RNWK--E! Online Oscars(R) Coverage Is Website's 2nd Highest Traffic Day Ever; New Softcom Interactive Video Technology Boosted Traffic
PR NEWSWIRE - March 29, 2000 18:33
LOS ANGELES, Mar 29, 2000 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- E! Online, (www.eonline.com), Entertainment's Home Page, experienced its 2nd highest single day traffic volume at its Web site on Monday, March 27, featuring The Oscars(R), with 7.3 million page views. This represents a three-fold increase in traffic volume compared to the same day last year -- the day after the Oscars in 1999 -- when E! Online experienced 2.4 million page views. The Website's single-day traffic peak was 10.3 million page views on February 24, 2000 -- the day after this year's Grammy Awards event.
This year's Oscars coverage at E! Online included a new enhanced interactive feature. Softcom's proprietary MediaPlatform technology, which enables content providers to rapidly and economically create and deploy dynamic interactive video applications, powered E! Online's enhanced Oscars(R) presentation. It enabled participants to simultaneously chat live with E! Online gossip columnist Ted Casablanca and other movie fans, play the "Golden Gamble" betting game, and watch on-demand video of the top nominees -- all in a single screen.
E! Online Vice President of technology Jeff Mayzurk says, "We are delighted with the popularity of this year's Oscars(R) package, and Softcom's contribution helped us to enrich the experience for millions of entertainment enthusiasts. Softcom's integrated platform gave us a glimpse into the future of interactive video."
"We are thrilled that E! Online successfully leveraged our video expertise and technology to integrate a variety of interactive applications with streaming video," said Mark Lieberman, Chairman and CEO of Softcom. "We look forward to further demonstrating our system's capabilities by expanding our relationship with E! Online in the near future."
This year's Oscars package at E! Online features a scorecard -- including all the winners and nominees in all the categories; a blow-by-blow account of the action throughout Oscars night; next-day red carpet clips and pics; best and worst recap of the evening's speeches, presentations, fashions and memorable moments; "Fashion Police" -- who turned heads and why; Oscars party pics as the celebs let their hair down after the event; the fun "Best Actress" game; an online pre-Oscars chat with Joan & Melissa Rivers; and columnist Ted Casablanca's live Oscar Party chat during the event.
Last year's Grammy Awards coverage generated 1.8 million page views at E! Online. Previous awards coverage traffic at E! Online includes 1.8 million page views for the 1999 Golden Globes, 2.4 million page views for the 1999 Oscars, and 2.2 million page views for the 1999 Emmys. E! Online measures single day traffic volume from midnight to midnight. *
* E! Online analysis in accordance with IAB metrics and methodology
About E! Online
E! Online, (http://www.eonline.com), Entertainment's Home Page, delivers original entertainment news, gossip, celebrities, movie and TV information to entertainment enthusiasts through an interactive format maximizing the brand awareness and reach of E! Entertainment Television. Based in Los Angeles, California, E! Online reaches over 5.1 million unique US adult users per month and is the premier entertainment destination on the World Wide Web. E! Online also operates shop.eonline.com, "your one-stop shop for entertainment merchandise(SM)." E! Online is a wholly owned subsidiary of E! Entertainment Networks, which is currently available to 60 million cable and direct broadcast satellite subscribers in the US.
About Softcom
Softcom (www.softcom.com) is a leading application service provider (ASP) offering end-to-end Internet video solutions to customers in the media, retail and professional education markets. The Softcom solution enables clients to rapidly deploy dynamic Internet video applications integrating streaming media with synchronized content and e-commerce. Softcom's MediaPlatform was launched as an application service in September 1999. Softcom interactive video solutions have been deployed to power HBO's The Sopranos "Family Tree" as well as Home Shopping Network's interactive live Web cast featuring Joe Montana at this year's Super Bowl. Softcom has strategic relationships with Sun Microsystems, which markets Softcom's technology, and RealNetworks, which distributes Softcom's MediaPlatform on its automatic update server. Softcom's management and board is comprised of up of a team of leaders and innovators in the technology, entertainment and Web design industries. The company has attracted $30 million in investment and has recently completed its B round of funding. Investors include J. & W. Seligman, Allen & Company, Tudor Private Equity, Warburg Pincus, Intel Capital and PS Capital as well as several individuals.
For further information contact: Roy Bodner of E! Online, 323-954-2841, royb@eonline.com; or Emma Pearson-Stoner of Softcom, emma@goodmanmedia.com; or Bryan Frascati of Goodman Media, 212-576-2700, Bryan@goodmanmedia.com.
SOURCE E! Online |
