For Immediate Release:
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Gita Chandra (gita@pkpr.com)
Patrick Kowalczyk (patrick@pkpr.com)
PKPR, 212.627.8098
WEBBY AWARDS JOIN FORCES WITH YOUTUBE TO GIVE FANS
FRONT ROW SEAT TO 13th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS
Official Webby Awards YouTube Channel Will Bring Star-Studded Ceremony, including Famous Five-Word Speeches, to Fans Around the World
New York, NY (April 30, 2009) – The Webby Awards and YouTube are joining forces to let fans create their own front row seat for The 13th Annual Webby Awards by offering a wide selection of exclusive video clips from this year’s ceremony, including every winner’s five-word speech, red carpet interviews, and more.
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, online film and video, interactive advertising, and mobile Websites. YouTube is the leading online video community that allows people to discover, watch and share originally created videos.
The 13th Annual Webby Awards, hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers, will take place on June 8th in New York City. Starting June 9th, the official Webby Awards YouTube Channel will showcase dozens of short video moments from the evening’s festivities, including individual clips of every winner’s five-word speech, celebrity interviews from the red carpet and backstage, scenes from the 2009 Webby Award-winning videos, and original videos created exclusively for the ceremony. The channel will also enable all winners to link directly to and promote their individual 5-word speech video(s).
The annual Webby Awards has become world-renowned thanks to its irreverent take on the traditional awards ceremony – from its famous five-word speeches to the outrageous videos created by the medium’s biggest stars including The Onion, Best Week Ever, and Barely Political. Past Webby Awards winners and their five-word speeches include: Al Gore (“Please don’t recount this vote.”); Stephen Colbert (“Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.”); Beastie Boys (“Can anyone fix my computer?”); and Prince ( “Everything you think is true”).
“We’re excited about partnering with YouTube to take the awards show viewing experience to the next level,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “Our goal is to create a more interactive, more personal, and, above all, more fun way for fans to view and be a part of the Webby Awards.”
“As a past Webby honoree and the host of many Webby Award-winning videos, YouTube is thrilled to team up with The Webby Awards,” said Jennifer Hyman, Head of YouTube Business Marketing for the Americas. “The Webby Awards YouTube Channel will be a hub where fans can meet and celebrate the stars and creators of their favorite videos, sites, blogs, ads, and more.”
This year’s Webby Awards winners will be announced on May 5th, 2009 and honored at the June 8th ceremony.
About YouTube:
YouTube is the world’s most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally created videos. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, Calif., and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.
About The Webby Awards
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received over 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft Silverlight; The Creative Group; .ORG; Getty Images; The Barbarian Group; Digital Kitchen; Variety; Wired; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.
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