Crackle Wins Four Telly Awards & Garners Eight Webby Award Honors

CULVER CITY, Calif., April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Crackle, Inc. has been awarded in four categories by the 33rd Annual Telly Awards and has been selected as an Official Honoree of the 16th Annual Webby Awards in eight categories.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110329/LA73035LOGO)

Crackle's original comedy series "Issues" is among the recipients of the Silver Telly Awards, the highest Telly accolade. "Issues" received  two awards, one for excellence in 'Comedy' and one for 'Use of Animation.' Original series "Held Up" and "Backwash" each received a Bronze Telly Award for excellence in 'Comedy.' Crackle was evaluated among nearly 11,000 entries from across all 50 states and numerous countries.

In recognition of the quality of submissions received for the Webby Awards, the Academy has acknowledged outstanding entries as Official Honorees alongside Nominees. Crackle has been awarded eight honoree accolades for the Crackle platform in the Movie and Film category; the original series "Why It Crackles" in the Video Remixes/Mashups category; the Crackle Mobile App in the Entertainment (Handheld Devices) category and Best Use of Mobile Video category; the original series "Jailbait" in the Best Editing category along with Best Individual Performance from John Lehr; and the original series "Issues" in the Comedy: Long Form or Series category along with Best Individual Performance from Eric Stonestreet. With nearly 10,000 entries received from all 50 US states and over 60 countries, the Official Honoree distinction is awarded to the top 15% of all work entered that exhibits remarkable achievement.

In addition to the Telly Awards, which is decided by the Silver Telly Council, the program also has once again joined forces with YouTube to give the public the power to view and rate videos submitted as part of the People's Telly Awards. Voting is now open for the People's Telly Awards and select Crackle projects can be viewed and voted on here: "Clean Break," "Held Up," "Backwash," "Issues," and "Jailbait." Voting will conclude on April 27, 2012.

"We at Crackle are honored to have been recognized by both the Telly and Webby Awards for our programming, mobile app, and overall platform," said Eric Berger, EVP, Digital Networks, Sony Pictures Television. "Crackle consistently strives to bring unique, innovative programming to our users and 'Issues,' 'Held Up,' 'Jailbait,' 'Why It Crackles,' and 'Backwash' are perfect examples of the first rate original content we offer. I am also thrilled that our mobile app and overall platform has been acknowledged."

Receiving two Silver Telly Awards and two Official Webby Honors, "Issues"—Josh Cooke and Matt Oates' hybrid series that combines live action and animation —features the voices of Seth Green, Eric Stonestreet, Greg Grunberg, and Rob Riggle, among others. The series follows a disgruntled psychologist who has to deal with bizarre neuroses and psychoses of his unique clientele—animated superheroes.

Additional awarded original series include the highly-lauded comedy series "Backwash" from Josh Malina, Danny Leiner and Daniel Schnider, which features a talented array of well known actors including Jon Hamm, John Stamos, Sarah Silverman and Hank Azaria, among others; the comedy heist "Held Up," from Jason and Randy Sklar and stars such additional talents as Kaitlin Olson, Jon Dore, and Nick Kroll, among others; the improvised comedy "Jailbait" starring John Lehr and created, written and executive produced by Lehr and Nancy Hower along  and co-executive produced by Keith Raskin; and the original series "Why It Crackles," which features exclusive facts, behind-the-scenes footage, talent interviews, and more, all in an effort to show audiences why an upcoming original series or film release is worth watching.

"Backwash" is a tale of three slacker friends and the adventures that ensue after they hit the road in an ice cream truck after inadvertently robbing $100K from a bank with only a large salami. "Held Up" centers around a bored bank teller whose life changes dramatically after his bank is held up by dim-witted robbers. "Jailbait" tells the fish-out-of-water story of a naive optimist's struggles in prison to fit in, make new friends and just plain survive in a world of gangs, serial killers, cavity searches and pen pals of indeterminate gender or intention.

The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch Crackle app debuted in April 2011. That launch saw Crackle climb to the top of the US App store rankings (#1 Free Entertainment App; #1 Overall Free App on iPad), garner top five rankings in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, and garner a top five ranking on Apple's 2011 US App Rewind. Following the success of the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch app, Crackle launched its free Crackle Android app in June 2011, providing users an equivalent curated experience on the Android platform.   

Founded in 1979, The Telly Awards is the premiere award honoring outstanding TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online commercials, video and films. A prestigious judging panel of more than 500 accomplished industry professionals, each a past winner of a Silver Telly and a member of The Silver Telly Council, judged the competition, upholding the historical standard of excellence that Telly represents. 

The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1996 during the Web's infancy, The Webbys is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which includes an Executive 1,000-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities, and Associate Members who are former Webby Award Winners and Nominees and other Internet professionals.

Crackle, Inc.
Crackle, Inc. is a multi-platform next-generation video entertainment network that distributes digital content including original short form series and full-length traditional programming from Sony Pictures' vast library of television series and feature films. Crackle is one of the fastest growing entertainment destinations on the Internet today, offering audiences quality programming in a variety of genres, including comedy, action, sci-fi, horror, music and reality. Crackle reaches an impressive audience through its diverse online and mobile distribution network. Visit Crackle's site at www.crackle.com.    

SOURCE Crackle, Inc.