Sponsor of 9th Annual LA Music Awards
Merging Rivers Media
USA Video Interactive to Broadcast 9th Annual L.A. Music Awards Over the Web
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SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ — The Los Angeles Music Awards
(http://www.lamusicawards.com) has signed a contract with Merging Rivers
Media, a subsidiary of USA Video Interactive system (OTC Bulletin Board: USVO;
ASE: US) (http://www.usvo.com), to produce a web broadcast of its 9th Annual
L. A. Music Awards ceremony being held at Hollywood’s House of Blues on
November 15. The contract follows the Letter of Intent signed by the
companies on July 8. USA Video Interactive, through its Merging Rivers Media
subsidiary, will videotape, digitize and compress the L. A. Music Awards and
host it on the Internet, accessible from a link on the L. A. Music Awards
website.
“With this contract completed, Merging Rivers Media can now offer
sponsorship of and advertising for the L. A. Music Awards,” said Rafael
O. Quezada, president of Merging Rivers Media. “We expect that the Internet
broadcast will attract a substantial global audience eager to hear and see
original music and musicians over USA Video Interactive’s streaming video
format.” He called the agreement a “landmark” that establishes future
potential for millions of people to enjoy musical talent over the Internet in
ways never before possible.
“Part of moving from the Letter of Intent to this contract was a
successful demonstration of the USA Video Interactive technology. We saw it
and were blown away. They exceeded our expectations,” said Alfred C. Bowman,
founder and executive producer of the L. A. Music Awards, noting that music
lovers worldwide are increasingly comfortable using the Internet to pursue
their interest. “Hosting the Awards over the Internet will be a watershed
moment to honor excellence in creativity, performance, production, management,
staging and other related achievements by both established and emerging
artists.”
Under the agreement, Merging Rivers Media acquires exclusive rights to
develop and produce the 1999 and 2000 L. A. Music Awards and Gazzarri’s Honors
events, and to develop related e-commerce extensions of both with the
capability of transacting, under trademarks and copyright, the works,
memorabilia, photos (analog and digital), autographs, paintings, sketches,
videos, and CDs of artists signed by L.A. Music.
Upon fulfillment of certain financial commitments of the agreement,
including 1999 and 2000 event production costs, Merging Rivers Media will own
perpetual rights to develop and produce the L. A. Music Awards and Gazzarri’s
Honors events and related commercial extensions. The agreement grants a
majority equity position to Merging Rivers Media.
The L. A. Music Awards was founded in 1990. The first presentation,
December 17, 1991, was held at the Mardi Gras Club in Long Beach, California,
bringing together established and emerging musicians, as well as other
individuals in the music industry. Since the first show, the popularity and
stature of the annual event has grown considerably. This year, the L. A.
Music Awards will expand to introduce the 1st Annual Gazzarri Honors event,
named after the legendary rock promoter and club owner, Bill Gazzarri. The
Gazzarri Honors recognizes venues, producers, journalists and others on the
periphery of actual music making. That event will be held November 4 at the
original Gazzarri’s on Sunset Strip, now called the Key Club. On Monday,
November 15, the ninth annual L. A. Music Awards event will be presented at
the House of Blues-Hollywood, on the Sunset Strip.
L. A. Music Awards has scheduled to have Jeff “Skunk” Baxter of Doobie
Brothers and Steely Dan fame, last year’s winner of the Lifetime Achievement
Award, and an announced candidate for Congress from the state of California,
on hand to present the 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award to Paul Rogers of Bad
Company and The Firm, best known for hits like “All Right Now” and “Can’t Get
Enough of Your Love.”
USA Video Interactive is an international designer and supplier of
high-tech Video-on-Demand(TM) systems, services and solutions. Merging Rivers
Media is USA Video Interactive’s West Coast subsidiary, focused on providing
the USA Video Interactive technology and full advertising-agency services to
the entertainment industry. The USA Video Interactive technology allows users
to view streaming video or to access digitized video libraries, including
movies, sports, other entertainment, educational resources, corporate training
seminars and other archives. 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. USA Video Interactive can utilize MPEG-1,
MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 compression techniques but prefers its Wavelet compression
technology. The USA Video Interactive Wavelet technology allows direct
streaming and download and play options; 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. An
essential feature of the USA Video Interactive technology is that it allows
extremely high compression ratios while retaining broadcast quality.
# # #
USA Video Interactive Corp.
Corporate Headquarters Office: 70 Essex Street; Mystic, CT 06355;
800-625-2200; 860-572-1560.
Merging Rivers Media: 6380 Wilshire Blvd.; Suite 911; Los Angeles, CA
90048; 323-658-9092.
Canada Office: 837 West Hastings Street; Suite #507; Vancouver, B.C.
V6C 3N6.
Trading symbol on the US NASD OTC BB: USVO; SEC 12g3-2(b) Exemption:
#82-1601. Trading symbol on The Alberta Stock Exchange: US.
Standard & Poors Listed. CUSIP 902924208; Video-On-Demand(TM) and Video
Yellow Pages(TM) are trademarks of USA Video.
The Alberta Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contact – Media Relations: Tony Castagno 860-572-1560;
Investor Relations: Kevin Yorio, 860-572-1560.
USA Video Interactive has established a WestCoast subsidiary called Merging Rivers Media to create what it calls “thefirst-ever Internet-TV ad agency.”
USA Video Interactive has established a West Coast subsidiary called Merging Rivers Media to create what it calls “the first-ever Internet-TV ad agency.”
Merging Rivers is opening an office in Santa Monica, CA to focus on entertainment-related applications of the USA Video Interactive technology, providing a full range of advertising agency services to entertainment companies and advertisers.
Merging Rivers Media will make it possible for advertisers to broadcast their existing video content on the Internet utilizing USA Video’s patented Video-on-Demand technology and its wavelet compression via servers to be installed on the UUNET network, the company said. Merging Rivers Media will design and produce custom, ad-backed broadcast-video content specifically prepared for Internet users.
“With its wealth of experience in the entertainment and advertising worlds, Merging Rivers Media brings USA Video Interactive the expertise we need to introduce the next-generation of true Internet Video-on-Demand to advertisers and entertainment businesses in California and throughout the world,” said Edwin Molina, president of USA Video Interactive.
Rafael O. Quezada has been appointed president of Merging Rivers Media and Joseph F. Curtis has been named vice president. Quezada previously served as vice president of New Data Solutions, and partner of Altered Spaces Inc. Curtis is currently president of Curtis & Co., a marketing and promotions communications company in Los Angeles. He formerly was vice president of the Marketing Corp. of America.
The USA Video Interactive technology allows users to view streaming video or to access digitized video libraries, including movies, sports, other entertainment, educational resources, corporate training seminars and archives. It provides the flexibility of standard, VCR-like controls of play, fast forward, reverse and pause; and the convenience of a standard Internet-browser format for access, the company said.