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Crackle Teams Up With Blaze TV to be Exclusive Online Destination for South by Southwest 2008

SAUSALITO, Calif., March 13 PRNewswire — Crackle, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, is bringing the hottest live musical performances from the South by Southwest Music Conference and Festival (SXSW) to the web for a second year as they announce an exclusive online distribution deal for the DirecTV/SXSW Live content. In conjunction with noted music and television producer Blaze TV, Crackle is giving millions of music fans on-demand access anywhere at anytime to the country's coolest music and multimedia festival.

The broadcast on Crackle will feature 24 hours of live entertainment (three days of performances at eight hours per day, March 13 - 15), including acts from the hottest up-and-coming bands and established artists, talent interviews and exclusive behind-the-scenes backstage moments. As SXSW's joint venture partner, Blaze TV works to expand the festival's audience and enable the best, up-and-coming acts, which SXSW is known for, to break out.

By partnering with Crackle, online viewers will now be able to watch each of these performances, in either a programmed or customizable experience, from their living room to their desk to their back pocket. Unlike watching it live or on TV, viewers on Crackle will be able to take control of their SXSW music experience. Online audiences can discover their favorite bands by name or song, and view performances by category rather than sitting through a weekend of acts.

"Access to SXSW on Crackle gives music fans something they can't get anywhere else — an opportunity to see their favorite bands their own way," notes Jonathan Shambroom, GM of Crackle. "Watching the performances on Crackle gives avid fans the opportunity to search, discover, and compile their own play-lists, creating a unique, individual experience that might be even better than sitting in the front row!"

Last year's online broadcast on Crackle was a huge success with over 70 million streams — nearly 100 times the size of Austin's population and 6,000 times the size of the festival's attendance last year.

"Crackle enables us to share this incredible music experience with millions of music lovers we wouldn't be able to access otherwise," notes Roland Swenson, managing director of SXSW. "Our music festival is about showcasing the best talent out there and helping to get bands discovered. It's a philosophy of discovery and promotion that is shared by the folks at Crackle so we know their audiences will appreciate the access and the music they'll get to see and hear."

Performances will be broadcast from Blaze TV's custom-built venues where music acts will be captured in multi-camera HD with 5.1 surround sound. The musical performances from 24 bands including Dizzee Rascal, Sons & Daughters, Sia, Daryl Hall, and The Ting Tings to name a few, will be available exclusively on Crackle.

"We are delighted to have this partnership with Crackle," said Blaze managing director Conor McAnally. "Our motivation has been to bring the extraordinary performances that SXSW inspires from the artists, to fans beyond those who are able to attend the festival. With Crackle they can see these great bands perform at their highest level whenever they want. Sweet!"

Crackle, Inc.,

Crackle, Inc., a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company, is a multi-platform video entertainment network and studio that distributes work from the hottest emerging talent on the web and beyond. Crackle's addictive channels and shows reach a global audience across the Internet, in the living room, and on devices including a broad range of Sony electronics. Crackle, in on-going collaboration with Sony Pictures Entertainment and other leading partners, discovers and promotes the stars of today and tomorrow. Visit Crackle's site at http://www.crackle.com

About Blaze TV

Blaze TV was founded in the UK in 1999 but moved operations to Los Angeles in 2005. The company has produced over 100 hours of music and entertainment programs for the US market in the past two years including SXSW Live, CD USA, Rock &A Hard Place, Country Concert at Hickory Hills, Legendary Albums Live, and America's Party. Since its foundation the company has produced over 2000 hour of TV for world markets, won 22 major awards including 5 from the British Academy and 3 from the Royal Television Society. The company has worked with an enormous range of artists from U2 to Mariah Carey, Madonna to Metallica. Known for its innovative approach to projects, high production quality, cost- effective budgets and excellent relationships with talent, the company has a rapidly growing development slate of television and multiplatform concepts.

SOURCE Crackle

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