Aniboom Partners with Major Mobile Entertainment Distributors Worldwide, Launches Mobile Content Initiative for Creators - Fox Business - 5th May 2008
(Credit: Fox Business)

SAN FRANCISCO, May 05, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----Aniboom (aniboom.com), the premier independent animation network, has broadened the reach of its content to more than 200 million potential mobile users worldwide through several key partnerships with top mobile entertainment distributors across the globe. Aniboom content is now available through MobiTV's service in the U.S., Canada and Latin America, through Thumbplay in the United States, and through Buongiorno SpA, Cellfish, Jamster, and Player X in Europe. Aniboom has simultaneously launched a call to action for creators to develop animated content for the mobile platform at Aniboom.com alongside an online program to enable them to achieve a higher success rate selling their creations. The combination of Aniboom's new mobile partnerships and mobile content initiative for creators underscores the company's ability to mobilize independent talent around the world and provide this creator community with major new business opportunities.

Aniboom's new mobile partners rank as the best of the best among mobile entertainment content distributors, with each providing unique offerings to its audience to access Aniboom animations and cartoons alongside other major content brands. MobiTV, which offers subscribers almost 50 cable and broadcast channels, plans to leverage Aniboom's deep offering to launch a new animation channel. Thumbplay, the #1 mobile entertainment destination in the U.S.(1), will be offering Aniboom content via download over the air to more than 2,000 supported handsets across all major U.S. wireless carriers. Buongiorno, the world's leader in digital entertainment, will enable distribution of Aniboom-branded animated content through its unparalleled reach by direct relationship with more than 100 carriers worldwide and through the blinkogold.com digital store. Cellfish France, a major European provider of mobile content and services (leader in France), offers Aniboom content for download via its direct-to-consumer brand KKO-Mobile and via operators and constructors portals. Jamster (also known as Jamba in some countries), the world's leading provider of mobile entertainment, has selected Aniboom content packages for download via its direct to consumer portals that reach one billion consumers around the globe. Player X, an award-winning mobile media company, is streaming Aniboom targeted content packages into its mobile TV channels geekTV and Zapper TV.

To meet the needs of this huge mobile network, Aniboom is simultaneously launching an effort to reach out to the creator community and enable them to succeed with their development of mobile content. On the community site, Aniboom.com, the company now arms creators with necessary guidelines to develop and monetize animated mobile content. Through these guidelines for successful mobile creation, Aniboom is providing creators with direct market feedback coming from both mobile carrier customers and end users ranking Aniboom content on the company's Internet and mobile channels. This new section of the Aniboom site also features pieces of original music creators can use to score their mobile animations.

"The combination of our new mobile distribution partnerships and our new mobile initiative for creators demonstrates Aniboom's unique ability to help the fastest emerging, most widespread content platforms meet their needs for quality entertaining animations and cartoons via reaching out to the independent creator community and supporting it with market guidance," said Uri Shinar, founder and president of Aniboom. "We are pleased to count the mobile industry's leading companies as our partners and look forward to offering their users a cutting-edge animation experience."

Aniboom aims to meet the exploding demand for state-of-the-art animation in primetime television and feature films, digital gaming, web and mobile broadband platforms at an unprecedented cost-efficiency by creating a new production and distribution pipeline. This pipeline identifies and mobilizes the thousands of professional independent animators all over the world with the talent, the passion, and the same toolsets utilized by the large animation studios - but no meaningful access to the markets that need them. Aniboom's Creators Studio allows animators of all levels to pitch, produce and monetize high-quality original animated content spanning a variety of genres for worldwide channels of distribution, all year round. Animators are able to earn money based on the popularity of their creation within the Aniboom distribution network, including Aniboom.com and branded areas on partners' distribution platforms.

About MobiTV

MobiTV (http://www.mobitv.com), the market maker and leader in the delivery of mobile content and services, develops and offers technology solutions that power an end-to-end managed network for content ingestion, encoding and optimized delivery over mobile and broadband networks. MobiTV's platform technology delivers live television, premium and primetime programming, video-on-demand, satellite and digital music services from top broadcast and cable television networks and major music labels through its carrier and operator partners to more than three million subscribers worldwide. Founded in 1999, MobiTV is a privately held company with headquarters in Emeryville, California.

About Thumbplay

Thumbplay, Inc. is defining the mobile entertainment experience for U.S. consumers. As the largest and fastest growing mobile entertainment content destination, Thumbplay gives consumers access to the broadest and deepest catalog in the industry, spanning audio, video and gaming content from the leading music labels and artists, game publishers and media companies. Its innovative delivery and marketing platform makes it easy for users to discover, manage, store and share mobile content online and on their wireless devices.

Headquartered in New York City, Thumbplay was founded in September 2004 by Are Traasdahl and Evan Schwartz. It is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, SoftBank Capital, i-Hatch Ventures, Redwood Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Meritech, Brookside Capital Partners and Cross Creek Capital. More information can be found at www.thumbplay.com.

About Buongiorno Group

Buongiorno (Italy, MTA STAR: BNG) is a multinational leader in digital entertainment. With the acquisition of its competitor iTouch in 2007, Buongiorno has become the world's #1 in mobile content: music, video, games, social networking, mobile and interactive TV. The Company counts on an unparalleled international presence with 38 offices and business in 53 countries in 5 continents, direct connections with +100 telcos and access to over 2 billion mobile customers. Buongiorno is market leader in Europe and is one of the top 3 players in 8 of the world's most important geographies. Buongiorno is present in Russia and Pacific Asia (India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Philippines) through the Joint Venture with the Japanese group Mitsui & Co., Ltd. The Company operates with two business lines: mobile value-added services (Consumer Services) -- distributed through the global brand BLINKO as well as through partnerships with leading telcos and media groups -- and digital marketing services also referred to as sponsored content (Marketing Services). Additional information about Buongiorno S.p.A. is available on the website www.buongiorno.com.

About Cellfish Media

Cellfish Media creates and publishes original brands, such as Barrio Mobile, BlingGames and the widely acclaimed BlingTones, the world's first wireless record label. It also distributes third-party content for mobile phones, including ringtones, wallpapers, videos, animations, games and applications, partnering with today's biggest names in entertainment. Cellfish Media benefits from best-of-breed, proprietary platforms to deliver content to more than 350 million consumers through its direct-to-consumer channels, as well as through partnerships with major wireless carriers, media companies and brands. The company's operations are headquartered in New York City, with offices in France and Germany, bringing together a team of 320 skilled professionals focused on enriching the mobile consumer experience. Cellfish Media is partially owned by Lagardere SCA, one of the largest media groups in the world; by Humagade Group Inc., a partner of Desjardins Venture Capital; Solidarity Fund QFL; and the Telecom Media Fund, formed by Trio Capital and Caisse de depot du Quebec. Learn more by visiting www.cellfishmedia.com.

About Jamster

Jamster (Web and WAP: www.jamster.com) is the world's leading provider of mobile entertainment with the ability to reach one billion consumers around the globe in 35 countries and 25 languages across five continents. Jamster supports more than 2,800 handsets and provides billing connectivity to more than 125 operators worldwide. Jamster offers mobile products available directly via mobile phones including branded popular content from more than 800 content providers around the world such as famous Fox content like The Simpsons, high quality music from top music labels, mobile games from renowned game developers, and original content made exclusively for mobile phones. Jamster is a joint venture between News Corporation (NYSE:NWS) (NYSE:NWS.A) and VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) and headquartered in Beverly Hills, Calif., and Berlin, Germany.

About Player X

Player X is a mobile media company that specialises in games, video and TV. The company develops, publishes and distributes mobile entertainment content through its global distribution network of over 140 channels across operators, portals and handset manufacturers and reaches a potential audience of more than two billion people.

About Aniboom

Aniboom (www.aniboom.com) is a premier multi-platform animation network that teams up with untapped talent around the world, to create, produce and distribute compelling high quality animation brands at unusual speed and cost efficiencies to web, mobile, gaming and TV media industries worldwide.

At Aniboom.com, the company has brought together a vibrant community of world class animators and animation enthusiasts to create, watch and share a growing library of original independent cartoons and animations that cross multiple genres and interests. Users can easily create and showcase their work using the site's dynamic features including a robust DIY tool set called Animachines. Throughout the year Aniboom also engages its community with a variety of creative contests offering prizes of up to $50,000 each. The company is based in Israel with its U.S. headquarters in San Francisco.

(1) Source: Nielsen Mobile's "Mobile Content Storefront Revenue" Report, Q3 and Q4 2007 (based on non-carrier revenue generation at the top 4 U.S. carriers)

SOURCE: Aniboom

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