ACTV, more goodies.....
TBS Superstation and HyperTV with Livewire Enter Next Dimension of Television-Internet Convergence with iWatch Wednesday
ATLANTA--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--July 26, 2000--
Three-Hour Programming Block Breaks New Ground by Combining
Narrative Television Programming with Synchronized
Web-Exclusive Content
TBS Superstation and HyperTV with Livewire are sending viewers into the next dimension of television-Internet convergence with iWatch Wednesday, a weekly TV programming block enhanced with synchronized Web-exclusive content. This groundbreaking initiative marks the first time that convergence technology has been used to promote and enhance an entire prime-time block of narrative programs on a weekly basis. iWatch Wednesday kicks off Wednesday, August 2, on TBS Superstation and TBSsuperstation.com.
iWatch Wednesday is an Enhanced TV viewing experience that uses the Internet to provide viewers with a multimedia accompaniment during the prime-time airings of TBS Superstation's Wednesday night programs. As viewers watch TBS Superstation's Wednesday night line-up of Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R) and WCW Thunder, they will be able to experience carefully synchronized interactive Web content on TBSsuperstation.com, including trivia, games, contests, polls and behind-the-scenes information.
To participate, viewers log on to TBSsuperstation.com to download the free HyperTV software plug-in. They will then be able to interact, free of charge, with exclusive show-related Web content whose automated delivery will be synchronized to correspond with Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R) and WCW Thunder as they air on the Superstation. In addition, viewers will be able participate in ongoing contests, chat with other viewers and purchase Superstation-related merchandise. (A complete description of available features is attached.)
"iWatch Wednesday solidifies TBS Superstation's leadership position within the rapidly expanding world of television-Internet convergence," said Constance Barkley-Lewis, senior vice president of marketing for TBS Superstation. "This weekly convergence block offers valuable benefits to the Superstation's three major clients: advertisers, for whom iWatch Wednesday is a unique and dynamic way to deliver their message to an ever-growing audience; cable operators, who can use the block as a promotional platform to push the benefits of their high-speed broadband technology; and viewers, whose entertainment experience is deepened through interactivity."
"After working with TBS Superstation on the highly successful CyberBond event, which used HyperTV to enhance airings of the James Bond movies, we are thrilled to expand the relationship to include this regularly scheduled, weekly initiative," said Bruce J. Crowley, president of ACTV's HyperTV Networks. "Enhanced TV programming turns passive television viewing into a proactive, interactive, online community experience, and our past success with such events as CyberBond prove that audiences are ready and excited to take part in this new entertainment experience. Through our partnership with Liberty Livewire, we can support hundreds of thousands of users on a weekly basis for TBS Superstation."
Bill Airy, vice president of Liberty Livewire Corporation's interactive services division, said, "Liberty Livewire Corporation is proud to be able to support iWatch Wednesday with our state-of-the-art hosting and distribution services, delivering HyperTV with Livewire events to large-scale audiences of simultaneous users."
HyperTV with Livewire currently targets the "two box, two screen" audience of viewers who are creating their own interactive television experiences. According to a survey released in June 2000 by Dataquest, a unit of Gartner Group, 44 million individuals in the U.S. watch TV and simultaneously surf the Web. By the beginning of 2001, the number is projected to reach 52 million U.S. consumers, up from 27 million in 1999. The only requirement to experience a HyperTV event today is to have an Internet-connected computer and a TV set located in the same room.
As more sophisticated and powerful digital set-top box technology proliferates, and as more companies offer high-speed Internet access, it is anticipated that viewers will enjoy HyperTV experiences with both video and synchronized Web content and functionality delivered simultaneously to their TV ("one box, one screen").
HyperTV with Livewire provides turnkey convergence services, including application hosting, web authoring services, data management, e-commerce and other value-added services for advertisers, television programmers, studios and networks. The venture combines ACTV's patented convergence technologies with Liberty Livewire Corporation's worldwide leadership position in providing creative, post-production, web hosting and distribution services to the entertainment and advertising industries.
HyperTV with Livewire enables TV networks, programmers and advertisers to automatically deliver compelling interactive Web content, Web-based advertising, e-commerce, and community chat features that are synchronized to live or pre-recorded TV programming (or any other video or audio-based content).
ACTV, Inc. (Nasdaq: IATV), with headquarters in New York City, pioneered Enhanced TV programming with its patented HyperTV(R) software solution. The company also created interactive one-to-one digital television with its proprietary One To One TV(TM) software and programming capabilities.
ACTV has relationships with many of the dominant players in the Internet, television and digital technology fields, including key strategic relationships with Liberty Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: LDIG), Motorola's (NYSE: MOT) Broadband Communications Sector, Liberty Livewire Corporation (Nasdaq: LWIRA), and OpenTV (Nasdaq and AEX: OPTV). For more information, visit ACTV's Web site at actv.com or visit hypertv.com.
Liberty Livewire Corporation (Nasdaq: LWIRA) provides a wide range of traditional audio and video post-production, transmission, library services, Internet hosting, and audio/video distribution services via satellite and fiber to worldwide clients in the feature film, television and advertising industries. The company also provides interactive television service under the brand name HyperTV with Livewire as part of a joint venture with ACTV's (Nasdaq: IATV) HyperTV Networks. The company has facilities in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, London, San Francisco, Singapore, Madrid and Barcelona. The company has offices in New York, London, and Los Angeles. Liberty Livewire is a subsidiary of Liberty Media Group (NYSE: LMG.A, LMG.B).
TBS Superstation is the TV Haven for the Regular Guy. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.'s flagship entertainment network, the Superstation reaches 79.4 million households and is cable's most-watched network, a position it has held for 23 consecutive years. TBS Superstation offers high-profile original movies and series, blockbuster movies, popular series and sports, all reflecting the attitudes, tastes, values and beliefs of the Regular Guy and the people in his life. The Superstation's Web site is located at TBSsuperstation.com.
A complete description of available features is attached.
This information can also be accessed on TBS, Inc.'s press site at pressroom.turner.com.
iWATCH WEDNESDAY
The following is a rundown of elements that will be included during the Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R) and WCW Thunder presentations of iWatch Wednesday.
COMBINED POINT GAMES:
Both Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R) and WCW Thunder will offer online games during iWatch Wednesday that allow users to accumulate points throughout the night, as well as throughout the rest of the year. Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R) will have Quest for the Unusual, an action-adventure game that challenges the user to collect points through various games and puzzles. WCW Thunder will then use the allocation of points in its own game to be announced later.
Cumulative points from both the Ripley's Believe It or Not!(R) and WCW Thunder sections of iWatch Wednesday will then be used to determine who wins special prizes and how many entries each user gets towards winning the Grand Prize, given away at the end of the year.
RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT!(R)
CONTENT FEATURES:
-- Incredible Information - An online enhancement will let the
viewer know a little more about the current on-air segment.
-- Facts from the Real World - A feature that will correlate the
current amazing story to a seemingly unrelated fact. For example,
viewers watching a segment on a woman with fingernails 4.5 feet
long on television will learn on the Web that The Artist Formerly
Known as Prince is only four inches taller than the woman's
fingernails.
-- Make Us Believe It - A venue for users to submit their amazing
stories.
-- Believable Background - A section that will give additional
information about the topic at hand. It will also give stories
and information related to the more general topic of the segment.
-- The Labs - A storehouse of scientific data and measurements on
the subject of the current segment. For example, during a segment
featuring a robot with a personality, this area may highlight the
technical specifications on the robot.
-- Poll - An opinion question for viewers to answer.
-- Where Are They Now - An update on the subjects of past features.
FUN AND GAMES:
-- Quest for the Unusual - A game that will take people on a virtual
action-adventure each week mirroring an actual Robert Ripley
mission to find an amazing story. There will be a master map that
will help individuals navigate to the desired goal and uncover a
lost artifact.
-- Flash Stunts - Quick games built on the concepts of the on air
stories.
-- Show Producer - A participatory opportunity to "develop" a show
or show concept. The site will ask general questions about
upcoming show topics and then ask viewers to vote on their
favorites.
-- Did You Know? - A quiz on past episodes, Ripley's venues and
interesting tidbits about various segments.
-- Parallax View - A skewed, trivia slant on certain segments of the
show. For example, the story about the woman with long
fingernails could produce a question, "In which film did Robert
DeNiro sport long fingernails?"
WCW THUNDER
CONTENT FEATURES:
-- Thunder Match-up - An overall view of the night's matches and
storylines.
-- Rope Dope - Insider information from Kevin Eck of WCW Magazine.
-- Match Rules - An explanation of the current match. Since rules
vary greatly between bouts, this will be a valuable too to enhance
the viewing experience for new wrestling fans.
-- I On The Stars - A listing of upcoming live appearances and guest
shots by members of the WCW wrestling world.
-- Who's Got the Strap? - A current breakdown of each title belt, so
viewers can keep track of who is battling for the championships in
each weight class.
-- Talkin' Smack - An animated version of a wrestler's tagline,
presented as the wrestler is coming onto the mat.
-- Wrestler's Bio - An in-depth bio on the wrestler who is in the ring
at the current moment.
-- Whatchu Heard - Insider information from WCW.com's CT Haynes.
-- Crime and Punishment - A detailed look at a wrestler's signature
move, as well as what criminal charge it would be equal to if
performed in the real world.
-- You Talkin' To Me? - A feature that allows the user to see the
wrestlers' catch phrases and quotes they have vented on-air about
their opponents.
-- News Flash - A presentation of the latest and greatest news to
shock the wrestling world.
-- Fashion Tips by Ms. Hancock - A humorous, Joan Rivers-type
commentary critiquing various wrestlers' styles and costumes.
-- WCW: Confidential - A revealing look at a wrestler's `hidden
side' or secret passion.
-- Wrestler's Locker - An animated, inside look at the items in a
wrestler's locker. This section will enlighten users on the real,
behind the scene story for certain wrestlers.
-- Whatcha Bench? - A database of facts that allows users to see how
they stack up against their favorite wrestlers. This will also
provide a ranking system for how other wrestler's rank against
each other.
-- Rage-O-Meter - A meter that will rise in accordance with the anger
of the current match participants.
-- Best Signs - A chance for users to submit their idea for a clever
sign, which may be used in a future week's episode, or awarded
prizes. Also, the signs may be posted on the web for viewers to
see.
-- We Got Your Hook-Up - A chance for viewers to submit pick-up
lines, which will be rated by the Nitro Girls and posted on the
Web site for everyone to look at.
-- How Loud is the Crowd? - A gauge showing the decibel level at
the WCW match.
-- Data Slam - Facts about the show, the venue,
pay-per-views, future championship matches and wrestling tidbits.
FUN AND GAMES:
-- WCW Wisdom - A trivia based game that tests the user's knowledge
of WCW.
-- Pick It! - A fast-paced, instant click game that challenges the
user to think quickly and pick the next move in the match.
CONTACT: TBS Superstation
Kevin Little (Atlanta), 404/885-4378
kevin.little@turner.com
or
Lisa Chader (Los Angeles), 310/788-6797
lisa.chader@turner.com
or
Stanka Luna (New York), 212/714-6984
stanka.luna@turner.com
or
Bratskeir & Company (ACTV Media Relations)
Mike Rosen (New York), 212/679-2233 ext. 213
mrosen@bratskeir.com
or
ACTV, Inc.
Bill Roll (New York), 212/217-1600
wroll@actv.com"
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