First-of-Its-Kind, Pure-Play Partnership Bolsters Blastro.com's Position as

Leading Aggregator of Urban/Hip Hop Broadband Video

    AUSTIN, Texas, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the SXSW Interactive
 conference Blastro Networks, a leading operator of broadband video Web
 sites for music videos, movie reviews and original shows, announced a
 program licensing agreement with H2O-Hip Hop OnDemand(TM), the popular
 Urban/Hip-Hop video-on-demand channel available in 20 Million homes on
 Comcast and Cox Cable's Free Video OnDemand services. The agreement marks
 Blastro's first cable programming deal and will provide television quality
 videos to Blastro.com, adding 50 new Urban/Hip-Hop videos and specials to
 its Web site each month.
     Under the agreement, Blastro Networks will immediately begin streaming
 H20-Hip Hop OnDemand(TM)'s video content on http://www.blastro.com , which
 will include hundreds of exclusive Hip Hop and R&B artist interviews, urban
 comedy, video vixens, dance and rap battles. Blastro and H20-Hip Hop
 OnDemand(TM) will share revenue generated from ads, which play before each
 program title.
     "Blastro's foresight and technology is making this possible," commented
 Will Griffin, CEO of H2O -- Hip Hop OnDemand(TM). "We're taking the most
 popular Hip Hop/Urban focused video-on-demand channel on television and
 delivering it directly to Blastro's installed base of millions of Hip
 Hop/Urban broadband video viewers. This is an industry first and probably a
 trend for the future of the broadband video industry."
     Hip-Hop music and culture began in the South Bronx in the 1970s and has
 spread worldwide, becoming one of the fastest growing genres in pop
 culture. Advertisers such as Sprite, McDonald's, General Motors, Burger
 King, HBO, Cingular, Verizon and American Express are targeting the $500
 billion-plus U.S. Urban youth market's purchasing power, according to
 Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com. Blastro.com, the leading
 supplier of broadband video specifically for the Hip-Hop audience, reports
 150,000 unique visitors a day and streams more than 10 Million urban and
 Hip Hop broadband video streams per month.
     "H2O-Hip OnDemand(TM)'s breadth and depth of content is perfect for our
 audience," said Casey Charvet, Technical Director for Blastro. "Offering
 their fresh, Hip Hop content will continue to expand our site traffic. We
 look forward to realizing the synergies that exist for our business."
     About Blastro Networks
     Austin, Texas, based Blastro Networks operates the Internet's best
 destinations for music videos, movie reviews and original shows.
 Blastro.com features major label and independent hip-hop, R&B and Latin
 artists, Roxwel.com features major label and independent rock and pop
 artists, and Yallwire.com features major label and independent country,
 bluegrass, alternative country and Christian artists.
     Advertisers choose Blastro Networks websites as highly-efficient,
 highly- targeted alternatives to other websites where advertisers overpay
 to reach audiences outside of their target demographics. Blastro Networks
 advertisers include American Express, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai,
 Microsoft, Miramax, New Line Cinema, Nokia, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble,
 Reebok, T-Mobile and Toyota/Scion.
     About H2O-Hip Hop OnDemand(TM)
     H2O-Hip Hop OnDemand(TM) is the first all video-on-demand channel
 solely devoted to Hip-Hop and Urban programming on television. It is
 available in 45 of the top 50 Urban markets on Comcast and Cox Cable's Free
 Video On Demand Tiers (Go to Channel 1. Click on Music Section. Click
 H2O-Hip Hop). It is headquartered in New York City and is an autonomous
 spin-off of the leading Urban television and film production company,
 Simmons Lathan Media Group (SLMG). Founding Sponsors are long-time
 supporters of the growth of Hip Hop and Urban Culture including the
 Coca-Cola Company (Sprite Brand) and General Motors. The company is also
 backed by Syndicated Communications and Pacesetter Capital Group, the
 leading private equity funds in Urban Media. More information may be found
 by visiting http://www.hiphopondemand.tv
 
 

SOURCE Blastro Networks