videonewswire.com
vdat.com
Internet video sector boosted by Broadcast.com deal
By Eric Auchard
NEW YORK, April 1 (Reuters) - The planned $5.7 billion merger of Internet media network Yahoo! Inc. <YHOO.O> and Broadcast.com Inc. <BCST.O>, the top supplier of audio and video programs over the Web, speeds the day when Internet viewers will watch and listen to video instead of reading endless pages of static text.
Investors responded Thursday by bidding up the stocks of not only Yahoo and Broadcast.com, but a host of rival players in the field of Internet broadcast services and software.
Already, many Internet users are gearing up to view thousands of video channels over personal computers or cable televisions using high-speed Internet links.
Millions use Internet audio software to tune into hundreds of radio stations, investor conference calls and football games carried over the Internet.
The video-viewing technology has been spotlighted over the last six months to watch President Clinton's grand jury deposition tape, John Glenn's space flight and the Victoria Secret fashion show.
"You are seeing a scarcity value start to pop up in this segment of the Internet market, said Abi Gami, a stock analyst with William Blair & Co of Chicago. "Some very valuable assets are being taken off the table for the first time."
He compared the Yahoo-Broadcast.com merger with deals like the proposed merger of AtHome Corp. <ATHM.O> and Excite Corp. <XCIT.O> and the pact between online news and commerce company CNet <CNET.O> with General Electric Co.'s <GE.N> NBC network.
Such combinations pave the way for the convergence of the Internet and television broadcasting, analysts believe.
Toward that end, motion picture company Trimark Holdings Inc. <TMRK.O> last month agreed to license at least 50 films from Trimark's library, including its "Leprechaun" horror series and "Eve's Bayou" for free or pay-per-view.
"There's a feeling that if you don't go and acquire the next best player, you will be shut out," Gami said of the rush by investors to snatch up Internet video stocks, both for their long-term potential and for their near-term status as takeover targets.
InterVu Inc. <ITVU.O>, a behind-the-scenes broadcaster of Internet audio and video programs, surged 30 percent to $57.87, up $13.50. RealNetworks Inc. <RNWK.O>, the top supplier of audio and video software to Web programmers like Broadcast.com, jumped 12.5 percent to $137.50, a gain of $15.31 on Thursday. Both stocks traded actively on the Nasdaq stock market.
RealNetworks' stock acclerated after analyst David Readerman of San Francisco brokerage Thomas Weisel Partners started recommending the Seattle-based company with a "buy" rating.
"In our view RealNetworks is the leading arms merchant for streaming media software," Readerman said. Streaming media is the computer industry phrase for programs that deliver audio and video programming over the Internet.
Another Internet video company attracting attention was Visual Data Corp. <VDAT.O>, a company that specializes in producing original Internet video programming. The Pompano Beach, Fla., firm has more than 300 camera crews to film Web events. The stock rose 87.5 cents to $13.94.
Other gainers included AudioHighway.com <AHWY.O>, a supplier of audio programming, which rose $1.69 to $12.75.
Meanwhile Yahoo stock swelled $7 to $175.37 shortly after midday, while Broadcast.com gained $10 at $128.19.
Many more firms specializing in Internet video programming are set to go public in the coming year, Gami noted.
Bill Relyea, an analyst with brokerage Josephthal & Co., said InterVu differs from Broadcast.com in that it sells its broadcast services under the brand names of its many radio, television and other media partners.
InterVu delivers Web broadcasts of 650 radio stations worldwide, and news and information broadcasts for Time Warner Inc.'s <TWX.N> CNN, financial news provider Bloomberg, and MSNBC, a joint venture of General Electric Co.'s <GE.N> NBC and Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O>.
15:02 04-01-99
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January 07, 1999 12:31
PR Newswire Chooses Visual Data And Its EDnet Subsidiary To Provide Live Worldwide Internet Broadcast Solution
Jump to first matched term
POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Visual Data Corporation
(Nasdaq: VDAT), today reported that PR Newswire, the world's largest
distributor of news releases to the media and financial community, has
expanded its partnership with Visual Data and its majority-owned
subsidiary, EDnet, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DNET), to provide PR
Newswire's 33,000 customers with live audio and video event broadcast
capabilities via the Internet.
(See the Video News Wire version of this announcement directly on the
Internet at videonewswire.com )
"Visual Data's worldwide network of professional camera crews, combined with EDnet's worldwide high speed data networks, will provide PR Newswire's clients with a cost-effective real time broadcasting solution that can be deployed on short notice and reach millions of viewers," said Randy Selman, President and CEO for Visual Data. "Ultimately, it will provide their clients with a start-to-finish set of solutions for their audio and video creation, broadcast and distribution needs."
Visual Data is already PR Newswire's exclusive provider of its Video
News Wire service. EDnet's experience in high speed telecommunications
has made it the leading audio company in the motion picture industry.
Recent productions using EDnet's services include James Cameron's
"Titanic," Steven Speilberg's "Saving Private Ryan," Pixar's "A Bug's
Life" and Disney's "Mulan," to name a few. Other clients include Capitol Records, Sony Entertainment and the Family Channel.
EDnet's Chief Technical Engineer, Tom Scott, a five-time Academy Award
winner, stated, "As a result of this partnership, we will be providing
PR Newswire's clients with the same type of high end communications
services once available only to our Hollywood clients. As importantly,
it is now available at a fraction of the cost they would have previously had to pay. Working together as a team, PR Newswire, Visual Data and EDnet have the unique ability to provide an end-to-end audio and video solution, from original creation to transmission, storing and serving."
PR Newswire is the world leader in the electronic distribution of
full-text news releases to the media and financial community. With 28
bureaus across the United States and five overseas bureaus in Frankfurt, Sao Paulo, Paris, Hong Kong and London, PRN serves the news release needs of public relations and investor relations professionals
worldwide.
EDnet is a systems integrator and network service provider, specializing in the transmission of high-quality digitized audio and video over wide area networks (WAN) as well as providing both live audio and live video broadcasting worldwide via the Internet.
Visual Data Corporation, founded in 1993, specializes in the production, marketing and distribution of full-motion visual information via the Internet and various media including interactive television. The Company develops full-motion video libraries containing short concise vignettes relating to various topics, including travel, education, business, health, fitness, medicine and consumer products.
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January 07, 1999 12:31
PR Newswire Chooses Visual Data And Its EDnet Subsidiary To Provide Live Worldwide Internet Broadcast Solutiions
POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Visual Data Corporation
(Nasdaq: VDAT), today reported that PR Newswire, the world's largest
distributor of news releases to the media and financial community, has
expanded its partnership with Visual Data and its majority-owned
subsidiary, EDnet, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DNET), to provide PR
Newswire's 33,000 customers with live audio and video event broadcast
capabilities via the Internet.
"Visual Data's worldwide network of professional camera crews, combined with EDnet's worldwide high speed data networks, will provide PR Newswire's clients with a cost-effective real time broadcasting solution that can be deployed on short notice and reach millions of viewers," said Randy Selman, President and CEO for Visual Data. "Ultimately, it will provide their clients with a start-to-finish set of solutions for their audio and video creation, broadcast and distribution needs."
Visual Data is already PR Newswire's exclusive provider of its Video
News Wire service. EDnet's experience in high speed telecommunications
has made it the leading audio company in the motion picture industry.
Recent productions using EDnet's services include James Cameron's
"Titanic," Steven Speilberg's "Saving Private Ryan," Pixar's "A Bug's
Life" and Disney's "Mulan," to name a few. Other clients include Capitol Records, Sony Entertainment and the Family Channel.
EDnet's Chief Technical Engineer, Tom Scott, a five-time Academy Award
winner, stated, "As a result of this partnership, we will be providing
PR Newswire's clients with the same type of high end communications
services once available only to our Hollywood clients. As importantly,
it is now available at a fraction of the cost they would have previously had to pay. Working together as a team, PR Newswire, Visual Data and EDnet have the unique ability to provide an end-to-end audio and video solution, from original creation to transmission, storing and serving."
PR Newswire is the world leader in the electronic distribution of
full-text news releases to the media and financial community. With 28
bureaus across the United States and five overseas bureaus in Frankfurt, Sao Paulo, Paris, Hong Kong and London, PRN serves the news release needs of public relations and investor relations professionals
worldwide.
EDnet is a systems integrator and network service provider, specializing in the transmission of high-quality digitized audio and video over wide area networks (WAN) as well as providing both live audio and live video broadcasting worldwide via the Internet.
------------------------
January 07, 1999 12:31
PR Newswire Chooses Visual Data And Its EDnet Subsidiary To Provide Live Worldwide Internet Broadcast Solution
POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Jan. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Visual Data Corporation
(Nasdaq: VDAT), today reported that PR Newswire, the world's largest
distributor of news releases to the media and financial community, has
expanded its partnership with Visual Data and its majority-owned
subsidiary, EDnet, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: DNET), to provide PR
Newswire's 33,000 customers with live audio and video event broadcast
capabilities via the Internet.
"Visual Data's worldwide network of professional camera crews, combined with EDnet's worldwide high speed data networks, will provide PR Newswire's clients with a cost-effective real time broadcasting solution that can be deployed on short notice and reach millions of viewers," said Randy Selman, President and CEO for Visual Data. "Ultimately, it will provide their clients with a start-to-finish set of solutions for their audio and video creation, broadcast and distribution needs."
Visual Data is already PR Newswire's exclusive provider of its Video
News Wire service. EDnet's experience in high speed telecommunications
has made it the leading audio company in the motion picture industry.
Recent productions using EDnet's services include James Cameron's
"Titanic," Steven Speilberg's "Saving Private Ryan," Pixar's "A Bug's
Life" and Disney's "Mulan," to name a few. Other clients include Capitol Records, Sony Entertainment and the Family Channel.
EDnet's Chief Technical Engineer, Tom Scott, a five-time Academy Award
winner, stated, "As a result of this partnership, we will be providing
PR Newswire's clients with the same type of high end communications
services once available only to our Hollywood clients. As importantly,
it is now available at a fraction of the cost they would have previously had to pay. Working together as a team, PR Newswire, Visual Data and EDnet have the unique ability to provide an end-to-end audio and video solution, from original creation to transmission, storing and serving."
PR Newswire is the world leader in the electronic distribution of
full-text news releases to the media and financial community. With 28
bureaus across the United States and five overseas bureaus in Frankfurt, Sao Paulo, Paris, Hong Kong and London, PRN serves the news release needs of public relations and investor relations professionals
worldwide.
EDnet is a systems integrator and network service provider, specializing in the transmission of high-quality digitized audio and video over wide area networks (WAN) as well as providing both live audio and live video broadcasting worldwide via the Internet.
---------------------------------
Visual Data Corp. Announces Live, Affordable Investor Conference Calls
Via Internet
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Service to be Marketed by PR Newswire
POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Visual Data Corp. (Nasdaq:
VDAT) announced today it launched a new product that offers public
companies an inexpensive means to broadcast their analyst conference
calls live, via the Internet, making them available to the investing
public, the media and anyone with Internet access throughout the world.
Responding to regulatory concerns about limited disclosure by public
companies about information discussed during such conference calls,
Visual Data designed its new product to solve this problem.
"Securities regulators have increasingly voiced concerns that regularly scheduled conference calls held by public companies with analysts and money managers may contain information that is not immediately available to all investors and therefore could beconstrued as selective disclosure," said Randy Selman, president of Visual Data. He continued, "To address these concerns, Visual Data is offering an affordable solution to public companies that enables them to simultaneously broadcast conference calls via the Internet to help insure that they are in compliance with applicable laws."
The audio "Webcast" service, at approximately $600 per one-hour
conference call, will be available to all publicly traded corporations. The Webcast can also be archived for audio replay for an additional fee. Like the live Webcast, the archived material can be accessed via a company's own web site.
Visual Data said this new service will be sold by PR Newswire. According to Selman, Visual Data is uniquely equipped to offer the service at affordable prices because of its world-wide audio and video network, use of the most current Internet technology and Webcast expertise. Selman continued, "PR Newswire, with 33,000 customers, is the world's largest electronic distributor of full-text press releases to the media and financial community and is well positioned to market this service."
Visual Data is a one-stop source for all Internet-related, multi-media
creation, production, hosting and distribution. Other Internet broadcast competitors depend upon outside vendors to supply many of the services that Visual Data offers.
"Corporations using the Visual Data service will substantially reduce
the risk of accidentally running afoul of regulatory and marketplace
rules in the United States and abroad which prohibit selective
disclosure of market-moving or other material information," concluded
Selman.
The conference call broadcasts are part of a broader partnership
agreement between PR Newswire and Visual Data that provides PR
Newswire's customers with live video and audio event broadcast
capabilities via the Internet. Visual Data also is PR Newswire's e
xclusive provider of its Video News Wire(TM) service.
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INTERVU And Visual Data Partner To Provide Internet Production And Broadcast Services
POMPANO BEACH, Fla., AND SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Visual Data Corporation (Nasdaq: VDAT), a leading producer and distributor of video and audio programming for the Internet, and INTERVU Inc. (Nasdaq: ITVU), the leading service provider for Internet video delivery solutions, today announced that they have entered into an Internet distribution and co- marketing agreement.
Under the agreement, INTERVU will be Visual Data's provider of streaming media services for its multimedia content, including video libraries of information on subjects such as hotels (www.hotelview.com), attractions (www.attractionview.com), resorts (www.resortview.com), nursing homes (www.careview.com) , businesses (www.videonewswire.com), medicine (www.medicalview.com), talent (www.talentview.com) and others. Visual Data will also resell INTERVU's streaming media services to its broad range of clients. In turn, INTERVU will resell Visual Data's production services that consist of an extensive network of international camera crews and state-of- the-art digital production facilities.
Key to the deal are INTERVU's efforts to help Visual Data seamlessly co- publish its content under leading Internet media companies and online publishers, offering its clients increased exposure and first-rate distribution.
"In addition to greatly enhancing the scope and value of our video production, live Webcasting and video library services on the Web, we have now effectively added a complete Internet broadcast and network capability to provide turnkey solutions delivering the highest quality video over the Internet," said Randy Selman, president and CEO of Visual Data.
"We are very pleased to join together with Visual Data to offer a powerful combination of Internet multimedia production, marketing, hosting, distribution and broadcast services," said Harry Gruber, CEO of INTERVU. "This alliance builds on INTERVU's strategy to help our customers increase content exposure by co-publishing on other high-profile sites in a fully automated fashion via INTERVU's distributed network."
About Visual Data Corporation
Visual Data Corporation, founded in 1993, specializes in the production, marketing and distribution of full-motion visual information via the Internet and soon interactive television. The Company develops full-motion video libraries relating to various topics, including travel, education, business, medicine and healthcare, entertainment, and consumer products. Strategic partnerships include PR Newswire, a subsidiary of United News and Media; Pegasus Systems, Inc.; Interval International; Rezsolutions, a joint venture of Utell International and Anasazi Inc.; Physicians Online; Intellihealth, a joint venture of Aetna US Healthcare and Johns Hopkins University and Health System; Carlson Wagonlit Travel Associates and the American Society of Travel Agents. Visual Data works with leading travel industry companies and through its subsidiary EDnet, Inc. has established relationships throughout the motion picture and recording industries. Additional information can be found at www.vdat.com.
About INTERVU Inc.
INTERVU Inc. (Nasdaq: ITVU) offers powerful, turnkey solutions to deliver live and on-demand audio and video streaming and broadband broadcasts over the Internet. INTERVU's streaming media services are utilized for many different types of business uses including entertainment, news reporting, corporate communications, inves |
