DataSphere Launches New Events Calendars in 12% of US Markets

BELLEVUE, Wash., May 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- DataSphere Technologies, a provider of hyper-local web technology and sales solutions for media companies, today announced the launch of a new events calendar in 22 markets across the US including Seattle, Denver and Washington DC. Events calendars were launched in partnership with Local TV, Gannett Co., Fisher, Hubbard and Desert TV. With over 250,000 upcoming events, these calendars are integrated into TV station websites and reach over 11 million people each day.

DataSphere's event calendar features a rich selection of events targeted at the community level, local contextual businesses and coupons, and rich multimedia content including photos and videos. Consumer and small businesses alike can also submit events for free, supplementing the thousands of pre-existing events with community-generated content. The events calendar was built to seamlessly integrate into any established media company's website and to further differentiate DataSphere's hyper-local websites as the definitive source for neighborhood news and happenings.

"Whether you are looking for family-friendly events or local music concerts, our new events calendar product was built to help people find something to do in their community," said Satbir Khanuja, CEO of DataSphere. "People can find thousands of events within a single market, and refine their search all the way down to the neighborhood level. This is a key differentiator between our events calendar and the existing market alternatives." DataSphere is partnered with West World Media and Eventful to leverage their expansive database of events.

"Local TV LLC is excited to be launching the events calendar with our DataSphere stations.  We understand the importance of events to our viewers and users who visit our sites.  This Events product provides a great way to add the compelling content they seek," said Jennifer Guerrieri, Vice President Interactive, Local TV LLC.

"Established media companies have tremendous assets which, if harnessed appropriately, offer the potential to really improve the way local communities interact," said Satbir Khanuja, CEO of DataSphere. "With the new events product, our media partners can establish themselves as the go-to place for people to find out what's going on in their community along with the news that matters most."

Currently 12% of all US markets are live with DataSphere's events calendar, with plans to launch event calendars in most domestic media markets over the course of this year. Check out events calendars today in these major markets:

Seattle, WA: http://events.komonews.com/
Washington DC: http://events.wusa9.com/
Denver, CO: http://events.kdvr.com/
Sacramento, CA: http://events.news10.net/
St Louis, MO: http://events.fox2now.com/
Atlanta, GA: http://events.11alive.com/
Minneapolis, MN: http://events.kstp.com/

About DataSphere

DataSphere Technologies, Inc. (www.DataSphere.com) is the leading web technology and hyperlocal ad sales company focused on generating online profits for media companies covering almost 40% of the US population, including Gannett, Raycom Media, LocalTV LLC, Fisher Communications and Hubbard Broadcasting. DataSphere offers a range of turnkey solutions to rapidly improve website monetization and visitor experience with minimal investment of time and money. DataSphere's solutions also incorporate broadcast TV content and process knowledge provided by its strategic partner Fisher Communications. The company is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, USA and led by a team of Internet veterans with backgrounds from Amazon.com, IMDb, Microsoft, RealNetworks and AltaVista.

About LocalTV

LocalTV LLC is a broadcast holding company created in 2007 to acquire nine heritage television stations in eight mid-sized markets. In 2008, the company acquired eight Fox Affiliates previously owned by News Corporation. In 2009 Local TV sold one station in Birmingham, AL and purchased WTVR in Richmond, VA. Local TV is owned by Oak Hill Capital Partners and a consortium of bankers and high yield lenders who drank the Kool-Aid and are as enthusiastic about our future as we are. Stay tuned.

About Eventful

Eventful is the leading digital media company connecting consumers to the world's most comprehensive selection of local entertainment and live events. Over 20 million people use Eventful to find out what's happening and decide what to do; from movies and concerts to sports and kids events.  Eventful is built upon a unique, open platform that enables partners and web applications to leverage Eventful's data, features and functionality via the Eventful API. Over 3,000 partners license Eventful's content and platform to power local entertainment content across online, mobile, email and digital signage platforms.

About West World Media LLC

Privately owned West World Media (www.westworldmedia.com) is the industry leader for entertainment listings and venue marketing services, by virtue of its three divisions, CinemaSource, EventSource and ExhibitorAds.  The CinemaSource division is the largest global supplier of movie showtimes data and widely recognized as the gold standard of movie showtimes content. CinemaSource licenses movie showtime listings and other content to customers including Internet companies, newspapers, wireless companies and other media outlets. Its EventSource division compiles and licenses hyper local listings of live events including concerts, sporting events, fairs, shows and more. The ExhibitorAds division provides movie exhibitors with a suite of exhibitor marketing services including website hosting, wireless website hosting, social networking services, newspaper directory ad creation, weekly email newsletters and more. West World Media content and customers are in 34 countries worldwide. (www.westworldmedia.com)

SOURCE DataSphere Technologies, Inc.