CNN, Internet Broadcasting Enter Strategic News, Advertising Relationship

CNN, Internet Broadcasting Enter Strategic News, Advertising Relationship

Alliance Provides Online Users Immediate Access to Local, Global News; Creates New Opportunity for Advertisers

May 22, 2007

CNN and Internet Broadcasting, the nation’s largest publisher of TV station Web sites, have entered a strategic alliance that combines Internet Broadcasting’s network of local news content with CNN’s global newsgathering resources, it was announced today by Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide.

As part of the relationship, CNN and Internet Broadcasting will also create a unique advertising opportunity that leverages CNN.com’s national audience with Internet Broadcasting’s local reach. To reinforce the strategic alliance, CNN will acquire an equity stake in Internet Broadcasting, joining Hearst-Argyle Television, Post-Newsweek Stations, McGraw-Hill Broadcasting and Split Rock Partners as investors in the company.

“CNN’s global reporting attracts millions of online consumers to CNN.com for domestic and international news every day,” Walton said. “Partnering with Internet Broadcasting adds another dimension – enhanced coverage of local news and events – and brings CNN reporting to significantly more people online.”

As part of their agreement, the companies will share local, national and international content important to online news consumers. Leveraging its network of TV station Web sites, Internet Broadcasting will supply local news content to CNN.com, which will appear on the home page as well as in the “U.S. News” and “Weather” sections. In turn, national, political and international content from CNN.com will appear on the home page and national news pages of Internet Broadcasting sites.

“Our partnership with CNN provides tremendous benefits for our online news consumers, station partners and advertisers,” said Reid Johnson, founder and president of Internet Broadcasting. “Our visitors expect the most up-to-date coverage of news that hits home from our award-winning online journalists who sit in the newsrooms of our partner stations. Now, our visitors gain access to one of the most trusted global news sources, CNN, on their local TV station Web site. Our advertisers also benefit by getting the best of both worlds – national reach and local relevance.”

The companies will create a new and distinctive online advertising opportunity that will offer relevant, new ad platforms for clients on both a national and local level by leveraging the broad national reach of CNN.com with the local and regional reach of Internet Broadcasting’s sites. Internet Broadcasting will offer select CNN.com ad placements as part of its nationwide, regional or market-by-market advertising packages.

Internet Broadcasting is the largest publisher of local news online. The company publishes a national network of TV station Web sites for America’s premier broadcasters, including: Hearst-Argyle Television, McGraw-Hill Broadcasting, Post-Newsweek Stations, NBC, Cox Television, Meredith Broadcasting, Scripps and Morgan Broadcasting. Each month, one in every 12 online Americans visits an Internet Broadcasting site, making it one of the nation’s top 50 Web properties according to Nielsen//NetRatings. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta. For more information, visit www.ibsys.com.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is one of the world’s most respected and trusted sources for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; four Web sites, including CNN.com, the first major news and information Web site; CNN Pipeline, CNN.com’s premium live video news service; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and partnerships for four television networks and two Web sites.

CONTACTS:
Jennifer Martin, CNN Atlanta, 404/878-2175, jennifer.martin@cnn.com
Sal Petruzzi, Turner Ad Sales New York,212/275-6897, sal.petruzzi@turner.com
Kevin Abramson, Internet Broadcasting, Minneapolis, 651/365-4221, kabramson@ibsys.com