Oz lives amongst us. HSN’s massive, tower of the gated campus at 1 HSN Drive is visible from I-275 and provides workspace for 2,000+ employees, but what do they do to keep the network running? We at iLovetheBurg.com wanted to pull aside the curtain to see what a day in the life of HSN is all about, so we arranged to meet up with Vice President of Television Production Pardip Ram to show us what it takes to keep the cameras rolling.
“We’re coming to Direct TV soon, now we’re just on Dish,” Pardip says. He guides us into a dark, bustling room full of monitors. “This is the producer,” Pardip points to a man wearing headphones and scanning ten screens at once. The producer watches the live broadcast and evaluates the number of product sales on the show in real time. When the target of sales isn’t hit, he cuts the product off the air and the program moves on to something else. For example, Green Handbags got 40,000 hits on the phone over the course of two hours. That was 1,000 over the target, which takes a little pressure off the producer to make his numbers. We continue our journey and re-enter the hall.
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“Beep beep, coming through!” A well dressed woman laughs as she is pushed past in a wheelchair at a light run. It turns out the TV hosts are wheel-chaired between studios so they don’t look flustered on set. By the professional kitchen where celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck develops his products, there are several tables upon which bowls of food are arranged in pairs. One bowl of strawberries looks fresh and inviting, but the bowl of strawberries next to it is fuzzy with mold. It is all a test to display the preservation power of a brand of food containers.
Pardip ushers us on and we enter one of the seven filming studios where he describes the details that go into every set. Each one is made from scratch and is completely changed about three times a week for the unique demands of each brand they are showcasing. Teams of construction workers are everywhere with their power drills behind the row of cameras staring at us. Camera-side, there is a lovely, sterile living room complete with fireplace. For now.
One of the studios is outdoors and we pass the pool and sets of lounge chairs. Besides displaying outdoorsy products, this studio is used to showcase cars for HSN package deals. HSN doesn’t directly sell cars, but they do have TV specials where they talk about specific cars and give away $1,000 worth of HSN rewards to viewers who buy the car from a dealership through the special. There is even an event where HSN’s superfans get flown in and are treated to a stay at the Vinoy Hotel for an HSN extravaganza. What does it take to get invited? Spend 15-30k with your HSN credit card.
We notice a lot of high profile brands, like Coca-Cola, around us that previously would have balked at dealing with HSN. The network’s transformation is largely attributed to Mindy Grossman, Chief Executive Officer of HSN Inc., who joined in 2006. She now oversees a $3.3 billion direct to consumer retail portfolio and in 2013 she was named “One of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” in Forbes magazine, which is the third time she’s won the honor. If HSN is the Land of Oz, she has to be the Good Witch of the East and the Great Oz himself wrapped into one. Pardip leaves us with a friendly handshake and his business card before he hummingbirds off to the next pressing task. But what happens before the cameras are even in the picture? For that, we arranged a tour of the Quality Assurance facility. If you thought things were surreal or fantastic around the cameras, you haven’t seen anything yet. Stay tuned for part two.
Article by Norris Comer, Writer/Editor for iLovetheBurg.com
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