Largest Internet VOD Service Available for TV and PC
Akimbo™ Systems today announced that its Internet video-on-demand service will be available next week in beta release for Windows XP and Vista-based PCs. Consumers will be able to download Akimbo at http://www.Akimbo.com to access thousands of videos for viewing on their PCs. The Akimbo Service offers an ever-growing collection of high-quality video, including popular TV networks alongside specialty outlets like The Horror Channel, the premier broadband venue for the best horror, terror and suspense programming, as well as here!, America’s premium _gay television network. Akimbo also offers a diverse array of video for indie movie buffs and animation fans. For sports fanatics Akimbo brings full-length Stanley Cup Playoffs, classic games and weekly highlights from the National Hockey League, as well as a rich assortment of extreme sports and outdoor sports programming. The Akimbo Service available on Windows PCs lets consumers bypass the monthly Akimbo subscription fee and instead pay per video download to enjoy their choice of programming.
“Making Akimbo available on the PC is an important step toward delivering our award-winning Internet VOD service wherever consumers prefer to receive it,” said Akimbo President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas F. Frank. “Although Akimbo is widely available on TV through the RCA Akimbo Player set-top box and through the AT&T Homezone entertainment service, it’s very significant that consumers now have the option to enjoy their favorite videos in full TV-quality on any Windows PC.”
Akimbo used the Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ:SNIC) Roxio Venue™, a rich media management application, to make the Akimbo Service available on PCs. Users with high-speed broadband connections can use Roxio Venue to select, manage and, taking advantage of the progressive download feature, even begin to watch videos before the download is complete. Later this year, consumers will also be able to securely burn Akimbo videos onto recordable DVDs that play on standard DVD players as well as PCs, which will be enabled using Sonic DVD On Demand technology.
Over the past three years Akimbo has charted new territory in the world of home video. Akimbo was the first company to unite hundreds of video providers with consumer electronics, cable and telecommunications firms to make Internet VOD a reality for consumers. The Akimbo Service has helped video providers of all sizes identify previously untapped audiences and create lucrative new revenue streams. The Akimbo collection spans 15,000 mainstream and specialty titles for viewing on the TV or the PC.
About Akimbo
Akimbo is the first company to deliver digital-quality video-on-demand to any television via a broadband-Internet connection. In 2006, the company was named to the OnHollywood 100 by AlwaysOn for its easy-to-use and affordable Internet video-on-demand service. As an aggregator of brand-name and specialty video content, Akimbo provides one of the worlds’ largest collections of on-demand programming to companies including AT&T, Microsoft Corp., Sonic Solutions and Thomson Corp. Akimbo has offices in San Mateo, Calif. and is funded by AT&T, Blueprint Ventures, Cisco Systems Inc., Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sprout Group and Zone Ventures. For more information, visit http://www.akimbo.com.
