EMMY WINNERS FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE TELEVISION TO RECEIVE COVETED STATUE Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Announces Call For Entry For the 2004 - 2005 Season Interactive Television Emmy® Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Brian Seth Hurst, Co-Governor of ATAS' Interactive Media Peer Group, says "as audiences increasingly interact with television programming," it is important to "reward outstanding acheivement" in new media.

North Hollywood, CA, April 12, 2005 – Signaling the important role interactive television now plays in the television industry—and will increasingly play in the future—the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will award an Emmy® statuette to the winners of the Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Television, it was announced today by Brian Seth Hurst, Co-Governor of Television Academy's Interactive Media Peer Group.

“The Board of Governors of the Television Academy, in approving the awarding of the Emmy statue, has set the bar for excellence in this exciting and growing area,” Hurst said. “As audiences increasingly interact with television programming in new and innovative ways, it is important that the Television Academy foster the advancement of new media by recognizing and rewarding outstanding achievement in that arena.”

The Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Television is now in its fourth year. In previous years, the Television Academy’s Board of Governors ratified the Interactive Media Peer Group jury’s choice of winners and could choose to award either a plaque or statue. This year the award will be a statue. The winners will be solely determined by a vote of the peer group’s members. This significant change underscores the Television Academy's recognition of the importance of interactive media and its role in enhancing and extending the television viewing experience for the public.

Round one of the two-part judging process will involve at-home viewing of qualified entries by members of the Interactive Media Peer Group. They will vote by online ballot to narrow the field of entries. Round two of the judging will involve a Blue Ribbon Panel of qualified professionals meeting and voting at the Television Academy to determine whether one, more than one, or no one receives an Emmy statuette in this category.

The Interactive Television Emmy Awards recognizes original Interactive Television programming content, applications or services, which have been deployed domestically during the period of June 1, 2004-May 31, 2005, and have demonstrated excellence. Entries must be received no later than May 31, 2005.

Entry areas include: Program Specific Enhanced or Interactive Television; and Non-Program Specific Enhanced or Interactive Television for a Channel, Network or Service. Specific requirements for each area, the official “Call for Entries“ and applications can be found at www.emmys.com/interactive.

The recipients of last year's Interactive Television Emmys were DirectTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket, ABC’s Celebrity Mole and Showtime’s Virtual Channel.

In tandem with the announcement, Interactive Media Peer Group Governors Brian Seth Hurst and Marcelino Ford-Livene recognized the dedication and energy of the peer group’s Emmy Award Committee members. They include: Co-Chairpersons Marcia Zellers and Rosemary Danon, and members Jeff Bartee, Blair Beebe, Jonathan Boltax, Bill Foote, Brent Imai, David Jensen, David Preisman, Sallie Olmsted, Stephanie Otto, Ken Papagan, Sean Redlitz, Seth Shapiro and Lori Schwartz.

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences was founded in 1946 just one month after network television was born. It is a non-profit organization devoted to the advancement of telecommunications arts and sciences and to fostering creative leadership in the telecommunications industry. In addition to recognizing outstanding programming through its Emmy® Award, the Television Academy publishes Emmy® Magazine.

The Interactive Media Peer Group was created by the Television Academy in 2000 and has been admitting qualified interactive media professionals ever since. The peer group, building on the Academy’s original mission, is devoted to the advancement of interactive arts and sciences, and fostering creative leadership in interactive media. In addition to recognizing outstanding interactive programming, the purpose of the IMPG also includes leadership in the interactive industry for artistic, cultural, educational and technological progress. The group produces educational and networking events, liaisons and promotes communications with industry trade organizations, standards bodies and professional organizations.

For additional press information and resources concerning the Primetime Emmy Awards or the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, please direct your inquiries to Robin Mesger of The Lippin Group at (323) 965-1990.