Comcast Spotlight is the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable. With its headquarters located in New York City and offices all over the country, Comcast Spotlight employs over 3,000 people across the United States. Comcast Spotlight offers on-air, online and on-demand (aka video on demand or VOD) advertising on local, regional and national levels as an alternative to local network affiliates. They serve more than 80 of the nation's 210 designated market areas (DMAs) including 22 of the top 25 television markets with approximately 30 million owned and represented subscribers. Comcast Spotlight's "credo", as stated on their website, is to make cable advertising easy to buy, and to enhance the value of spot cable advertising via new technologies products and services. Many locations offer on-location video production staff and script writers.

History[link]

In 2002, Comcast and AT&T Broadband completed a merger totaling $47.5 billion, which combined systems to serve over 21 million video customers in 41 states. One of the main assets to the merger was Comcast acquiring the AT&T Advertising Sales which had recently begun branching into local spot advertising. AT&T Advertising Sales was renamed Comcast Advertising Sales and spread into Comcast's other DMAs across the United States. After numerous other mergers and acquisitions in the following years, Comcast had many various advertising sales divisions under many different names and was looking for a way to group them under one national brand name. Comcast Spotlight was the name chosen after much debate and a two month contest in which employees could submit names for consideration. Comcast Spotlight was officially announced on February 2, 2005, with Charlie Thurston named the president.

External links[link]

• ComcastSpotlight.com: Hiring and Company information
• Comcast.com: Sales, Stock, and Employment
• ComcastSpotlight.com: Management Bios
• ComcastSpotlight.com: Awards

References[link]

• "Comcast Spotlight Overview Section". http://www.comcastspotlight.com. Retrieved July 26, 2006. 

• "Comcast Puts "Spotlight" On Helping Advertisers Navigate New Media Technologies". http://www.mediavillage.com/pdf/2004/02-02-04.pdf. 

Shan Donte Foster is an American professional basketball player. Foster played shooting guard for the Commodores college basketball team at Vanderbilt University. He is the school's all-time leader in both points and three-point baskets made, and is also among the Southeastern Conference's all-time leaders with consecutive games with a made three-pointer.^[1] Foster was selected as an Associated Press second team All-American for the 2007-2008 college basketball season. He was announced as the winner of the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award at the 2008 Final Four.

Foster graduated from Vanderbilt on May 9, 2008 with a degree in human and organizational development.^[2] On June 26, 2008, Foster was drafted into the NBA by the Dallas Mavericks with the 51st overall pick.

High school career[link]

Shan Foster was born in Kenner, Louisiana, where he attended Bonnabel High School and served as the basketball team's captain his sophomore through senior years. While playing at Bonnabel his senior year, Foster garnered First Team All-State, All-Metro Most Valuable Player, All-City and All-District honors while averaging a double-double (23.4 points and 10 rebounds). Under Foster's leadership the Bonnabel Bruins finished an impressive 21-9 and claimed their district's title. Foster's success was not limited to the basketball court, as he also made his school's academic honor roll.^[3]

College career[link]

After picking Vanderbilt over Kansas, Notre Dame, Illinois, and LSU, Foster was immediately placed in the Commodores starting line-up. During his freshman year, Foster shot a blistering 44.5% from behind the three-point line and averaged 9.2 points a game. Foster improved his game for his sophomore year, averaging 15.9 points a game, and then 15.6 points per game as a junior. It was during his junior year that the Commodores, led by SEC Player of the Year Derrick Byars, finished the regular season a surprisingly strong 20-11 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before being eliminated by the Georgetown University Hoyas.

Going into his senior year, Foster was regarded as one of the deadliest long-range shooters in the NCAA and named an All-American candidate. Foster, with the help of freshman phenom Andrew Ogilvy, led the Commodores to their best start in school history at 16-0 before falling to the Kentucky Wildcats in double overtime at Rupp Arena on January 12, 2008.^[4] Foster would ensure that the loss was avenged, however, when, a month later, he scored 20 points against the Wildcats during their visit to Nashville en route to a crushing 93-52 victory that was Kentucky's worst loss since 1989, and their worst conference loss ever.^[5] Also that season, Foster would score a game-high 32 points to lead the Commodores to a 72-69 victory over the then top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers at Memorial Gymnasium.^[6] This marked the second time in Foster's career that Vanderbilt had knocked off the top-ranked team in the nation, the other instance occurring a year earlier when Vanderbilt defeated the eventual NCAA Tournament Champion Florida Gators 83-70, also at Memorial Gym.

Foster hit nine consecutive three-pointers (including a 22-footer and a 25-footer), all of which were contested, and unleashed a career-high 42 points on the visiting 25th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs, including the game-winning basket, to push then 16th-ranked Vanderbilt to a 86-85 overtime victory which gave the Commodores their first undefeated season at Memorial since the 1992-1993 season.^[7] The point total tied for second-highest single-game performance in Vanderbilt men's basketball history.^[7] At the conclusion of the regular season, Foster was named the 2008 SEC Player of the Year by both the SEC coaches and the Associated Press.

College career highs[link]

Foster's career highs while with the Vanderbilt Commodores are as follows:

• Points- 42 vs. Mississippi State University on March 5, 2008
• Assists- 7 at University of Kentucky on January 20, 2007
• Rebounds- 10 on 2 occasions
• Steals- 4 vs. University of Kentucky on February 25, 2007
• Blocks- 3 at Rice University on January 3, 2007
• Field Goals Made- 13 on 2 occasions
• 3-Point Field Goals Made- 9 vs. Mississippi State University on March 5, 2008
• Free Throws Made- 8 vs. University of Tennessee on February 26, 2008
• Minutes Played- 44 at University of South Carolina on February 28, 2007

Professional career[link]

The Dallas Mavericks used their only selection to pick Foster with the 51st overall selection in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Juvecaserta Basket of the Italian Serie A league, signed Foster for the 2008-09 season.^[8]

Foster played for the Mavericks in the NBA Summer League in 2010, but failed to impress.^[9]

Awards and recognition[link]

• 2008 SEC Player of the Year (Consensus)
• 2008 Rivals.com First Team All America
• 2008 CBS Second Team All America
• 2008 Dickie V All Solid Gold Third Team
• 2008 Sports Illustrated Third Team All America
• 2008 Associated Press Second Team All-American
• 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Winner

See also[link]

• List of NCAA Division I men's basketball career 3-point scoring leaders

References[link]

External links[link]

• Shan Foster's ESPN college profile