Yahoo! And Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment Announce Comprehensive Online Motion Picture Promotional Agreement
Sunnyvale, CA -- Oct. 17, 2001 -- Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news), a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company, and Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, a leader in digital creation, innovation and production, today announced an agreement for the online promotion and marketing of Sony Pictures films. This implementation is part of the previously announced relationship between Sony Corporation of America and Yahoo!. Under the terms of the agreement, select motion picture releases from Sony Pictures Entertainment will be comprehensively integrated across the Yahoo! network, beginning with "Riding in Cars with Boys," starring Drew Barrymore and directed by Penny Marshall, which opens October 19. For the first integrated online marketing program of the relationship, Yahoo! and Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment worked closely together to develop the "Riding in Cars with Boys" campaign currently running throughout the Yahoo! network. Online promotional outreach for this film includes the following: Yahoo!® Movies (http://movies.yahoo.com) is providing "Riding in Cars with Boys" showtime listings and online ticketing which will also be available at the official movie site (www.ridingincars.com). Behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with talent, trailers, and still shots from the production will also be accessible to Yahoo! Movies visitors. Yahoo! Auctions (http://auctions.yahoo.com) is offering consumers the opportunity to bid on wardrobe items from the movie. Yahoo! Delivers is sending Yahoo! movie fans a special note from film star Drew Barrymore.
Through these outreach efforts, coupled with targeted media placement, Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment will deliver a personalized and compelling multimedia message to the largest Internet audience in the world, while Yahoo! gains access to consumers, providing them with much anticipated, leading entertainment content. "At SPDE, we always want to reach more people and provide them with richer content," said Yair Landau, President, Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment. "With Yahoo!'s vast marketing and research resources, we will be able to target varied audiences for each motion picture release with customized programs and enhance the Sony movie-going experience." "By working with the SPDE team to provide online integrated marketing solutions for their upcoming films, we have access to some of the highest quality of entertainment content available today," said Ellen Siminoff, Senior Vice President, Yahoo! Entertainment. "As a leader in entertainment, Sony and its properties are an enormous draw for our users and we look forward to offering a high level of content on the most anticipated titles to come out of the studio." The next film scheduled for promotion is "Ali" from director Michael Mann, starring Will Smith, which opens December 25, 2001. The agreement between Yahoo! and SPDE builds on an existing relationship between Yahoo! and Sony Corporation of America, in which Sony and Yahoo! have committed to work together in four key areas: development and distribution of a co-branded Web site, e-commerce, enterprise advisory services, and content integration and promotion. About Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment (SPDE), an operating unit of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), oversees the activities of SPE's digital production and online assets including Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Online Entertainment, Screenblast, SoapCity and the studio's online promotional presence. SPDE focuses on three areas: 1) producing and developing visual effects and computer-generated imaging (CGI), digital character animation, and original content for motion picture, television, online and PlayStation audiences; 2) developing new forms of online content, games and interactive programming; and 3) leading SPE's efforts to provide online, open-access video-on-demand, interactive television and the distribution of new forms of digital content and services over the emerging broadband IP (Internet Protocol) networks. About Yahoo! Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company that offers a comprehensive branded network of services to more than 200 million individuals each month worldwide. As the first online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user reach. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally and reaches the largest audience worldwide. The business user reach. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally and reaches the largest audience worldwide. The company also provides online business and enterprise services designed to enhance the productivity and Web presence of Yahoo!'s clients. These services include Corporate Yahoo!, a popular customized enterprise portal solution; audio and video streaming; store hosting and management; and Web site tools and services. The company's global Web network includes 24 World properties. Yahoo! has offices in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, Canada and the United States, and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. Contact: Yahoo!, Inc. Linda Pederson, 408/349-7088, [email protected] or Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment Kristen Tarnol, 310/840-8234, [email protected] or Sony Corp. of America Howard Polskin, 212/833-6975, [email protected] # # #