Leading IPTV Providers Team Up to Offer End-to-End Solution for Live and
VoD Content
NEW YORK, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ROO Group Inc. (OTC
Bulletin Board: RGRP) announced that it has formed a tripartite business
alliance with Abacast, Inc. and Pando Networks, Inc. to offer peer-to-peer
(P2P) streaming solutions to its current and future customers. The alliance
will provide live streaming and video-on-demand (VoD) through the ROO Media
Player. By combining forces with Abacast and Pando, ROO will be able to
offer these P2P products as white-label solutions to its global network of
customers -- increasing streaming quality while reducing associated
bandwidth costs.
As part of the agreement, ROO has exclusive access to the technology of
Abacast and Pando vis-a-vis certain of its direct competitors. The
companies will work with ROO to integrate their respective technologies
into the ROO Media Player environment to facilitate a seamless end-user
experience -- offering both solutions through the single ROO client
application.
The alliance is consistent with ROO's previously announced intentions
to create content delivery network (CDN) capabilities for its clients.
Through the partnership, Abacast will supply its hybrid P2P/CDN solution
for live streaming content while Pando will provide managed P2P
distribution services for VoD content. Abacast and Pando have a combined
installed base of approximately 62 million individual customers today,
which in conjunction with the 1,100+ ROO Media Players currently deployed
on the Internet will form the basis of ROO's newly formed hybrid CDN/P2P
content delivery model.
"ROO is committed to providing our customers with the most advanced
digital video technologies -- whether internally developed or externally
sourced. P2P is the most efficient way to transmit rich media or bandwidth-
intensive content to a broad base of end-users, and we feel that Pando and
Abacast represent the best-of-breed solutions available in the market,"
said Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, chairman and chief executive officer of ROO
Group. "This alliance allows ROO to focus on its key strengths and
justifies our recent decision to terminate our internal R&D in the P2P
arena."
"ROO's continued growth, both measured by aggregation of high quality
video content and by the installed base of the ROO Media Player, gives
Abacast a great opportunity to increase the deployment of our hybrid P2P
technology on a global scale," said Michael King, chief executive officer
of Abacast, Inc.
"This is a very exciting three-way partnership, which allows Pando to
focus on its expertise in file transfer technology while becoming part of a
holistic solution for global web-based video delivery," said Robert
Levitan, chairman and chief executive officer of Pando Networks. "As the
boom in online video usage continues, we wanted to be part of a team that
can meet any corporate customer's needs. ROO, Pando and Abacast form that
team."
The companies will immediately enter a technical integration phase,
with live customer deployments of the combined solution expected by the end
of the first quarter.
About ROO
ROO Group Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: RGRP), through its 100% subsidiary
ROO Media Corporation, is a global service provider enabling businesses to
leverage their digital media assets and provide an enhanced user
experience. The Company's proprietary platform and content management
system, the ROO Video Exchange, and a suite of related products, allows web
sites and their advertisers to organize video content, target advertising
and maximize views. ROO is the service provider of choice for companies
seeking enterprise level solutions and effective strategies for monetizing
digital media assets. The Company also operates an advertising agency
business specializing in a variety of media services including direct
marketing, brand planning and identity, media buying and packaging. ROO has
offices in New York, London, Dubai and Melbourne, Australia. For additional
information, please visit http://www.roo.com.
About Abacast
Abacast, Inc. is a streaming technology and services provider founded
in 2000. Abacast's hybrid P2P technology takes the quality and control of
central server (unicast) technology and seamlessly combines it with the
scalability and efficiency of P2P. Abacast Hybrid P2P technology is the
cornerstone of a complete service including: live and on-demand streaming,
ad-injection and gateway ad serving, enterprise streaming, subscription
systems, podcasting, high-end audio processing/streaming PC cards, audio
and video encoding software, custom media player/web design and 24/7
premium service, education and support. For additional information, please
visit http://www.abacast.com.
About Pando Networks
Pando Networks is the leading provider of peer-assisted content
delivery services. Pando combines the reliability and control of CDNs with
the scale and cost efficiencies of P2P technology. Pando Networks operates
the world's largest and most advanced managed P2P network with more than 16
million users. Pando is funded by Intel Capital, BRM Capital and Wheatley
Partners. In 2007, Pando received numerous industry awards including:
AlwaysOn 100 Top Private Company, TechCrunch Connected Innovator, C/net
Webware 100, PC World Top 101 Fantastic Freebies and Web Video Summit 2007
Hottest Products of the Year. For more information, please visit
http://www.pandonetworks.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995 -- With the exception of historical information, the matters
discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve
a number of risks and uncertainties. The actual future results of ROO
Group, Inc. could differ significantly from those statements. Factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and
uncertainties such as the inability to finance the company's operations or
expansion, inability to hire and retain qualified personnel, changes in the
general economic climate, including rising interest rates and unanticipated
events such as terrorist activities. In some cases, you can identify
forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should,"
"expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict,"
"potential" or "continue," the negative of such terms, or other comparable
terminology. These statements are only predictions. Although we believe
that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are
reasonable, such statements should not be regarded as a representation by
the Company, or any other person, that such forward-looking statements will
be achieved. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise. In light of the foregoing, readers are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. For further risk factors
see the risk factors associated with our Company, review our SEC filings.
Contacts:
Investor Relations:
Todd Fromer
KCSA Worldwide
T: 212.896.1215
E: tfromer@kcsa.com
Public Relations:
Lewis Goldberg
KCSA Worldwide
T: 212.896.1216
E: lgoldberg@kcsa.com
SOURCE ROO Group Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.roo.com
http://www.abacast.com http://www.pandonetworks.com
CONTACT:
Investor Relations, Todd Fromer,
+1-212-896-1215, or tfromer@kcsa.com, or Public Relations, Lewis
Goldberg, +1-212-896-1216, or lgoldberg@kcsa.com, both of KCSA
Worldwide
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