Immersive Experience Now Available to Viewers of America’s Largest Cycling Event
CAMBRIDGE, MA – MAY 17, 2010 – Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leader in powering video, dynamic transactions and enterprise applications online, today announced it’s working closely with Adobe Systems Incorporated and AEG Digital Media, the leading provider of complete webcast management, production and media services, to provide a high definition, interactive viewing experience online for the AMGEN Tour of California, America’s largest cycling event. Combining AEG Digital Media’s complete digital broadcast production services, Akamai’s robust delivery network, and Adobe® Flash® Media Server 3.5 software, viewers will be able to participate in a way that takes them beyond the boundaries of the typical on-line viewing experience.
The AMGEN Tour of California, which began on Sunday, May 16 and ends on Sunday May, 23 is the largest cycling event in the U.S., and takes riders through an 800-mile course passing through redwoods, mountains, and along the Pacific coast. Viewership of this year’s event is expected to increase with web-enhanced viewing capabilities and a richer media experience.
“We’re excited to team with Adobe and AEG again this year to stream the Amgen Tour of California live,” said Suzanne Johnson, Director of Marketing at Akamai. “The success of the event in years past is a true testament to the growing popularity of enjoying and interacting with sporting events in a live, online forum. Akamai’s global distribution platform is perfectly matched to handle a live event of this scale, attracting online viewers from around the globe.”
“AEG Digital Media is excited to offer our exceptional digital media live event technical management expertise to this world-class event,” said John Petrocelli, vice president sales and business development for AEG Digital Media. “Being able to enhance the online viewing experience for a worldwide audience is something we’re truly committed to at AEG Digital Media.”
A live tour tracker application created with Adobe Flash Builder® and Adobe LifeCycle® Data Services ES, will be available on the Tour of California’s website, www.amgentourofcalifornia.com. The application will combine two live video streams and a number of interactive features, including picture-in-picture video, real-time data streams, photos, audio commentary from the event, and the ability for users to chat live with other fans. This marks the fourth consecutive year that AEG has chosen the Adobe Flash Platform to bring the race to cycling fans around the world.
“This marks the fourth consecutive year the Adobe Flash Platform has been leveraged to bring the largest U.S. cycling event online to fans around the world,” said Doug Mack vice president and general manager for Digital Imaging and Rich Media Solutions at Adobe. “We’re pleased to be part of this annual event and provide cycling enthusiasts with a truly immersive online experience.”
AEG Digital Media will provide the overall digital production management, overseeing video capture, encoding services, and distribution. Akamai’s global distribution network will deliver the live and on-demand streams during this world-class event. The combination of these technologies will reliably deliver a rich media experience, ensure superior viewing quality, and guarantee instant scalability, allowing viewers to experience the race from the cyclists’ perspective.
About the Adobe Flash Platform
The Adobe Flash Platform is the leading Web design and development platform for creating expressive applications, content, and video that run consistently across operating systems and devices and reach more than 98 percent of Internet-enabled desktops. Major broadcasters, gaming and media companies including Disney.com, MLB.com, DIRECTV and others rely on the Adobe Flash Platform for delivering video on the Web and the platform powers social network sites such as YouTube and MySpace. For more information about the Adobe Flash Platform, visit www.adobe.com/flashplatform.
About AEG Digital Media
AEG Digital Media is the leading provider of complete webcast management, production and media services in the digital media industry. We take a broadcast approach to streaming/digital media and enable the world’s largest, innovative webcasts and live events. AEG Digital Media is regarded as the definitive turnkey service provider in the market today with a nine year track record of empowering the defining moments in internet broadcasting and live streaming media. For more information, visit www.aegdigitalmedia.com.
The Akamai Difference
Akamai provides market-leading managed services for powering video, dynamic transactions, and enterprise applications online. Having pioneered the content delivery market one decade ago, Akamai’s services have been adopted by the world’s most recognized brands across diverse industries. The alternative to centralized Web infrastructure, Akamai’s global network of tens of thousands of distributed servers provides the scale, reliability, insight and performance for businesses to succeed online. Akamai has transformed the Internet into a more viable place to inform, entertain, interact, and collaborate. To experience The Akamai Difference, visit www.akamai.com.
