VEOH NETWORKS ADDS ABC & ESPN CONTENT VIA SYNDICATED VIDEO PLAYERS
Hit Shows from the Two Networks, Including "Lost," "Grey's Anatomy" and "SportsCenter Right Now," Are Now Available to Veoh's More Than 28 Million Viewers
ABC, ESPN and Veoh Networks announced today that full episodes from ABC and short-form online video content from ESPN.com are now accessible through Veoh. Delivered via ABC.com's Emmy and Webby Award-winning broadband player, full episodes of popular ABC programs including "Lost," "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and "Ugly Betty" are available for free to viewers at www.veoh.com. Veoh will also offer select short-form programming from ABC via an embedded short-form player, which will launch on the site later this year. In addition, Veoh now features highlights from major sporting events through a multi-sport embedded ESPN video player, as well as original ESPN programming, including "SportsCenter Right Now" -- a twice-daily capsule of top sports stories, highlights and breaking news -- and clips from ESPN programs such as "Mike and Mike in the Morning," "Pardon the Interruption" and "Around the Horn." Beginning today, viewers can easily access the Veoh ABC and ESPN channels through the channel tabs located on Veoh's homepage or through Veoh's video search.
"We're excited to bring high quality content from ABC and ESPN to Veoh's highly engaged users," said Matt Murphy, senior vice president of Digital Video Distribution, Disney and ESPN Media Networks. "This deal expands the distribution of our quality programming through our own broadband players, growing the reach of our advertisers while maintaining their direct association with our powerful network brands."
Steve Mitgang, Chief Executive Officer, Veoh Networks, Inc., said: "Veoh's viewers actively watch a broad range of content across network TV shows, made-for-web productions and independently produced videos, so we are thrilled to expand our offerings with popular programming from ABC and ESPN. This relationship will not only allow Veoh to cultivate new, influential fans of ABC and ESPN shows among its core audience of 18-34 year old viewers, but also engage marketers across even more types and lengths of video content."
Combining sleek, modern design with superior user-friendly functionality, the ABC online video player offers users episodes of ABC's most popular series, many of them available in HD and in a variety of viewing sizes to provide the best online video viewing experience currently available. Beginning this fall, ABC will roll out enhancements to the player, including true full-screen viewing, closed captioning, enhanced navigation and powerful video search capabilities. Featuring a unique interactive advertising model designed for high ad retention, ABC.com's full episode player continues to deliver a premium to advertisers, attracting a young, highly educated and loyal user base. Since launching in 2006, over 380 million episodes have been initiated through the ABC.com full episode player.
ESPN Video is among the most popular online. In 2007, fans viewed ESPN.com videos more than 1.2 billion times, a 54 percent increase over 2006. So far in 2008, fans are viewing an average of 121 million videos per month, a 32 percent increase as compared to the same period last year. Further, ESPN.com was named most often (unaided) by those surveyed in a recent Horowitz Associates report as the site they go to for sports video (with nearly four times greater unaided response than any other site named). The report also found that sports is among the most popular overall segments for online video � with one in five high speed Internet users watching sports video weekly (source: Horowitz Associates, Broadband Content and Services, Dec. 2007)
About ESPN
ESPN, Inc. is the world's leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company, featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. The company comprises six domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU), ESPN and ESPN2 HD simulcast services, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (34 networks, syndication, radio, websites), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN PPV, ESPN Zones (sports-themed restaurants), plus other growing new businesses, including ESPN360.com (Broadband), ESPN Mobile Properties, ESPN on Demand and ESPN Interactive. Based in Bristol, CT, ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.
About Disney-ABC Television Group
The Disney-ABC Television Group is home to all of The Walt Disney Company's (NYSE: DIS) worldwide entertainment and news television properties. The Group includes the ABC Television Network (including ABC Daytime, ABC Entertainment and ABC News divisions); the Disney Channels Worldwide global kids' TV business, ABC Family and SOAPnet; as well as television production and syndication divisions ABC Studios, Disney-ABC Domestic Television and Disney-ABC International Television. The Disney-ABC Television Group also manages the Radio Disney Network, general interest and non-fiction book imprint Hyperion, as well the Company's equity interest in Lifetime Entertainment Services and A&E Television Networks.
About Veoh Networks
Named one of AdWeek's Top 10 Digital Hotlist sites in 2007, Veoh Networks is an innovative Internet Television company that delivers broadcast-quality video programming via the Internet. The Veoh Networks portfolio includes Veoh.com, one of the most popular video hosting services on the Internet, and VeohTV, a free downloadable application that turns online video into Internet Television. Veoh has more than 100,000 content publishers � from CBS, Viacom's MTV Networks, FEARNet, Lions Gate, PBS and Us Magazine to thousands of independent filmmakers and content producers � and currently attracts over 28 million unique users per month. For advertisers, Veoh offers compelling ways of engaging with a targeted audience and measuring performance of their ad buys. Veoh Networks is a privately held company that is backed by leading technology and media investors, including Shelter Capital Partners, Spark Capital, Michael Eisner's Tornante Company, Goldman Sachs, Time Warner Inc., Intel Capital, Adobe Systems Incorporated, Gordon Crawford, Tom Freston and Jonathan Dolgen. The company's principal offices are in Los Angeles and San Diego, California.
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