NEW YORK, April 14, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Narrowstep, Inc., the TV-on-the-Internet company, announced today that CEO, Iolo Jones, will speak at the National Association of Broadcasters' Spring Convention in Las Vegas on April 22, 2004 at 10:45 am. His subject will be "The Dawn of the Narrowcasting Age."
The Company will demonstrate, for the first time in the US, its Adserver, the first online system that enables the full commercialization of broadband video distribution by enabling the full control and management of advertising content.
Jones said, "Narrowstep is founded on the understanding that broadcasting in its current format isn't sustainable. We have found in Europe that declining audience figures have already resulted in fallen ad rates; reality television has resulted in plummeting production values; and advertisers have deserted along with quality audiences. Now brands are formulating their own content strategies and planning to use the Internet and IP as a delivery medium to PCs, mobile and wireless devices as well as to bars and retail outlets, bypassing traditional broadcast outlets."
He added, "Just as desktop publishing and lithography made tightly focused magazines possible and profitable, a video revolution is coming. It won't replace the existing platforms of broadcast, cable and satellite, but it will add to them. The dawn of narrowcasting has arrived."
The Adserver is a key component in Narrowstep's "TV Station in a Box" product line for the Internet. The Adserver system allows users to upload, store and manage adverts, advertorials and sponsored programs. They can then build profiles from an existing user database, either by demographics or by theme, meaning that an advertising campaign can be quickly and easily constructed and automated. Commercials can also be targeted geographically. Full audit trails and detailed metrics are provided on usage and viewing figures, and Adserver, like Narrowstep's Mediaserver and ChannelServer products, meets the highest standards for Digital Rights Management security.
Jones said, "Adserver's profiling capacity ensures that the best possible ads are played for each viewer. Technically, two viewers in the same room can be watching the same channel, but will receive different ads because their profiles are subtly different."
"At the core of the technology is a fuzzy logic engine, similar to the one the has contributed to Google's success, that sorts through the various prices advertisers have offered to pay and the number of ads contracted to air and the prices advertisers will pay. In this way, Adserver plays the most targeted commercial that maximizes revenue."
He also said, "As an example, we have a channel for extreme-sports enthusiasts called High.TV, a demographic and interest group that is ideally suited for a global recruitment campaign from the Royal Marine Commandos, which can recruit from anywhere in the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth, but not in the US or Europe. Adserver can automatically determine which viewers fit that requirement and play the recruitment ad just at viewers in those countries. In other words, High.TV viewers in Fiji, Canada, Gibraltar and the US watch the same entertainment and news programming, but Adserver ensures that the Royal Marine Commando ad is seen only where they are able to recruit."
Jones further remarked, "There are significant revenues to be realized from broadband commercials. One of the major media buying companies has told us that 25% of its advertising buys this year will be for streaming video commercials delivered over the Internet.
"There's nothing new here -- our model relies on the same revenue approach that ABC, NBC and CBS have used for decades, paid advertisements from sponsors. Adserver takes this tried and true system and automates it to suit any advertiser and any channel. It is part of our underlying concept -- Content anytime, anyplace, anywhere."
Narrowstep sees its greatest market potential in the United States, and to make the most of that potential, the company has set up an office in New York. Jones has relocated from London and will carry out his responsibilities as CEO from Manhattan.
Narrowstep's Adserver will be demonstrated throughout the NAB Show at booth SL460.
About Narrowstep Inc.
Narrowstep, Inc. delivers television on the Internet, helping it's clients turn web sites into web channels and creating a new model for broadcasting to targeted audiences that it calls narrowcasting. Narrowstep can provide a comprehensive service to help sports bodies and organizations maximize their income from mobile, wireless, broadband and broadcast distribution. Its Mediaserver(tm) manages video and media using an easy-to-use web based interface -- the product interfaces with a wide range of content management, digital rights management and digital asset management products and systems. Narrowstep's ChannelServer(tm) is a unique program scheduling tool that schedules and runs a client's online TV station, while its Adserver(tm) commercializes the delivery of broadband content on the Internet using the premier broadband advertising product -- select content and channels, profile, schedule, measure and report on campaigns. High.TV is Narrowstep's own broadband television channel for extreme sports enthusiasts, a demonstration of the company's product that also provides a regular stream of income. Narrowstep's technology is being deployed by leading cable companies, ISPs and content owners globally.
Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, the Company's statements regarding trends in the marketplace and potential future results are examples of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the timing of projects due to the variability in size, scope and duration of projects, estimates made by management with respect to the Company's critical accounting policies, regulatory delays, clinical study results which lead to reductions or cancellations of projects, and other factors, including general economic conditions and regulatory developments, not within the Company's control. The factors discussed herein and expressed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstance.