7th Level to Create Agent 7 Character For Road Runner Broadband Cable Internet Service
Business Wire - August 21, 1998 08:00
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 1998--7th Level, Inc. (www.7thlevel.com; NASDAQ: SEVL) has signed an agreement to create a reusable, voice
activated, animated Agent 7 character for the Road Runner of Tampa Bay broadband cable internet service, which is jointly owned by Time Warner (NYSE:
TWX), MediaOne (NYSE: UMG), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Compaq (NYSE: CPQ).
The character -- a friendly pirate named Barnacle Bob with a talking parrot -- will be used initially by Road Runner of Tampa Bay
(www.tampabay.rr.com/Around_Town) as an entertainment feature for children. Road Runner is the largest high-speed online service in the U.S. with access to 27
million cable homes. Road Runner of Tampa Bay has access to about 1.3 million cable homes.
"One of our most frequent requests is for content that will attract children," said Bob Bowden, Online Editor, Road Runner of Tampa Bay. "Because it is so easy to
create new content with Agent 7, we plan to use Barnacle Bob to build up a library of daily jokes and bedtime stories suitable for children. If the content
demonstrates wider appeal, we could syndicate it nationally. If Bob himself becomes popular, we'll look at broadening his use."
"We are constantly looking at ways to differentiate our high speed Internet service," said Mark Bailey, Vice President/General Manager, Online Services, Time
Warner. "Agent 7 will afford us a distinction from other online service providers. Barnacle Bob reflects our rich heritage in the Tampa Bay area. I'm sure that our
customers will have fun and enjoy it."
7th Level's Agent 7 software can be used to produce, lip synch and playback animated characters over the Internet and corporate networks or from within
Microsoft Office or other, major Windows 95/98 standalone PC applications. Users can change a character's dialog and animation by simply recording a voice
track with a microphone plugged into a PC. Consumers or professionals can create high quality intelligent, interactive animated characters or objects to increase the
effectiveness of webpages and presentations at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional frame-based animation.
Road Runner of Tampa Bay joins a growing list of leading Internet content providers and marketers who are turning to Agent 7 to produce dynamic, personalized
content; increase viewership; and expand the effectiveness and reduce the cost of updating websites.
"This agreement also steps up our penetration of the growing market for broadband Internet broadcast," said Curt Marvis, President of 7th Level. Earlier this year,
7th Level announced a technology marketing and distribution agreement with the WaveTop unit of WavePhore, Inc. (NASDAQ: WAVO), which broadcasts
broadband Web content to home PC users in 50 major markets encompassing two-thirds of U.S. households. WaveTop's enabling software is part of the Microsoft
Windows 98 operating system, which began shipping this summer.
7th Level, Inc. (NASDAQ: SEVL) is a developer of leading edge Internet software. In addition to Agent 7, the Company is developing a complete line of software
products which provide the end user with intelligent templates, reusable content libraries and specialized analysis techniques to greatly reduce the effort and skills
required to prepare rich media for delivery over the Internet.
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