USA Video Productions Subsidiary Launched by USA Video Interactive for Webcasting and Content Production
Wednesday, 10 May 2000
Webby Awards 2000" Initial Project

MAY 10, 2000 - MYSTIC, CONNECTICUT - USA Video Interactive (NQB: USVO; CDNX: US; www.usvo.com) today launched a subsidiary to bring the highest quality content production and webcasting to the Internet, making it accessible to millions of viewers via its streaming video and video-on-demand technologies. USA Video Productions, Inc., formerly known as Merging Rivers Media, Inc., provides a complete end-to-end solution for bringing events to the public via the Internet, or can provide any aspect of that service to customers.

"With the rapid convergence of broadcast and the Internet, and with our new USA Video Productions division producing the best in video content for education, major entertainment events like The Webby Awards, and all types of other highest-quality content for webcast, we are fast becoming a leader in Internet TV," said Edwin Molina, President of USA Video Interactive. "This important milestone significantly enhances the value we can offer our clients in our complete, customized, end-to-end package for bringing highest quality video content to the largest audience possible via the Internet."

For its initial project, USA Video Productions will produce The Webby Awards 2000 (www.webbyawards.com) tomorrow (Thursday, May 11, 2000) in San Francisco. As the official webcast producer for The Webby Awards 2000, USA Video Productions will provide the live digital satellite feed to millions of PC-viewers through the host of this year's star-studded show, Yahoo! Inc., a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company. The Internet broadcast of the entire event can be accessed on Yahoo! Entertainment (entertainment.yahoo.com) beginning at 9:15 PM EDT on Thursday, May 11.

USA Video Productions is responsible for all aspects of the production and for the entire "satellite" portion of the operation, including reserving bandwidth on a geosynchronous satellite, preparing a digital signal for satellite transmission, uplinking the feed to the satellite and then downlinking it to Yahoo for transmission via the Internet. The 8-hour event and live webcast involve three locations on top of Nob Hill: Grace Cathedral, Masonic Temple (for the actual Awards ceremony) and Huntington Park. Pre-produced content will be combined with seven live camera and audio feeds, including two microwave cameras supplied by USA Video Productions. The feeds will be mixed on-site in a USA Video Productions production truck into a single digital signal, uplinked to a satellite and then downlinked to Yahoo for broadcast. A second signal will be encoded and transmitted via T-1 landline to Yahoo as a back-up to the satellite. USA Video Productions will oversee approximately 30 engineers, video technicians and satellite specialists handling the website production of the day's events.

USA Video Interactive's logo has been featured on all publicity about the event as "The Official Webcast Producer of The Webby Awards;" the webcast itself will note that it is "Powered by USA Video Interactive."

The USA Video Productions subsidiary is a renamed subsidiary already owned by USA Video Interactive but inactive for the last several months. Formerly known as Merging Rivers Media Corp., USA Video Productions will handle many of the functions originally planned for the old subsidiary but with a more direct focus on content production and webcasting.

About the Webby Awards
Widely hailed as the "Oscars of the Internet," The Webby Awards are the leading international honors for Web sites. Nominees and winners are chosen by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The Webby Awards are an IDG event. Sponsors for the 2000 Webby Awards include Adobe, AboveNet, Access, ArtByte, Audi, Beseen, Business 2.0, Commission Junction, The Creative Group, Entertainment Weekly, Fleishman Hillard, Flyswat, Hewlett Packard, ImageBank, Intel, Internet World, KFOG, MacWorld, MacWorld Expo, Manex, Metropolis Editorial, MSN bCentral, Netpulse, NetRaker, Newcity.com, Ofoto, OneMediaPlace, PlanetClick.com, PricewaterhouseCoopers, United Airlines, Upside Media, USA Video Interactive, Visa, Vivid, Warburg Dillon Read, Worldy Investor, Xpedior and Yahoo! Entertainment. For more information, visit www.webbyawards.com.

About the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences is dedicated to the creative, technical, and professional progress of the Internet and evolving forms of interactive media. The goal of The Academy is to assemble a unique and brilliant panel of leading new media experts, Web visionaries, journalists, and luminaries to propel the World Wide Web into the future. The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes over 350 members such as film director Francis Ford Coppola, musician David Bowie, Chairman of Miramax Talk Media Tina Brown, cyberguru Esther Dyson, creator of "The Simpsons" Matt Groening, National Public Radio personality Ira Glass, computer scientist Jaron Lanier, and Oxygen Media President Geraldine Laybourne. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as Wired, Details, Fast Company, Elle, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Vibe, Forbes, and Premier. For more information, visit www.iadas.net.

About IDG
IDG publishes more than 290 computer magazines and newspapers and 700 books and offers online users the largest network of technology-specific sites around the world through IDG.net, which comprises more than 240 targeted Web sites in 55 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 168 computer-related expositions worldwide and provides IT market analysis through 49 offices in 41 countries worldwide. Company information is available at www.idg.com.

About USA Video Interactive
USA Video Interactive is an international designer and supplier of high-tech Internet streaming video and Video-on-Demand systems, services and innovative end-to-end solutions. The USA Video Interactive technology gives users full-motion video; the unique flexibility of standard, VCR-like controls of play, fast-forward, reverse and pause; and the convenience of a standard internet-browser format for access. Its provides video images significantly faster and at a higher degree of resolution than with previously available methods; significantly overcomes bandwidth restrictions; and eliminates the blockiness and slowness of current technologies -- all at a lower cost and at or near broadcast quality. For more information on USA Video Interactive, visit www.usvo.com.

USA Video Interactive Corporate Headquarters Office: 70 Essex Street; Mystic, CT 06355; (800) 625-2200; (860) 572-1560. Canada Office: 837 West Hastings Street; Suite #507; Vancouver, B.C. V6C 3N6. Trading symbol on the US NBQ: USVO; Trading symbol on The Canadian Venture Exchange: US. Standard & Poors Listed. CUSIP 902924208; USA Video, USA Video Interactive, Video-On-Demand and Video Yellow Pages are trademarks of USA Video Interactive. The Canadian Venture Exchange (CDNX) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For more information contact: Tony Castagno, Media Relations, 860-572-1560; Kevin Yorio, Investor Relations, 860-572-1560; .

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 05 December 2006 )