Broadband Interactive Plans to Cut 11 Jobs

Taking action quickly, the newly appointed chief executive of Broadband Interactive Group said the Irvine new-media company will eliminate 11 positions as it refocuses its operations on interactive television programming.

Andrew Coulson, hired last month after developing a strategic plan as a BIG consultant, said the cuts will come in production, competitive events marketing and administration in the company’s extreme-sports Bluetorch unit.

Eight new positions were created in sales and marketing for its core programming, which includes action sports home videos and direct response marketing.

The current restructuring follows last fall’s retrenchment, in which 64 of about 130 employees lost their jobs.

BIG, founded in January 1999, is backed principally by Henry T. Nicholas III and Henry Samueli, the co-founders of Irvine communications chip maker Broadcom Corp.