7th Level rose over 400% today. Wow.
7TH LEVEL & WAVEPHORE TEAM UP TO PROVIDE 7TH
LEVEL'S BREAKTHROUGH CHARACTER ANIMATION
TECHNOLOGY TO WAVETOP ADVERTISERS AND
CONTENT PROVIDERS
7th Level's "Intelligent Agents" Will Enhance
WaveTop's Next-Generation Broadcast Experience
DALLAS, Texas -- April 21, 1998 - In a move to expand its Internet
animation technology to next-generation broadcast platforms, 7th Level,
Inc. (NASDAQ: SEVL) today announced that it has entered into an
agreement with WaveTop, a business unit of WavePhore, Inc.
(NASDAQ: WAVO), to distribute 7th Level's character animation
technology with WaveTop content and advertisements to WaveTop end
users. WaveTop currently broadcasts Web content to home PC users
in 50 major markets encompassing two-thirds of U.S. households. In
addition, WaveTop's enabling software will be part of the Microsoft
Windows 98 operating system, which is expected to begin shipping in late
June, this year.
Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, WaveTop will market 7th
Level's powerful character animation technology to its advertisers and
content providers to enable these WaveTop partners to create highly
interactive, media-rich advertisements and content. With 7th Level's
easy-to-use "intelligent agent" preparation tools, WaveTop customers will
be able to customize ads and content quickly, with characters which are
highly interactive.
WaveTop's ability to deliver high-bandwidth applications to the home
without the download delays associated with modems allows advertisers
to send more creative multimedia advertisements such as movie and
video clips, games, software downloads and microsites. The high
bandwidth advertisements are stored on a user's hard drive, so
interaction is instantaneous and users are not required to go online when
they click a banner ad. A typical banner ad on the Web is currently 12k.
WaveTop is able to offer advertisers ads starting at 100k and as high as
2 megs., which will allow WaveTop partners to take advantage of 7th
Level's multimedia technology.
"We are thrilled to be able to partner with WaveTop to bring our
intelligent character agent technology to the next-generation data
broadcast platform," said Curt Marvis, 7th Level's Sr. Vice President of
Business Development. "As the TV and PC converge, brand recognition
and differentiation will be achieved by those companies that take greatest
advantage of the interactive potential of the new broadcast medium. Our
technology allows WaveTop content providers and advertisers to
capitalize on the full potential of this new medium by creating interactive,
intelligent characters which truly bring advertisements and other forms of
content to life."
"7th Level's character animation technology provides an innovative tool
for our partners to deliver interactive promotional and advertising
messages to their audiences," said Sandy Goldman, Sr. Vice
President-General Manager, WaveTop. "WaveTop's advertisers and
content providers will be able to update messages and advertisements to
the user transparently, and 7th Level's intelligent agents have the
added-value of serving as branding vehicles for product identity. From the
standpoint of interactivity, 7th Level's character technology is truly a
breakthrough for data broadcast."
WaveTop's alliance with 7th Level now takes 7th Level's technology into
the "broadcast" arena. 7th Level has been repositioning itself as a leading
developer of Internet tools and technologies, and the company intends to
leverage its technologies into new midband and broadband delivery
systems. According to Richard Merrick, 7th Level's Chief Strategist,
"WaveTop's endorsement of our technology for the data broadcast
medium is especially significant to us as we move to horizontally integrate
into broadband platforms, as well as mid and narrowband."
7th Level's Internet technology is the first of its kind for preparing and
streaming real-time, intelligent, interactive animation over the Internet and
other networked delivery systems. 7th Level, Inc. (NASDAQ: SEVL) is a
developer of leading-edge technologies which can be used by anyone to
quickly and easily create rich media content for use in advertising,
e-commerce, training, customer support and other e-business applications.
Additional information on 7th Level is available via the Internet at
www.7thlevel.com.
WavePhore, Inc., (NASDAQ: WAVO) is the global leader in connecting
people with compelling information in the office and at the home. The
corporation is headquartered in Phoenix, AZ and composed of three
business units: WavePhore Networks, WavePhore Newscast and
WavePhore WaveTop. WavePhore Networks, the industry leader in
data broadcasting, provides flexible, high-speed data delivery for
information publishers to more than 80,000 sites worldwide. WavePhore
Newscast is the Web's premier business infosource for enterprise-wide
use. WavePhore WaveTop is the first free, advertising-supported,
nationwide data broadcast system to deliver multimedia content to TV
tuner-enabled PC's in the home. Additional information on WavePhore is
available via the Internet at www.wavephore.com, www.wavetop.net,
www.wavo.com, and www.newscast.com.
Certain of the above statements regarding WavePhore constitute
forward-looking statements, which may involve risks and uncertainties.
Actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking
statements as a result of a variety of factors, including, but not limited to,
technology changes, competitive developments, industry and market
acceptance of new products and services, risk factors listed from time to
time in WavePhore's SEC filings.
# # #
All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
Contact:
7th LevelContact:
Media -
Jenny Rosas/Stacey Johnes/Jennifer Mellios
Bender, Goldman & Helper
(310) 473-4147
jenny_rosas@bgh.com
stacey_johnes@bgh.com
jennifer_mellios@bgh.com
Investors -
Gary Fishman/Susan Romero
Hudson Stone
(212) 527-4808
gfish82403@aol.com
WavePhore WaveTop Contact:
Media - Investors -
Bernadette Callahan Jennifer Schreier
Neale-May & Partners WavePhore Investor Relations
(650) 328-5555 x120 (602) 952-5500 x239
callahan@nealemay.com jschreier@wavephore.com
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