I've been sent a LI connection request from a rep of this company. I started a purpose-driven business a year ago, but I used to be in cybersecurity so everything is suspect to me. Especially with so many scams out there. Glad I did some reading. What gave me the ick is how they present themselves as a television station and media company, not a marketing company, and based on collective complaints and reviews (here and the BBB) appear to attempt to manipulate by flattering egos when they could just straight-up offer their marketing services without the love-bombing part to get you buzzed before dropping a cost. Just seems odd. If they legit offer a good service this dog and pony show seems to be sabotaging their reputation. Just some friendly feedback. read more

Liars Liars Pants On Fire! - When they can't tell me why they picked "me" right off the bat - it is suspect - I don't want to waste my time on their pre-interview as I am not going to give them any money. Ass, Grass, or Gas - Nobody rides for free- and for people who are not upfront about their true purpose I do not wish to do business with them. I see now one of the owners has commented on my review - I looked over the website and no where on the website does it mention that there will be a cost to "me" minus the "pay now" paypal button at the bottom of the website. These a-holes just call you out of the blue, cold and make it "sound" like they just want to interview you. If you read the yelp reviews you will see that some unfortunate gullible people spent upward of $7500 and were never given what they were promised. I am quite sure that the shows owners paid for the good reviews of which there are only 2 vs the 2 pages of negative reviews posted. There are many people that wasted 45 min of their time on the "pre-interview" before realizing they were going to have to pay something. I contacted the Better Business Bureau to find out why they are condoning and supporting scam businesses like this - and this just means that I can no longer trust the BBB - they are bought and sold just like most others nowadays. So do what you want, but I personally will never use this company - or Bobby Banks who was the first one to approach me a few years ago - and I had to block his number on my phone because he would not quit calling me. Ugh. read more

I wanted to write a review to save others from wasting their time. We received this email (with incorrect spelling of one of our names): We are CUTV News and would like to possibly feature you on our celebrated Empowered Women Series/ Please give me a call or send an email with a time to contact you. Close Up Television & Radio with veteran award-winning broadcast TV and radio hosts/media personalities Jim Masters and Doug Llewelyn is an exciting, informative, entertaining, thought provoking and empowering broadcast series featuring LIVE interviews daily. Please visit our website www.cutvnews.com and listen to some of our fabulous interviews. Call me at 631 876 2323 Warmly, Alexis Nicolle http://www.blogtalkradio.com/closeupradio https://www.closeuptelevision.com/empowered-women-series We set up an interview, and then did some research. We read how this was more of a scam and would take up a chunk of our time to then be told we had to pay for this service. We sent this email: Hi Alexis, We did some research last night and have changed our mind on pursuing this opportunity with you. Thanks, I received this response, no longer being referred to as "Dr" as in previous email, now with my first name, lowercase: Thats up to you however just to let you know if you saw "bad" press thats not relevant nor true. None of those people were ever on our show. We have featured over ,000 professionals. Perhaps you should look at the "good" rather than what you perceive as the "bad." Our testimonials? Our interviews? Our Aplus ratings on BBB. That's how you research in the most intelligent way. We don't believe everything we read on the Internet. Warmly, Alexis Nicolle I responded saying that it was surprising to have my research skills questions and being told it was not intelligent, considering we were being asked as three women with doctorates and business owners to be on an empowering women series. I questioned if she even knows what we do- because we conduct neuropsychological assessment and research. I also commented that there was no curiosity as to why we were cancelling, and thanked them for confirming our suspicions and reasons for cancelling. I also asked to be removed from any further communication or mailing lists. I received multiple email responses: No [my name] I will not, we do not have any mailing list we call from so anyone here can call you if they wish. Please remove us from YOUR mailing list as you also charge your customers for your services. I have meetings and interviews and a tv/video shoot to attend. I'm quite busy. ****** Just because you have a doctorate doesn't mean that you do other things intelligently. You made an assumption that because of what you researched (poorly)that you would cancel our appointment without asking me like a professional woman should do. YOU did not bother to say the reason in the email so why should I ask you the reason? Also our Executive Producers found you and know exactly who the three of you are and thats why they were interested HOWEVER when you email me and say you di research on us and no longer are interested in speaking to me I take the offensively it wasn't nice of you at all. You made an assumption about US and thats not cool, you insulted me and yes I took that to heart. I thought about responding but decided instead to post here for other's enjoyment and research collecting. read more

I had nothing but great experiences with CUTV News. Jim and Doug were great, they handled my interviews with professionalism and care. The show produced thousands of hits to my site, which turned into more than enough clients to cover my costs. read more

I received a voicemail from "Bobby Banks at CUTV Radio, partnered with BlogTalk radio with 24 million listeners. We're doing another celebrity-hosted show all on empowered women, motivational speakers, coaches all about EFT. And we want to spotlight you to our huge audience as one of the top professionals in the area. Please get back to me at 631-850-3291 and again, my name is Bobby." So, this is nearly word-for-word the same pitch I am reading on scam logs, etc. I don't doubt they give you a radio recording, but the price I keep seeing in the scammer blogs is $5,000 and a high pressure close. No thanks, I have a radio show already, although the "EFT" was an interesting piece, since I am actually an EFT practitioner LOL! Buyer beware. Do a search before handing over any money. Know what you're getting into -- lots of info out there on these folks. read more

CUTV News - My voice mail did a good job translating. - Television Stations Near Me - Melville, New York

See all

I almost got swept up in this scam, but thankfully was able to reach out to a past client of theirs to get the full story - I ran the other way. As with many of the other 1 star review on here I was approached for a "empowering women" segment - and was in the running with three other women to work with this PR person, Chris Johnson who supposedly worked for NBC but had a generic cutvbusiness@gmail account. Big promises, lots of urgency, HUGE $15K investment - and crappy contract without any significant details that would normally be in a PR contract of this sort...like how much Chris Johnson the publicist would be getting paid. They said the same thing to me that the did to the woman I reached out to (who worked with them a year ago) that Marshall Goldsmith was "just retiring" and this supposed publicist Chris Johnson was looking for someone to fill the space and become the next big leadership speaker. When Chris Johnson called me back once, he called me his Superstar - but then realized he thought he was calling me, not some other woman named Tracy. Absolutely wild. They talk a big game and push you to move faster before you have a chance to think about it saying "C'mon, don't you want to take things to the next level?" "The studio is covering 90% of the cost" "Just trust me, if I don't book you my family doesn't eat", but aren't forthcoming with things like invoices, legal details, and legitimate communication. Run away. Run away fast. And don't look back. read more

Whenever offers, such as the one from "closeuptelevision.com" hit my inbox, I always, always, always do my due diligence research. These are predatory organizations that skim your contact data and approach entrepreneurs, authors, and others as if they've been specially selected for an interview. If you scan the other 1-star reviews, you'll see more of the tactics. A few of us have been contacted by the same group under other names, and other similar scams. Before deleting the company's email, I always take the extra time to post a review to ensure individuals are warned. This is similar to "vanity publishing" years ago. I've communicated with people who got sucked into this and similar scams. The email suggests you'll be a part of a select group, such as the Empowered Women series. A screener/salesperson interviews the "mark," indicates he/she is perfect for the program, and describes all the awesome publicity that will be the outcome. Then comes the scam... it will only cost $2500. For some who've engaged, there are then higher-priced "packages." Keep your money in the bank people. Legit podcasters, media, and others do NOT charge you. Additionally, people have paid and NOT received the service/results described. There are legit marking support companies that will provide a far more effective service. Stay away. read more

Close up is a scam. Don't get caught up with them. You will loose in the end. They make it sound good but it's really not beneficial to you or your future. read more

i had the pleasure of working with CUTV News on their radio podcast and video series. everything they outlined in their radio and video agreement was met and more! my u tube views has increased significantly and also the traffic on my website! i highly recommend this wonderful company! and Jim Masters is amazing!! read more

I was approached a few days ago through my website to do an interview with CUTV and some well known interviewers. I spoke with Alexis Nicole. After spending 40 minutes of my time on a pre-interview, I was told that to pay for their services, it would be $1500 of MY money for the interview or $2500 for two. She mentioned other people who had huge spikes in sales of their services after their interview/s. She urged me to book a show date and I could even have a payment plan if needed, paid in full by the show date. I declined as could not see making that money back in my kind of services. Turns out as shown by the other yelpers here that this is a well planned out scam. How can the BBB still have them listed as an A rating? I don't understand. read more

I agree with other reviewers who gave 1 star: this company is a scammer. I received an email from the company's Executive Producer, Anne Seyler. Here is what the email says: "Close Up Television & Radio with veteran award-winning broadcast TV and radio hosts/media personalities Jim Masters and Doug Llewelyn is an exciting, informative, entertaining, thought provoking and empowering broadcast series featuring LIVE episodes daily. Please visit our website, www.closeuptelevision.com for more information. We would like to have you on an upcoming segment, if interested in doing a live 30 minute radio interview give me a call or send an email with a time to contact you and we will go over the process of scheduling." A few days later, Anne called me to schedule my interview. After talking about all the great impact this radio interview could create, she told me that I had to pay $1,500 for the scriptwriter and marketing because the radio show is commercial-free. When I told her that I need to take time to think about it, she offered a $250 discount. She gave a few days to consider their offer. After the phone call, I researched this company and landed on this page. This company has been targeting life coaches like myself, taking benefit of the buzzing coaching market. STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY! read more

Was contacted out of the blue by this company related to the Empowered Woman series. They make it sound like they are going to help you, after a longer conversation I found out I had to pay them to be on their show. I told him I would think about it and set up a time for a callback. In the meantime I did some research and found little good about this station (I found these reviews after I decided not to work with them). I ended up having a client come in for tax return help when the phone call was scheduled, my office manager explained the situation and said that I would call them back. Instead of waiting for me to call them they called back hour and a half later. My office manager talked to them again and this time told them we were going to pass at this time. Bobby became very annoyed and informed me that they were going to give my slot to my main competitor in the area. Stay away. Scam. read more

I got tricked by this company...got absolutely nothing for my money. now I keep getting calls and emails from other scam companies. I was a fool to fall for this,I'm embarrassed but want others to know . .DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY...THIS IS A SCAM read more

I've been lied to by salespeople before, but this was beyond. First, I was sold online radio show interviews for $2,500, which I received. I had, at the time, really wanted big speaking engagements and television appearances. And I hadn't been able to get these myself. So when someone called me from CUTV News telling me he worked for NBC and that CUTV News thought I was a great match for what they were looking for for huge paid speaking engagements and television appearances, I was excited. He offered me "at least 8-12 speaking engagements", "not in front of 15 people...a thousand and better as far as audience", "and it's gonna be filmed", "someone we can ask for 6-8 thousand to get you there" "If your vision is to speak to the world, that's what this is for". (quotes from actual sales calls, which I recorded) This was for $7,500. More than I'd spent on anything, but if I got even one of these paid engagements, I'd make it back. So I bought it. 3 days later, he called again. This time he said I needed press kits to get the speaking engagements he'd sold me. "I have about 6 colleagues that are gonna help me market this. This way we know that at least you're safe at about 8-12 speaking engagements...the low-ballers are 6 thousand per speaking engagements...the high-ballers, we're gonna have a pricepoint...nonpofits...do you have, because if you don't, we're gonna have to create it...do you have your own press kits?" "Because it's so time-sensitive, I'm just gonna let these guys in-house it." "We need it done because it's time sensitive." "At least 500-1000 we need. It's gonna cover 6 months to a year. We may have to get more press kits ran off, maybe after six months when we run out." "This is so time-sensitive...we gotta get it done ASAP." He falsely claimed he said something about the press kits before. "I knocked off $1000 on your order because we're getting at least 500...so we enough for six months" "Okay, I'm telling you 8 to 12 speaking engagements; we're looking at probably 12 to 20." "As far as recouping the funds that you laid out, that's a no-brainer." Another $5,500. I'd already paid most of the previous $7,500. The first written agreement for the speaking engagements said "[salesperson's name] will be marketing Talent via the internet and corporate contacts for speaking engagements for a calendar year". So I believed his words. And he promised I'd make my money back. Which made sense if I got any engagements where I'd be paid "6 to 8 thousand" each. And I couldn't imagine speaking to an audience of 1000 or more and not getting a single client. So of course I'd make back the money. Right? Wrong. The director of operations says CUTV News doesn't guarantee speaking engagements (no television appearances either). So what was I paying for? - A press release I could've written - Press release distribution I could've paid $50 for - A video interview I could've created for a few hundred dollars - A number of youtube views comparable to what I'd gotten on one of my own videos for free - Trifold brochures & personalized folders I could've created and have no use for - Business card USB drives with my interview video on it--useless to me - The gut-wrenching feeling of learning that when I'd spent more money than I'd ever before spent on anything, I'd bought a lie - Over 1 1/2 yrs of sleepless nights - The loss of around 60% of my weekly income over the next 1 1/2 yrs as I tried to process having so much money I worked so long to earn taken in an instant with lies The director claims they delivered everything I was sold. After sending him recordings of the sales calls, and begging him, he got me a partial $4,000 refund on only the press kits. He said he couldn't get me even a partial refund on the package in which I'd first been sold speaking engagements--because they'd supposedly already delivered everything. Even though they didn't deliver the big paid speaking engagements that the salesperson had spent 30min of the 33min $7,500 sales call telling me about (after just 3min mentioning marketing materials that were, according to the director, all that was sold to me) and which the salesperson added to when requesting more money to get those engagements I'd already purchased (but that the director claims they don't guarantee). Result: - ZERO speaking engagements - ZERO television appearances - ZERO ROI - A LOT of Stress Final Note: If I'd been honestly sold what I was actually going to get, I wouldn't have bought this stuff because I didn't need it and wouldn't spend so much without a clear path to earning my money back. But for non-DIYers who want marketing materials and are willing to spend more than needed, the marketing materials here are good. If these were all CUTV News sold in its sales calls, this would be a very different review. Even with the sales calls as they were, if I had been given a fair refund considering the situation, this would be a very different review. read more

Scam. Don't fall for it unless you want money to fall out of your wallet too.

THIS IS A SCAM!!! I spent several days over a couple of weeks talking with various people ( first Frank Mitchell then Alexis Nicole) about a segment for "empowering women" and "holistic healing." After our scheduled 45 minute interview that lasted 20 minutes I was told there would be another, then I could select who would interview me and was presented with an option: "the more you do the less it costs." I was offered to PAY out of my own pocked 1500 to be interviewed. When I said I needed to think about it I was given a discount to then "only" have to pay 1250 for one or 2500 for two interviews. There is NO way this is a legitimate business. This is a predatory business feeding off counselors, therapists, coaches, and entrepreneurs. STAY AWAY!!! read more

Total scam. Don't waste your time. They're a pretty sophisticated sales operation and will hook you in with convincing conversation before dropping the $$$$ costs on you. Unless you're willing to part with big bucks for this form of "advertising", don't waste your time. read more

I like others have received emails for this company. They are scammers at best. Run!

We have worked with Close Up TV News for over 5 years. Their team is extra ordinary when it comes to Video and on line marketing. They over deliver and they are on point when it comes to improving web placement through increasing search results. With their content writing skills and their distribution channels we have seen search results increase dramatically The video production is extremely professional. Between the editing their knowledgeable staff Close Up TV News can truly assist any size business, author or organization that is looking to get a clear message out to a wide audience. read more

I am a Independent Wellness Coach, My experience was wonderful. I signed up for 6 radio shows a series, I was so happy with all the traffic I received . Working with Donna and Barry and Jim Master was a pleasure. The whole staff was very professional. It is a great feeling to know how many people needed to know about my services and how they can benefit. Sharing my story of what inspired me to start my journey was so nice to share with my inspirations. My press release was done very beautifully and have it now on my wall in my office to share with my clients. I am so happy with Cutv News and their amazing staff. Luna M. read more

I just got the call too and I first I thought it was legit becasue there was no discussion about money. First it was all about my professional background and how the interview process would work. Then came that I had to pay becasue they don't want to burden their listeners with advertisements. 2,500 for two interviews. I was disappointed becasue something like this would be great for my business. That's okay. I am now motivated to go out and get myself booked. :) I wonder if Doug Luellen (people's court dude) is really apart of the scheme. read more

This is a dishonest telemarketing company at this point.They are now doing Close-Up Talk Radio. I do not know how they got my number. I was told I was being interviewed among others for Empowered Women to be interviewed live by Doug Llewelyn from People's Court and Jim Masters from PBS to highlight one of our businesses' and achievements. I was told halfway through the conversation that I was the one the caller decided to select. I was then told about the excellent storyboard/script writer that would be calling me to write my story so that it would promote me and tell my story exactly as I wanted it to be told through the question/answer interview script. He explained it was controlled media for them to promote me, give me branding, name recognition, and notoriety. There would be 65 million listeners and that they would promote me on 265 networking sites. Then came the very high pressure to commit and PAY TODAY! $2,500 was needed for them to interview me. I looked up the Blog Talk Radio I would be on and saw that it is a site where ANYONE can make their own Radio Show at http://www.BLOGTALKRADIO.COM. For FREE you can Host your own live talk radio show using any phone and a web browser 5 simultaneous guests/listeners on your show Live chat with listeners Promotional tools: share on social networks, embed on blog/iTunes All shows archived as podcasts This telemarketing company does have you be interviewed rather than you hosting your own show, but it is http://www.BLOGTALKRADIO.COM/closeuptalkradio. They have 40 followers, and it appears that only 18 of them are not Blog Talk Radio Hosts themselves. This leads me to believe that there would not be 65 million people listening to my interview. Sadly if you Google them along with the word scam or complaints there are quite a few stories of people being taken advantage of. read more

My desire is to expose the deceptive sales practices and financial exploitation I recently experienced with CUTV News in NY. This caused me emotional distress and many hours of my time. My time is valuable as an independent consultant. I felt that I was taken advantage of and deceived. I went on Yelp and this has been experienced by others. I don't want this to happen to someone else. I certainly don't have time or money for litigation, but I want them called out. I am a victim of the deviant and predatory sales practices of CUTV News. The organization is despicable. I received a call from Alexis Rose on October 15th, 2019. She was very thorough in her explanation of how I had been sought out and chosen by the producers and that they must have seen something very special as I was chosen to take part in CUTV News' Empowered Women's Series. In our 20-minute phone call, she provided me with their website to view the interviews. I spent the better part of my evening doing so and I was thrilled to be chosen. She proceeded to schedule a pre-interview for 11am on October 16th, 2019. Upon my pre-interview with Alexis, I spent an hour of my time, providing a history about myself and she verbalized her gratefulness that the producers chose me and complimented me, stating I was so "genuine and passionate" about my specialty. She had an agenda for this call, and I was dragged along this long phone interview ending in a sales pitch. The phone call on October 15th, 2019 was to rope me in, NOT to do a real interview. Requesting me to spend time listening to the other women's interviews was the next push and only the next part of the deception. During my pre-interview call on October 16th, Alexis took her time explaining the step-by-step logistics, asking me to get my calendar ready as we were going to schedule another interview with the producers and then finally the interview itself with one of their 3 well-known interviewers. We were just at the point of scheduling the second interview when she happened to mention that this would cost me "$1500.00 for one interview and only $2500.00 for up to two interviews." I was devastated and was clearly emotionally upset to find out I had spent all this time on what was a very planned out scam. The organization caused me to be on an emotional roller coaster along with stealing hours of my time. This is completely unacceptable. The cost for my consulting and education business is $375.00 per hour. I feel that I should be financially compensated along with an apology for being targeted, deceived, and exploited. Anyone associated with CUTV News should be held culpable. read more

I don't even want to give this business one star. Heads up to writers, speakers, etc.. They obviously search for your info on the internet then call to solicit an interview. In my case, it involves the murder of my son 12 years ago. I had two conversations with the Senior Director, Kieran Rodgers, before he "mentioned" that my cost would be a mere $2500. No integrity and fairly despicable behavior considering I have probably endured enough pain. I just want to get the word out there. This business is on the lowest level of the media chain. Shame on you. read more