FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Judie Mulligan, mulligaj@fleishman.com
Fleishman-Hillard Public Relations, 415.356.1086
THE WEBBY AWARDS 2000® TO BE WEBCAST EXCLUSIVELY ON YAHOO!
Yahoo! Entertainment brings global audience to star-studded Internet awards event
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 18, 2000) – Giving millions of Web fans around the globe a front row seat at the Internet’s biggest awards night of the year, The Webby Awards announced today that Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company, will host the exclusive live Internet broadcast of this year’s star-studded awards show. The Internet broadcast of the entire event can be accessed on Yahoo! Entertainment (http://entertainment.yahoo.com), beginning at 6:15 PM PDT on Thursday, May 11.
The agreement makes the The Webby Awards available to Yahoo!’s global audience of more than 145 million unique consumers each month.
The Webby Awards are the leading international honors for Web sites. The awards are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a diverse, 350-person organization whose members include Esther Dyson, David Bowie, Francis Ford Coppola, Robin Williams and Julia Child.
More than 3,000 digerati and celebrities will descend on San Francisco’s legendary Nob Hill for the May 11 awards show, which has become the industry’s hottest ticket thanks to its eclectic judges, outrageous fashions, and mandatory five-words-or-less acceptance speeches.
“Yahoo! is the perfect fit for The Webby Awards due to its global Web presence and its ability to provide consumers with high-quality Internet broadcasts,” said Tiffany Shlain, the founder and director of The Webby Awards. “Web fans around the globe should get ready for a wildly entertaining, star-studded, state-of-the-art night online.”
“Yahoo! is thrilled to be the exclusive host of The Webby Awards 2000 Internet broadcast through Yahoo! Entertainment,” said Ken Grouf, senior brand manager, Yahoo! Inc. “As the preeminent Internet-based awards show, The Webby Awards provides a unique forum to recognize the Web’s most compelling, entertaining, and enjoyable sites. We are glad to bring such a fun and eclectic offering to our global audience.”
Yahoo! Entertainment will provide complete coverage of the event, which will be hosted by Tony Award-winning actor Alan Cumming (Cabaret) and feature a roster of high-profile presenters, including Talk Magazine editor in chief Tina Brown, actress and comedian Sandra Bernhard, and performance artist Laurie Anderson. In addition to Webcasting the ceremony, where the winners in 27 categories will be revealed, Yahoo! Entertainment will take users behind-the-scenes for pre-and-post-party coverage.
About the Webby Awards
The Webby Awards are the leading international honors for Web sites. Nominees and winners are chosen by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The Webby Awards are an IDG event. Sponsors for the 2000 Webby Awards include Intel, Hewlett-Packard, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Adobe, Modem Media, Flyswat, Visa, Warburg Dillon Read, BeSeen, Xpedior, AboveNet, Audi, commission junction, worldlyinvestor.com, PlanetClick, Adauction.com, Fleishman Hillard, netRaker, The Creative Group, Netpulse, Entertainment Weekly, Business 2.0, Access Magazine, NewCity.com, Metropolis Editorial, ArtByte, MacWorld, San Francisco Bay Guardian, MacWorld Expo, MSN bCentral, Internet World, Upside Media, and We Also Walk Dogs. Balloting is audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers. For more information, visit http://www.webbyawards.com/press/index.html.
About the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences is dedicated to the creative, technical, and professional progress of the Internet and evolving forms of interactive media. The goal of The Academy is to assemble a unique and brilliant panel of leading new media experts, Web visionaries, journalists, and luminaries to propel the World Wide Web into the future. The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes over 350 members such as film director Francis Ford Coppola, musician David Bowie, Chairman of Miramax Talk Media Tina Brown, cyberguru Esther Dyson, creator of “The Simpsons” Matt Groening, National Public Radio personality Ira Glass, computer scientist Jaron Lanier, and Oxygen Media President Geraldine Laybourne. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as Wired, Details, Fast Company, Elle, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Vibe, Forbes, and Premier. For more information, visit www.iadas.net.
About IDG
IDG publishes more than 290 computer magazines and newspapers and 700 books and offers online users the largest network of technology-specific sites around the world through IDG.net, which comprises more than 240 targeted Web sites in 55 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 168
computer-related expositions worldwide and provides IT market analysis through 49 offices in 41 countries worldwide. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.