thePlatform(R), a leading provider of digital audio and video publishing solutions, today announced the immediate availability of Connectors by thePlatform. Built on thePlatform's Media Publishing System, this scalable Web-based service accelerates the technical execution of digital media licensing agreements, letting content providers reliably publish digital audio and video to broadband media sites and mobile carriers.


"Expanding the reach of digital media through licensing is a tremendous business opportunity for content providers, mobile carriers and broadband media sites," said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. "To date, broadband and mobile syndication has been impeded by the technical complexities to add new content or distribution partners. Connectors by thePlatform provide a reliable service to accelerate the publishing process and enable content owners and distributors to quickly reach the full potential of broadband and mobile media."


Among the first companies to take advantage of Connectors by thePlatform is Airborne Entertainment, a leading provider and publisher of premier mobile entertainment content and applications.


"Airborne Entertainment is a pioneer in producing original digital media content for the mobile marketplace with over six years of experience. We represent premiere brands like MAXIM Magazine, Family Guy, mary-kateandashley, SPEED Channel and the NHL in the mobile space and intend to publish video on every major carrier," said Mike Amin, Sr. Product Manager, Audio & Video for Airborne Entertainment. "thePlatform is introducing an impressive list of Connectors to accelerate our distribution to mobile carriers. Connectors will enable the fulfillment of our mission by reducing the time, effort and cost underlying our digital media licensing agreements."


Connectors by thePlatform alleviate media distribution agreement problems by consolidating technical requirements from many partners to one. Content providers can simply use thePlatform's Media Publishing System (MPS) with Connectors to easily publish media to distributors. The new service enables content providers to:


-- Easily upload media. The Web-based Ingest Wizard uploads content and


meta-data through an easy-to-use interface. Content providers can


dynamically select multiple distribution outlets, share common metadata


information between distributors and validate information for required


fields and formatting.


-- Correctly format files for every distributor. Built-in transcoding


ensures that media files are in the correct bitrate, format and size


for each targeted distributor.


-- Secure files per customized business rules. File management tools


ensure all media files automatically respect content providers' usage


rules and load their media into their target content distribution


network.


thePlatform also announced it has built Connectors for each of the following broadband media sites and mobile carriers:


-- Amp'd Mobile


-- Cingular Wireless


-- Comcast.net


-- GoTV


-- MobiTV


-- MSN Video


-- QuickPlay Media


-- Sprint TV


-- Verizon Wireless


With thePlatform's Web services-based architecture, Connectors can be built for new distributors in a matter of days. Connectors also have the ability to quickly incorporate feature enhancements and changes to publishing standards, ensuring that distribution continues and maintenance costs remain low. More information about Connectors by thePlatform is available at http://www.thePlatform.com .


"QuickPlay Media is focused on extending the brands of media and content providers to the exploding mobile video market," said Raja Khanna, QuickPlay Media's chief creative officer and co-founder. "Connectors by thePlatform will make it easy for our partners to publish to our platform."


About thePlatform


Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform(R) is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company's flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System(TM) (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media anywhere -- over any network, to any device. Leading customers include Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, Court TV, Microsoft, National Geographic, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online and Verizon Wireless. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform's Web services MPS-SDK. For more information, visit http://www.theplatform.com .