January 31, 2012
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced that Matt Paxton, featured organizer on A&E’s hit show Hoarders, has launched his official iPhone and Android App for his podcast – 5 Decisions Away with Matt Paxton. Matt is a regular on the A&E show Hoaders, which was nominated for an Emmy in 2011 for Outstanding Reality Program.
An Extreme Cleaning Specialist and author of, “The Secret Lives of Hoarders”, Matt brings a unique perspective to his podcast as he talks about hoarding, life and cleaning up the messiest homes in America. The reality program Hoarders from A&E, reported that their season 5 premiere on January 2nd 2012 delivered 2.4 million total viewers. The new episode marked dramatic growth of 60% among total viewers.
The 5 Decisions Away with Matt Paxton Podcast is one of the most popular podcasts in the iTunes TV & Film category, ranking in the top 100, and featured on the front page of the iTunes Podcast store shortly after its release. Paxton’s incredible stories, included in the series, have been highlighted in various publications including the WSJ, Inc., Playboy and Bloomberg Businessweek.
Matt Paxton is using Wizzard Media’s proprietary, integrated publishing solution libsyn, to produce the 5 Decisions Away with Matt Paxton podcast. The 5 Decisions Away with Matt Paxton Podcast App was developed in partnership with Wizzard Media is now available for purchase in the iTunes App Store (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/5-decisions-away-matt-paxton/id382606351?mt=8) and Amazon Android Marketplace for the Kindle Fire (http://www.amazon.com/5-Decisions-Away-Matt-Paxton/dp/B0070OKXZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=mobile-apps&qid=1327694405&sr=1-1).
“Wizzard Media is very excited to be working with Matt Paxton to help provide his massive audience with a new and exciting way to interact with The 5 Decisions Away Podcast,” said Rob Walch, VP Podcaster Relations with Wizzard Media. “People want to hear Matt’s view and unique perspective. He brings an interesting and humorous approach to helping people and in talking about his experiences, hopes that people learn something.”
“We get a lot of great feedback and email from the podcast. And recently I was approached by people that know the podcast,” said Matt Paxton. “It was the first time that I had any one call me out for the podcast not the TV show. I love the interaction with people – that is why we started podcasting. We are looking forward to reaching more people and supporting the show with the podcast apps.”
About Matt Paxton:
Matt Paxton and his Clutter Cleaner team, the business he started in 2006, have cleaned over 300 hoarded homes and developed a “no nonsense” style of helping aging seniors and hoarders alike. Paxton is a featured specialist on A&E’s Emmy nominated show HOARDERS and speaks nationally on hoarding and life. Paxton’s incredible stories have been highlighted in various publications and can be heard weekly at www.5DecisionsAway.com.
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 10,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Windows Phones, Zunes, Windows Media Center, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android, Android Market, AdMob are trademarks of Google. Facebook is a registered mark of Facebook, Inc.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-1120
Wizzard Moves To Close FAB Acquisition
January 18, 2012
Board Also Approves Spin-Off of Healthcare Business
Wizzard Software (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcast network, today announced that at its recent board meeting the board of directors agreed to proceed to the final stage of the acquisition of FAB and the drafting of all final closing documents. Additionally, the board approved the filing of the S1 registration statement to spin-off the company’s home healthcare business to its shareholders.
“We are excited to announce that we are nearing the close of the acquisition of FAB and we are working hard to close the deal in the very near future,” said Chris Spencer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wizzard. “The final audits are in for 2009 and 2010 with FAB generating revenues of $38.9 million in 2009 and $55.5 million in 2010. Earnings for 2009 were $4.2 million and $11.6 million for 2010. Unaudited results for 2011 are $70.9 million in revenue with $15.3 million in earnings. We expect the 2011 audits to be finalized in the next two weeks. We remain very excited about our expansion to Asia and working together with FAB’s management to grow our combined companies into a global media distribution leader.”
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 13,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 20 million unique monthly viewers worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android, Android Market, AdMob are trademarks of Google. Facebook is a registered mark of Facebook, Inc.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-112
Wizzard Media Sees Continued Growth in Podcasting Apps and 2011 Network Stats
January 10, 2012
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced it is seeing continued growth of its network with the expansion of App offerings across leading markets and mobile devices. In addition, Wizzard’s premier podcast distribution and monetization platform, Libsyn.com, has seen growth in overall network statistics in 2011 and into 2012.
Wizzard Media expanded support for podcast apps with over 2,800 podcast apps submitted and approved during 2011. In the fourth quarter alone podcast apps were added based on growing Android popularity and continued demand for iOS in preparation for the holiday season:
- 100 new apps were added with support for the Amazon Kindle Fire
- over 400 new apps for the iTunes App Store
- all iOS Apps were upgraded for Apple iPad compatibility
- 250 apps were submitted to the Verizon Wireless App Store (V CAST)
- business-related apps in Cisco’s AppHQ for Android based Cius tablet increased to almost 50
According to The Street and data provided by analytics firm Flurry, Christmas Day 2011 was by far the biggest day for app downloads and mobile device activations in history. Flurry estimates that there were 242 million app downloads on Christmas Day. The company also observed that global app downloads averaged approximately 108 million per day for the first 20 days of the month of December. Christmas Day downloads doubled the current average and were up from only 85 million on Christmas 2010. Additionally, 6.8 million mobile devices were activated on Christmas Day versus 1.5 million activated each during the first three weeks of December 2011.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, the Wizzard Media network averaged over 20 million unique audience members per month. Wizzard Media reached another milestone with an all time high for unique audience count in December 2011. Additionally, substantial growth in download requests continued with the fourth quarter numbers topping October’s all time high. And while Wizzard stopped publishing download request numbers in 2010 due to a change in algorithmic reporting metrics, download requests for 2011 would have clearly exceeded 2010’s total of 1.64 billion.
Wizzard reported ongoing increases in new podcast client account sign-ups and cooresponding revenues throughout 2011 with a focus on higher margined monthly accounts. The fourth quarter brought additional all-time highs for average weekly account sign-ups and incremental revenue. That trend continues in 2012 with the first week of the new-year beating out even the best week of 2011 for new account growth and incremental revenue.
“We are thrilled by the upward trends we continue to see and are confident that the hard work of our team and our podcast producers in 2011 will continue to expand the entire podcast ecosystem,” said Laurie Sims, President of Wizzard Media. “Our Q4 results are encouraging with all time highs in our network statistics and greater distribution for our producers with broad support across various app marketplaces and mobile devices. With the popularity of the Kindle Fire and loyalty of iOS users, we are excited about prospects for 2012 expansion.”
The company has been focused on its stated plan of increasing reoccurring revenues by attracting new podcast hosting and App customers. Additionally, marketing and social media efforts to support hosting and audience growth have demonstrated success in 2011 and will be further leveraged in 2012. Wizzard’s full subscription service is expected to launch in the first part of 2012.
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 10,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Windows Phones, Zunes, Windows Media Center, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android, Android Market, AdMob are trademarks of Google. Facebook is a registered mark of Facebook, Inc.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-1120
Wizzard Updates Progress of the Proposed Acquisition of FAB
December 14, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the leading podcast network, today announced that they are nearing completion of Phase II of the due diligence process regarding the acquisition of FAB. The two companies are working through the final outstanding due diligence issues and the creation of the final closing agreements.
“John Busshaus, CFO Wizzard Media, and I just returned from Beijing last week where we met with FAB management as well as their attorneys and auditors,” said Chris Spencer, Wizzard Media CEO. “We were very happy with the progress of the FAB team as they work hard to prepare to be a publicly listed company. Additionally, we toured FAB retail stores, franchise stores and saw several new kiosk models. FAB is growing rapidly and is a leader in the distribution of copyright protected media in China. Their fiscal 2011 results have been outstanding and we look forward to finalizing our business relationship very soon.”
Founded in 2003, FAB is headquartered in Beijing and offers the largest selection in mainland China of copyrighted DVD’s, Blu-ray Discs, music CD’s, video games and downloadable digital content through three distribution channels – wholesale and retail, vending kiosks and internet stores. For more information on FAB, please click here.
The current U.S.-based management of Wizzard Media will remain, including its CEO and CFO. Hongchung Zhang, founder and CEO of FAB, will join as Chairman of the Board upon the closing of the transaction.
The proposed transaction is subject to substantial due diligence, approvals by each company’s shareholders, the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals both in the U.S. and China.
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 13,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 20 million unique monthly viewers worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android, Android Market, AdMob are trademarks of Google. Facebook is a registered mark of Facebook, Inc.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-112
Wizzard Media Expands Android App Support to Verizon App Store and Amazon Kindle Fire
December 07, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced support for Verizon Wireless App Store (V CAST) and the popular Amazon Kindle Fire based on growing Android popularity and in preparation for the upcoming holiday season.
The V CAST App store is Verizon’s own app storefront on handsets. In addition to ensuring that the apps work well on Verizon’s network and the devices the carrier sells, apps are paid for on a Verizon phone bill. Working with Verizon, Wizzard successfully submitted its top 100 Podcast Apps utilizing the new VDC portal and improvements to the go-to-market process of submitting to V CAST Apps. The V CAST Apps Machine expands the potential reach to over 90M+ new customers across multiple platforms.
Speaking at the Verizon Developers Conference in Las Vegas in September, Scott Ellison, vice president of mobile and connected platforms at IDC, said there were more App downloads fro Android than for any other mobile OS. In the second quarter, Android users downloaded 1.3 billion apps a month, Ellison said. Also, fueling future growth in the Android space is the attractively priced Amazon Kindle Fire.
According to PCWeek, the number one selling product at Amazon, the world’s largest retailer has been the Kindle Fire. Dave Limp, Amazon Kindle Vice President expects the trend to continue through the holiday shopping season. Although only a few weeks old, there are indications that Kindle Fire is growing in popularity and creating competitive pressure on the leader in the tablet market. In the results of a survey released last week by Park Associates, of households with broadband access and plans to purchase a consumer electronics device this holiday season, 51% intend to buy a Kindle Fire.
Wizzard’s podcast apps for sale in the Amazon AppStore are supported on the Kindle Fire and the company is currently focused on submitting more apps for the holiday season. Wizzard Management believes the growth and popularity of devices like the Kindle Fire and expansion to the Verizon app store for the Android platform will increase network downloads and unique audience counts while driving new customers to Wizzard’s podcasting services. Android’s share of the worldwide smartphone market was 52.3% for Q3, double what it was a year ago, according to data released in November from Gartner. Both iOS and Android devices are likely favorites on holiday shopping lists this season and will drive increased consumption as new users explore the industry’s leading app stores.
“We are excited to be able to continue to extend our mobile media monetization efforts for our podcast publishers with the addition of the V Cast and support for the Amazon Kindle Fire for Android Apps. Both the Amazon AppStore and V CAST offer an easy and secure way for consumers to purchase Apps. The expansions for the Android platform have been well-received by our network and we believe it will continue to attract new customers to our service,” says Chris Spencer, Wizzard Media CEO. “Once again, this demonstrates our ability to support new and growing platforms. This is a natural progression in Wizzard’s strategy to become the leading mobile content distribution and monetization service. Our service provides serious mobile content publishers with state-of-the-art distribution services, unique monetization solutions and compelling audience engagement experiences that are extendible to future platforms.”
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 13,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 20 million unique monthly viewers worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android, Android Market, AdMob are trademarks of Google. Facebook is a registered mark of Facebook, Inc.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-112
Wizzard Media Sees New Podcast Account Sign-Ups and Revenues up 29%
November 22, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced it is seeing a 30% increase in average weekly signups in 2011 vs. average weekly signups for 2010. In addition, Wizzard’s premier podcast distribution and monetization platform Libsyn.com has seen average weekly client account revenues increase 29% for 2011 vs. 2010.
“We are thrilled by the growth we are seeing and confident that efforts like our Facebook integration and the Podcast.com Directory will continue to build upon the ongoing growth of the network,” said Laurie Sims, President of Wizzard Media. “October results are very encouraging with our uniques up over 20 million, downloads requests up substantially and growth in weekly new client sign-ups up 33%. We also saw weekly revenue up 39% in October 2011 compared to October 2010. We are well-positioned to leverage and expand into 2012.”
The company has been focused on its stated plan of increasing reoccurring revenues by attracting new hosting and App customers. Additionally, marketing and social media efforts to support hosting and audience growth have demonstrated success this year.
Adding to the momentum is increased growth fueled by producers looking to migrate their podcasts. These moves are usually prompted by the benefits of the libsyn platform (better stats, advertising opportunities or to get a smart phone app) with a focus on Basic Getting Started Accounts and App-enabled Accounts. Average weekly sign-ups for new App Enabled Accounts continue to exceed Getting Started Accounts and have grown by 47% from 2010 to 2011. With system reliability and customer satisfaction at an all time high and a rich set of features, the recent surge in migrations to the libsyn platform is a result of continued focus on hosting and delivery of services that others are not able to provide.
This new client growth represents significant opportunities for revenue increases and audience expansion on the Wizzard Media Network. With the popularity of podcasting on the rise, Libsyn remains the premier podcast distribution and monetization platform. The ability to seamlessly migrate and support perennially popular podcasts and their audiences, new to the Wizzard Media Network, will have a direct impact on growth during the fourth quarter of 2011 and into 2012.
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 13,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 20 million unique monthly viewers worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android, Android Market, AdMob are trademarks of Google. Facebook is a registered mark of Facebook, Inc.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-1120
Wizzard Media Enters Into Exclusive Partnership with Podcast.com
November 10, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcast network, today announced an exclusive partnership with Podcast.com to launch a consumer facing podcast directory and consumption destination with content provided exclusively by Wizzard Media.
Podcast.com will feature Wizzard Media’s Libsyn hosting and mobile app products and share in revenue generated from new customers introduced through the venture as well as advertising revenues. Podcast.com is the most heavily trafficked podcast centric website on the internet and together with Domain Holdings, which manages and operates Podcast.com, Wizzard plans to leverage Podcast.com to create greater awareness, content discovery and drive more audiences to Libsyn hosted podcasts for its producers.
“Podcast.com is a known entity that consistently ranks very high with the search engines,” says Laurie Sims, President of Wizzard Media. “This venture gives us the ability to highlight Libsyn podcasts outside of the traditional iTunes store where discovery is based on popularity, rankings and other algorithms. Podcast.com attracts audiences that may not be well versed in iTunes but use the web and search as a primary tool for discovering media of interest.“
Sims continues, “We believe this deal will increase uniques for the Wizzard Media Network, which came in at over 20 million in October, and also increase reoccurring revenues by bringing new hosting and App customers. The team at Domain Holdings are experts at generating organic rankings, unique visitors and monetizing properties. We are very excited to be working with them and we look forward to the expansion of the site over the next several weeks.”
The marketing partnership with Podcast.com aims to help podcasters, large and small, new and old, by offering them the opportunity to be showcased at a premier podcast destination. People searching for podcasts can discover and listen to or watch shows of interest right from the site itself.
About Domain Holdings:
Domain Holdings Group, Inc tailors solutions around one simple goal – maximum monetization of client assets. Whether it is through their proprietary DomainPower platform, domain brokerage service, in-house Internet marketing and SEO services, domain development; or finding a third-party solution that exist in the domain marketplace, DH is committed to growing clients online business’s and domain portfolios at all stages of the domain life cycle. Domain Holdings is led by a management team with over two decades of experience and reach across all industry verticals. Visit us on the web at www.domainholdings.com
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 13,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-1120
Top BMX Brand Kink Bike ‘Doing It Big’ with Video Podcast
October 20, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s largest podcasting hosting service, announced today that internationally acclaimed Kink Bike Co., one the leading BMX brands in the world has chosen libsyn.com to host and publish the Kink BMX Video Podcast series. With a stable of world champion riders the Video Podcast follows the Kink family and highlights BMX riding worldwide.
Kink BMX bikes are available in most major BMX shops in the United States and distributed in 30 countries worldwide. The company produces complete bikes, parts, apparel and signature frames by dirt jump king Chris Doyle and park master Sean Sexton. Sponsored riders rep Kink at International BMX events and ESPN’s X Games.
“Our customers all have mobile devices and are tech savvy,” said Zack Phillips, Founder of Kink Bike Company. “The new video podcast is another way to reach fans and riders and reinforce our high quality brand with them.”
“We are very happy that Kink Bike’s has chosen to host their podcast with libsyn,” said Rob Walch, VP of Podcaster Relations with Wizzard Media. “The Kink BMX podcast has quickly become a popular show and helps expose a younger male audience to podcasting. This is another example of a world class brand using podcasting to grow their business.”
The Kink BMX Video podcast features the likes of Kink Bike pro, am, flow, and international BMX team riders. This very popular show can be subscribed to in iTunes. Kink bikes are distributed in over 30 countries around the world and the Kink BMX video podcast helps Kink Bike connect with their global customer base.
About Kink:
Kink Bike Company was established in 1994 in Rochester, NY by rider and owner Zack Phillips at the age of 16 when he saw a need for stronger parts. Kink is the first rider-owned and operated bmx Bike Company to concentrate on parts and accessories. Today, Kinks’ vision continues to be led by owner and rider Zack Phillips, is to remain the leading action sports bicycle company. Kink has grown from parts and accessories into everything bmx. Kink stays true to its roots by sponsoring a world-class freestyle team. Kink is sold worldwide through independent bike dealers and distributors. For additional information, visit www.kinkbmx.com.
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 13,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-1120
Wizzard Media Network Announces New Comedy Apps
October 12, 2011
Reaches 2,000 Mobile Apps Milestone
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcast network, today announced the launch of two new comedy Apps: The Smartest Man in the World with Greg Proops and Girl on Guy with Aisha Tyler in addition to reaching a new milestone of 2,000 Mobile Apps for iOS and Android.
The Wizzard Media Network received 1.64 billion download requests in 2010, has over 18 million monthly unique audience members and now offers 2,000 mobile Apps for iOS and Android devices, covering 77% of the market (comScore). Wizzard continues to see growing engagement from comedians and their audiences.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, comedy podcasts are flourishing and are becoming Comedy’s second coming. “People who are devoted comedy fans.…fans that follow comedy have turned to podcasts in the millions and are devoted to it,” says Proops. “…the young generation of 20 or 30-somethings don’t care at all about the radio or TV. Everything comes to them through their phone, iPad or computer.”
Aisha Tyler is an actress, writer, comedian and the host of Girl on Guy. Perhaps best known for her hot-streak stint on E! Entertainment’s Talk Soup and head-turning roles on Friends, 24, CSI, The Boondocks and The Ghost Whisperer, Aisha currently voices sexy superspy Lana Kane on the F/X hit animated show Archer. Her Comedy Central one-hour special Aisha Tyler Is Lit is in heavy rotation on cable and on-demand and she tours nationally as a headlining standup comedian.
The five-star rated podcast audio show, which recently began releasing two episodes per week due to popular demand, focuses on “stuff guys love.” The new App will include content exclusive to the App and is available for both iOS (Apple iPhone) and Android. Aisha and her guests rant about topics ranging from video games to action movies, drinking, cars and sex. An episode with Adam Corolla features their mutual love of fast machines and Adam’s early days, while another with Chris Parnell reveals secrets from behind the scenes at SNL. A wildly popular segment of the show is “self-inflicted wounds,” where guests tell a particularly revealing story from their past they would rather had never happened.
Comedian Greg Proops is best known for his unpredictable appearances on both the U.K. and U.S. versions of “Whose Line is it Anyway?” and still tours with long time cohorts Ryan Stiles, Jeff Davis and Chip Esten in the live Improv show “Whose Live Anyway?” Kids recognize Greg from Nickelodeon’s True Jackson, VP and as the voice of Bob The Builder, while adults can find him guesting on shows like Chelsea Lately and Paul Provenza’s The Green Room and top podcasts like The Nerdist and WTF with Marc Maron.
Proops’ own podcast, “The Smartest Man in the World,” is now available as an App for both iOS and Android. The hit show is recorded in front of a live audience every week, either at his self-proclaimed West Hollywood booze fortress or at comedy festivals and theaters worldwide, and the format is simple: Greg free associates his way through an hour-long monologue on the news of the day, tells stories from his life, then answers questions from his listeners. Combining decades of experience as a stand-up with razor-sharp improv skills and a passion for politics, baseball, ancient history, old Hollywood and more, “The Smartest Man in the World” is as unique, inimitable and hilarious as its host.
“It is exciting to see comedy podcasts and apps coming to the forefront. We have a large inventory of comedy podcasts, representing approximately a third of our top podcasts and nearly half of the overall downloads from our top shows,” said Rob Walch, VP of Podcaster Relations for Wizzard Media. “Reaching the 2,000 App milestone is a result of continued interest in the medium and with the new iPhone 4S and upcoming Kindle Fire we are well-positioned to deliver content to fans on their mobile devices.”
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 13,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-1120
USDA Selects Wizzard Media’s LibsynPro Service to Distribute the USDA Podcasts
October 06, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s largest podcasting hosting service, announced today that the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has chosen LibsynPro to host and publish USDA Podcasts.
“We are excited to have the USDA hosting with us on LibsynPro,” said Chris Spencer, Wizzard Media CEO. “We believe Podcasting is an efficient and cost effective medium for U.S. Government agencies to get word out about their area of expertise. We look forward to working with other U.S. Government agencies for their podcasting needs.”
The USDA podcasts include the USDA Down to Earth Video Podcast, which is the first one to be hosted on LibsynPro. Additional podcast series will be added to the LibsynPro network in the near future.
About USDA (www.usda.gov):
The USDA provides leadership on food, agriculture, natural resources, and related issues based on sound public policy, the best available science, and efficient management.
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 13,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-1120
Wizzard Media Network Touts NFL Podcast Lineup
September 29, 2011
Are You Ready For Some Football?!
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced the addition of EA Sports Madden NFL 12 Podcast. The Wizzard Media Network, which received 1.64 billion download requests in 2010 and has over 18 million monthly unique audience members, is seeing growing engagement in NFL football-related podcasts that range from official NFL.com podcasts, official NFL Team podcasts, popular unofficial NFL Team fancasts and Fantasy League casts.
The EA Sports Madden NFL 12 Podcast, a weekly hour-long audio podcast, covers the latest in Madden NFL 12 news, rosters and team updates. Created for NFL football fans, the show provides a unique behind the scene look at the all-time favorite football related video game and commentary on the NFL and Fantasy Football. Included is a recap of NFL weekly games, injury reports, insight on the upcoming schedule and weekly picks.
NFL Fans can also find their fill of podcasts on the Wizzard Media Network with NFL.com, which has six podcasts hosted on its Libsyn publishing platform, including The Rich Eisen Podcast, Cover Two with Bucky Brooks and Steve Wyche and The Dave Dameshek Football Program. In addition to official podcasts from NFL.com there are official podcasts for individual NFL Teams that host with Libsyn such as the Houston Texans podcast.
Each NFL Team also has at least one unofficial Fan Podcast – with some teams having multiple unofficial shows – where listeners can either share in the thrill of victory or collectively lick their wounds and commiserate like only true fans can. Some popular Fancasts are The Jet Pack (Jets), the Eagles FanCast, Bear Down (Bears), Warpaint Illustrated out of Bounds (Chiefs) and Steel Curtain Radio (Steelers).
For all the Fantasy League Football players there is a large selection of podcasts specifically oriented to Fantasy Football. There is the aforementioned Dave Dameshek Football Program from NFL.com as well as The Fantasy Football Scoutcast and NFL Fantasy Live.
With the NFL season entering its fourth week fans across the country are now back into the swing of football. According the NFL, fans are tuning into games and visiting digital media properties in record numbers this year to follow their favorite teams. Visits to the expanded array of NFL mobile offerings are up nearly 500 percent from last season.
“With more fans looking to access football content from their mobile devices there is increased interest and audience engagement for football podcasts. Wizzard Media has seen strong demand from end users for the many different NFL oriented podcasts hosted on our network,” says Rob Walch, VP of Podcast Relations, Wizzard Media. “We are pleased to have EA Sports Madden NFL 12, the official podcasts for NFL.com, NFL Team podcasts and all the various Fancasts. Are you ready for some football!”
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 13,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-1120
Wizzard Media’s Libsyn Publishing Platform To Integrate With Facebook
September 21, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced plans to integrate its popular Libsyn media publishing service with Facebook to capitalize on Facebook’s dominance as a social networking platform and its aggressive expansion as a media consumption destination. The Wizzard Media Network, which received 1.64 billion download requests in 2010 and has over 18 million monthly unique audience members, sees Facebook as a means to substantially grow its unique audience size as well as monetize podcast content for its publishers through Facebook Credits.
Wizzard will incorporate the same pay-per-view revenue generating features in its App via the well-established Facebook Credit System that is currently used by many of the top game Apps like Farmville and Cityville. When using Facebook Credits, one U.S. dollar equals 10 Facebook Credits that can be purchased online or earned through several services on Facebook.
“We are always looking to expand the publishing reach of our network for our clients and with such a large, established audience, Facebook was an obvious next step,” says Laurie Sims, President, Wizzard Media. “Most of our publishers already use Facebook to engage with their audience so with this new push by Facebook to become a media consumption platform, we believe our network can grow substantially as a result. I believe we can increase our unique audience numbers by 50% over the next two years and grow our subscription revenues substantially as people spend more time consuming media on Facebook.”
Wizzard’s Facebook integration plans are tiered and targeted at existing customer segments to ensure uptake from the smallest podcasters to the largest professional network producers. New revenue opportunities through Facebook Apps using Facebook Credits will be added to the current monthly subscription model Wizzard is building through iPhone, iPad, Andriod and web based Apps.
The first part of the Facebook integration is Libsyn OnPublish, which gives podcast producers the ability to publish audio or video shows ready for immediate playback directly to their Facebook profile or fan pages from within the popular Libsyn platform. OnPublish saves Wizzard’s publishing clients from having to log in and publish their show to Facebook separately, makes sure content is reaching audiences faster than anything else available today and facilitates immediate social sharing, which helps grow network unique audiences.
In addition to providing Libsyn publishers with the ability to publish directly to Facebook, Wizzard also plans to extend its current App offerings through the launch of both a network wide Facebook App as well as targeted individual Facebook Apps as tier two of its Facebook integration plans. Facebook boasts approximately 750 million users who install 20 million Apps each day.
Currently, Wizzard offers its podcast publishers revenue generating opportunities through in-content advertising, the sale of iPhone, iPad and Android Apps as well as through a new subscription service offered through publisher’s web sites.
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 13,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson
407-478-1120
Wizzard Software Announces Second Quarter Results With 11% Overall Revenue Growth, Media Revenue Up 55%
August 16, 2011
Wizzard Software (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcast network, today announced financial results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2011.
Total revenue for the second quarter was $1.46 million compared with $1.32 million in the second quarter of 2010, an increase of 11%. Wizzard achieved a gross profit of $644,711 for the second quarter of 2011, versus a gross profit of $448,629 in the second quarter of 2010, an increase of 44%.
Operating expenses totaled $1.1 million, a 14% decrease from operating expenses of $1.2 million in the second quarter of 2010.
Net loss available to common shareholders, including non-cash expenses, was $428,743 or $0.004 per share, in the quarter ended June 30, 2011. This represents a 63% decrease from a net loss of $1.14 million, or $0.017 per share, in the second quarter of 2010.
As of June 30th, 2011, Wizzard’s cash on hand was in excess of $2.09 million. The second quarter results were highlighted by a strong performance by Wizzard’s Media business segment that saw revenues up 55% in the second quarter of 2011 vs. the second quarter of 2010.
“Last quarter we said, ‘we now have a clear picture of how to capitalize on the Media asset we have created, and with the current capital on hand and the clean balance sheet, we have never been in a better position to do so’, and then subsequently we entered into a large transaction with FAB, a high growth digital media distributor that will expand our Media business exponentially,” said Chris Spencer, Chief Executive Officer at Wizzard Software. “As we continue to grow our Media asset, we are undertaking an aggressive growth strategy and expect to make several key transactions over the next 18 months. We believe we now have the technology, products and team to create a large, profitable digital media distribution company. We plan to leverage the giant network Wizzard and FAB already have and achieve an economically viable model. We intend to successfully compete with Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and HBO GO for space and attention on consumers’ mobile devices both in the U.S. and internationally. We are seeing a new realm of opportunity for digital media distribution now that mobile devices are proliferating at such a rapid pace.”
The previously mentioned numbers and statements are highlights from Wizzard’s 2011 10Q filing. For a complete and detailed financial description of Wizzard Software Corporation, please visit www.sec.gov, where all of Wizzard’s SEC filings can be found.
About Wizzard:
Through its Media business segment, Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 14,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 19 million monthly users worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iTunes, Zunes, Androids, BlackBerrys and many other devices and destinations. Wizzard Media is part of a publicly-held, Pittsburgh based company with Software and Healthcare business segments, thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contacts
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
Wizzard Media Agrees to Acquire Asia’s Leading Digital Media Distributor FAB, Inc.
August 09, 2011
Described as Best Buy meets iTunes meets Redbox – for all of China
PITTSBURGH, PA – August 9, 2011 – Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcast digital media distribution network, today announced the signing of a material agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of Digital International Entertainment, Ltd. (“FAB”), a leading licenser and distributor of copyright-protected digital media content in China.
Founded in 2003, FAB is headquartered in Beijing and offers the largest selection in mainland China of copyrighted DVD’s, Blu-ray Discs, music CD’s, video games and downloadable digital content through three distribution channels – wholesale and retail, vending kiosks and internet stores. FAB had unaudited fiscal 2010 revenues of US$55.5 million, up 42.5% from fiscal 2009 revenues of US$39.1 million. Net income for fiscal 2010 was US$11.5 million, up 148.5% from net income of US$4.6 million in fiscal 2009. For more information on FAB, please click here.
“We have been looking for the right international partner to help grow and monetize our digital media distribution business and with FAB we have found a high-growth company with outstanding leadership and innovative technology products uniquely positioned in the world’s largest consumer market,” said Chris Spencer, CEO of Wizzard Media. “FAB is in the process of leveraging its well-known and reputable retail media brand into a growing online and kiosk-based media distribution network. The best way to describe FAB is – Best Buy meets iTunes meets Redbox. We believe FAB has the opportunity to dominate mobile digital entertainment delivery throughout China as it currently does through its wholesale and retail media distribution business.”
FAB’s Business:
FAB currently operates 3 flagship retail stores for media products – two in Beijing’s trendiest and most commercial districts, each over 32,000 square feet and one in the city of Chengdu, a metropolis of 11 million people in Western China. The Beijing flagship stores are considered top venues for Mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwanese and South Korean stars to host their album and movie launch events. FAB also provides media to thousands of retail outlets across China through its wholesale distribution service.
In addition to its rapidly growing flagship stores, FAB installs and franchises its proprietary, self-designed FAB Media Kiosks where consumers can download copyrighted music, video games and movies directly to their cell phones or other mobile devices. FAB Media Kiosks can also run video ads on the high-tech LCD screens and accept payments for utility bills, metro cards, credit card bills, etc. Currently, FAB has a network of 3,954 kiosks deployed throughout Beijing through over 1,000 franchisees and approximately 300,000 paying subscribers.
Other than retail stores and FAB Media Kiosks, FAB offers an e-commerce website www.fab123.com for consumers to purchase and download copyrighted digital entertainment content.
The FAB Media Kiosks have served to greatly enhance consumer ease-of-purchase while reducing the appeal of pirated content, positively transforming market dynamics in China for legitimate content and facilitating licensing opportunities with traditional media publishers who desire safe access to the world’s largest, fastest-growing consumer market. Through Wizzard’s relationships with over 10,000 publishers of digital media, Management believes it can help grow the large library of available content offered through the FAB Media Kiosks while at the same time expand the FAB Media Kiosk Network to other targeted markets throughout the world. Analysis of Wizzard’s download data and other audience trends strongly indicate a need to answer present and future global digital media delivery demands across all market segments especially where high-speed, mobile internet accessibility is inadequate to meet these demands. The combined company plans to aggressively expand through internal growth and domestic and international acquisitions over the next two years to build a global distribution powerhouse for mobile digital entertainment.
“The combination with Wizzard represents a true win-win scenario that significantly expands the global reach and growth opportunities for both companies. As a result of this transaction, Wizzard would instantly avail itself of FAB’s powerful digital media distribution channels in China, one of the world’s fastest-growing and biggest media markets, while simultaneously FAB would be in a position to benefit from Wizzard’s advanced media technologies and its U.S.-based media partners who want to access China and its massive consumer market,” said Mr. Zhang Hongcheng, FAB’s Founder, CEO, and founding chairman of the Anti-Piracy Alliance of China. “Rolling a provider-friendly ‘iTunes-in-a-Kiosk’ style solution out to all parts of China was a logical next step, but FAB also recognizes the opportunity for global scale. To realize optimal long-term growth beyond China, it is wise to partner with a Western digital media distributor, one with a proven track record of content publisher acquisition and the ability to reliably host and deliver massive amounts of content around the world. We find Wizzard to be ideal in this regard.”
In return for 100% of the outstanding shares of FAB, Wizzard will issue 49% of its outstanding shares at the time of the closing to FAB and two new seats on the Board of Directors. Additionally, FAB has the ability to acquire up to 78% of the outstanding shares of Wizzard upon meeting certain corporate governance and revenue milestones over the course of two years after closing. The current U.S.-based management of Wizzard Media will remain including its CEO, CFO and President. Mr. Zhang, founder and controlling shareholder of FAB, will be welcomed as Chairman of the Board upon the closing of the transaction.
As soon as practicable, Wizzard and FAB will form a joint integration team to fully assess the logistics of the combination and optimization of each company’s resources.
The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of 2011 and be immediately accretive to Wizzard’s non-GAAP earnings per share, is subject to substantial due diligence, approvals by each company’s shareholders, the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals both in the U.S. and China.
FAB:
www.wizzardsoftware.com/fab
www.fab123.com
About Wizzard Media
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 10,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android, Android Market, AdMob are trademarks of Google.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
Slate Selects Wizzard Media’s LibsynPro Service to Distribute Slate Podcasts
July 19, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, announced today that Slate has chosen LibsynPro to host and publish the Slate network of podcasts.
“We look forward to working with the Slate network of podcasts.”
“Slate is the leading online-only magazine with a long history of quality podcasts and we are very pleased they have chosen the Wizzard Media platform to publish their podcasts,” said Chris Spencer, Wizzard Media CEO. “We look forward to working with the Slate network of podcasts.”
The Slate network of podcasts include the Political Gabfest, the Culture Gabfest, the sports show Hang Up and Listen, the Double X Gabfest (focusing on women’s issues), the Audio Book Club, Spoiler Specials (discussions of movies meant to be played after you’ve seen them), Manners for the Digital Age, the Slate Poetry Podcast and the Slate Daily Podcast.
About Slate (www.slate.com)
Slate is a daily magazine on the Web that offers analysis and commentary about news, politics, culture, business, law and technology. Slate’s strong editorial voice and witty take on current events have been recognized with numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award for General Excellence Online and the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism. Reaching over eleven million unique visitors per month, Slate is the centerpiece of the Slate Group, an online publishing subsidiary of the Washington Post Co. that also publishes The Root and Foreign Policy (NYSE:WPO).
About Wizzard Media
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 14,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 20 million monthly uniques worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android and Android Market are trademarks of Google. Cisco, Cius and Cisco AppHQ are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
Wizzard Media’s Podcast Apps Chosen for Launch of Cisco AppHQ
July 12, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcast network, today announced the availability of their popular Podcast Apps in the new Cisco AppHQ™ for Android Apps.
Cisco, (NASDAQ:CSCO – News), one of the largest and most trusted brands in the Enterprise marketplace, has announced the launch of the Cisco AppHQ store for Android Apps. AppHQ, an application ecosystem, provides new ways to create, manage and rapidly deploy mobile business applications in the enterprise. Cisco AppHQ is a highly secure user storefront that provides capabilities for end users and IT managers not found in other application stores today.
The Cisco AppHQ will be accessible directly from the new Cisco Cius™ Tablet via the web. Cisco Cius™ is an innovative business tablet that delivers one of the most portable, powerful, reliable and secure communications, computing and collaboration experience for a device of its kind.
The reputation and trust Cisco has with IT managers will boost opportunities for discovery and sales of Wizzard Apps by extending the channels the Apps are available behind the corporate firewall.
In addition to the 1,740 Apps Wizzard currently offers through Apple’s App Store, Google’s Android Marketplace and Amazon’s Appstore, over 50 Apps specifically geared towards the business user have already been submitted and/or accepted into Cisco AppHQ for inclusion at launch. The standard list price for the Podcast Apps from Wizzard is $1.99 and higher.
“We are honored to have been selected to be a part of the launch of the Cisco AppHQ and to have our Apps sold in Cisco’s AppHQ, the premier enterprise friendly Android App marketplace,” says Chris Spencer, Wizzard Media CEO. “Google allows for multiple App stores to exist for the Android operating system and we believe that by adding select high quality, high profile distribution outlets for our Android Apps we will reach more customers and ultimately, increase App revenues.”
There are now over 125 million activated Android devices, growing at over 500,000 new activations each day and mobile App revenues are predicted to surge to $29.5 billion by 2013 (Google, Gartner and Canalys). With the addition of Cisco, one of the strongest brands in the business world, select Wizzard Apps will gain significant exposure to a new business base. Management believes this will lead to increased App sales, network downloads and growth in unique audiences.
Some of the first of Wizzard’s podcast Apps now live in the Cisco AppHQ include: Duct Tape Marketing, Inspiring Words of Encouragement – Zig Ziglar, Entrepreneur Podcast Network, For Immediate Release, IBDeditorials Daily, Marketing Over Coffee, Outloud Opinion and Rob Black & Your Money.
Utilizing Cisco’s strength and reputation in the Enterprise the AppHQ offers IT managers a safe haven for Android App selection. IT managers can now either select Apps themselves for distribution to their employees or can point their employees to the Cisco AppHQ as a safe place to find Apps for their Android devices.
About Wizzard Media
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 14,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 20 million monthly uniques worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android and Android Market are trademarks of Google. Cisco, Cius and Cisco AppHQ are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
Wizzard Media Announces 100 New Apps For Sale In Just 20 Days
June 29, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcast network, today announced that it now has more than 925 Android Apps just hours after Google Android chief Andy Rubin said through his Twitter account that more than 500,000 Android devices are activated each day worldwide.
“Having just launched our Podcast App for the Android platform late last year, we are encouraged by the growth trajectory and the audience adoption rates for this new technology.”
Wizzard sells its Android Podcast Apps via Google Marketplace and Amazon Appstore, and has grown its Android App count by over 102% from the end of the 1st quarter to the end of the 2nd quarter.
Other podcast App milestones announced by Wizzard Media today include growing from 13 Android Apps in the Amazon Appstore at the end of Q1 to over 413 available for sale in the Amazon Appstore at the end of Q2. Wizzard ended the second quarter with a total of 1,751 mobile Apps, up 52% from 1,154 at the end of the first quarter.
“We have continued to execute and see success from our strategy to extend our mobile media monetization efforts for our podcast publishers,” says Senior Manager, Mobile App Strategy, Sarah Morio. “Having just launched our Podcast App for the Android platform late last year, we are encouraged by the growth trajectory and the audience adoption rates for this new technology.”
“Each new App we create and each time an audience member downloads one of our Apps we get closer to accomplishing our goal of an inexpensive monthly subscription service,” says Chris Spencer, CEO of Wizzard Media. “We have over ten thousand content creators, over eighteen million monthly audience members on the Wizzard Media Network and overwhelming demand for the content we distribute. The new technologies we are deploying with our iPhone, iPod, iPad and Android Apps along with our new web based preimum offering is all focused on creating a Netflix (NasdaqGS: NFLX) or Hulu style mobile subscription service for our publishers. It is Wizzard’s mission to become the leading mobile content distribution and monetization service for the serious mobile content publisher by providing state of the art distribution services, unique monetization solutions and compelling audience engagement experiences.”
About Wizzard Media
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 14,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 20 million monthly uniques worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android and Android Market are trademarks of Google. Cisco, Cius and Cisco AppHQ are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
Wizzard Media Sees New Podcast Account Sign-Ups and Revenues Up 26%
June 14, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced it is seeing a 26% increase in average weekly signups in 2011 vs. average weekly signups for 2010. In addition, Wizzard’s premier podcast distribution and monetization platform Libsyn.com has seen average weekly client account revenues increase 27% for 2011 vs. 2010.
“We believe a large part of this growth in podcasting is due to the fact that podcast consumption has recently gone much more mainstream than at any time in the past”
“We believe a large part of this growth in podcasting is due to the fact that podcast consumption has recently gone much more mainstream than at any time in the past,” said Rob Walch, VP of Podcast Relations. “In 2007, when you looked at Libsyn’s Top 100 podcast shows – Technology oriented podcasts represented 13% of the downloads vs. just 7% for Comedy. In the first quarter of 2011 Technology podcasts represented just 2% of the downloads for the top 100 shows vs. 42% for Comedy podcasts and 27% for Education and Language Podcasts. Over 69% of the downloads for the top 100 shows now come from very mainstream subject maters – Comedy, Education and Language.”
With clients like Adam Carolla, Marc Maron, Joe Rogan, Kevin Smith and Steve Dahl, Libsyn.com has been both an enabler and a beneficiary of the boom in Comedy podcasts. A recent article in Rolling Stone magazine highlighted what they called The 10 Best Comedy Podcasts. The Libsyn team was honored when it realized that it hosts 8 of the 10 shows picked by Rolling Stone as the best Comedy podcasts.
Libsyn has seen many producers switch to its service from other hosting services or their own self-hosting account recently. As producers get serious about podcasting they often find they need a service that can handle any growth they receive and one that has the tools to monetize their show. This is where Libsyn is an industry leader and offers best in class: statistics (including geo-location data), demographic survey’s, ad insertion tools, smartphone apps and premium subscription tools.
These features combine to allow producers multiple monetization paths. With Comedians, the geo-location data for statistics has offered them something brand new – the ability to quickly see where they are most popular geographically and then to schedule live shows and events based on real geo-location download data.
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 15,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android, Android Market, AdMob are trademarks of Google.
Contacts
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
Wizzard Media Exceeds 1,650 Mobile Apps
June 09, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced a strategic milestone in the Company’s App roll-out plan with the availability of over 1,650 Apps for Apple and Android mobile devices now available for sale. Weekly revenues for Wizzard’s Apps are up 48% from the same period a year ago.
Wizzard Media now has Apps in the Apple App Store, Amazon Appstore and Google Marketplace including over 100 Apps created exclusively for the iPad.
“We have continued to execute and see success from our strategy to extend our mobile media monetization efforts for our podcast publishers,” says Chris Spencer, Wizzard Media CEO. “Our state-of-the-art distribution service combined with our unique monetization solution can be quickly and easily extensible to future podcasting and mobile App platforms.”
“As we continue to roll out the technology, built into our Apps and web sites, for our paid subscription product we are focused on delivering enhanced value for the approximately 18 million monthly unique audience members reached through the Wizzard Media Network,” said Laurie Sims, President Wizzard Media. “We believe we have a strong business model with an inexpensive monthly subscription package of $1 to $2 per month and we are encouraged by the initial audience conversion rates. With over 300 million iOS (iPhone) and Android devices having been sold to date, more people than ever before have access to podcasts and our podcast Apps.”
Revenue from downloadable mobile apps is predicted to surge from $6.8 billion worldwide in 2010 to $29.5 billion by 2013, according to the research firm Gartner Inc.
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 15,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales and subscriptions. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 50 million people worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iPads, iTunes, Blackberrys, Zunes, Androids and many other devices and destinations. We are part of a publicly held, Pittsburgh based company with thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Andriod, Android Market, AdMob are trademarks of Google.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
Wizzard’s New Wavefile Factory for Windows® Launches
June 08, 2011
Wizzard Software (NYSE Amex: WZE) announced today the launch of The Wizzard Wavefile Factory, a Windows® based desktop product that uses state of the art AT&T Natural Voices® technology to create life-like sounding computer generated audio files in 20 unique voices and 8 different languages.
“Many of our clients currently use our AT&T Natural Voices SDK’s to produce and license text-to-speech based audio files for an extensive list of cross-segment projects ranging from talking ATMs and Internet Websites to Transportation and Weather Alert Systems,” said Bruce Phifer, General Manager of Wizzard’s Technology and Services division. “The Wizzard Wavefile Factory was developed to accelerate growth of AT&T Natural Voice by reaching new clients who may not have the technical staff required to use a traditional SDK. We envision a whole new range of talking products to emerge with the use of this new tool including voice enabled iPhone Apps.”
The new Wizzard Wavefile Factory complements AT&T Natural Voices SDK’s which are intended for the deployment/distribution of Text-To-Speech engines by clients with the skill set to build and deploy software applications. The Wizzard Wavefile Factory is designed for non-technical clients that have a need to deploy/distribute only the voice wavefiles which are licensed through Wizzard for use in a wide range of projects.
AT&T Natural Voices is widely acknowledged in the industry as the most natural-sounding synthesized speech system in the world and Wizzard offers a variety of licensing models for the deployment/distribution of AT&T Natural Voices wavefiles. By continuing to recognize the evolving client needs of a growing market, Wizzard continues to reinforce its commitment to providing world-class speech synthesis to mainstream markets.
Wizzard invites Software Developers, Integrators and Business Clients to visit its website to sample the improved, high-end voice quality of AT&T Natural Voices and review information regarding licensing possibilities for this extraordinary technology in projects that include ATMs, Kiosks, Websites, Broadcasting, Transportation & Informational, IVR, Simulators, Games, eBooks, Alerts, Assistive Apps and server based iPhone Apps.
About Wizzard
Founded in 1996, Wizzard Software has become a leader in providing high quality speech technologies to the development community. Wizzard architects solutions to business problems using its expertise in consulting, speech development tools and building speech based applications for the Desktop and Internet. For more information, please visit: http://wizzardsoftware.com/speech_overview.php
Legal Notice:
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contact:
Wizzard Software IR Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, (407-478-1120)
Adam Carolla Uses Wizzard’s LibsynPro To Set Guinness World Record
May 25, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), congratulates Adam Carolla for officially setting the world record for the most downloaded podcast according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Carolla achieved this record while hosting his podcast on Wizzard Media’s LibsynPro – the hosting solution for professional podcasters.
Carolla, a veteran radio personality, spent 11 years as co-host with Dr. Drew on Loveline and 3 years hosting his own morning show before starting his podcast in February, 2009. The Adam Carolla Show, which is part of the ACE Network, has been a huge hit since it first launched and has now taken away the world record from Ricky Gervais.
According to Guinnessworldrecords.com:
“Guinness World Records® can confirm that ‘The Adam Carolla Show’ has officially broken the record for the ‘Most Downloaded Podcast’… This breaks the previous record held by ‘The Ricky Gervais Show,’ set in February 2006.”
“Adam Corolla is now officially the biggest name in podcasting and we are very pleased to have him using our podcast publishing platform,” says Chris Spencer, CEO Wizzard Media. “We have been extremely impressed by the number of downloads The Adam Carolla Show has been able to generate and we completely support the fact that Guinness World Records has officially recognized Adam Carolla’s podcast as the new world record holder.”
“We are very excited to have set the world record for podcasting,” said Adam Carolla, ACE Broadcasting. “We really appreciate all the support from the LibsynPro team in making sure our podcasts continued to download regardless of the demand our listeners put on their system.”
About ACE Network:
In February 2009, Adam Carolla and partner & Executive Producer Donny Misraje launched ACE Broadcasting with its first show The Adam Carolla Podcast. From there it has quickly expanded to include six other weekly podcasts with many new shows in development.
Started from his home office, The Adam Carolla Show now reaches more than 5 million downloads a month. In December, it reached critical acclaim when iTunes bestowed the crew with the Rewind Award For Best Podcast Of 2009 (Audio). Past guests have included: Francis Ford Coppola, Alec Baldwin, Danny DeVito, Matt Dillon, Laurence Fishburne, Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, Joel McHale, Brad Garrett, David Cross, Ed Begley Jr., George Takai, Andy Dick, Patton Oswalt, Aisha Tyler, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Greg Fitzsimmons and many more.
With over 60 million downloads to date, the podcast pioneer remains a constant in the Top 10 of iTunes’ Podcasts chart. ACS holds the record for Most Daily Downloaded online show, with one episode being downloaded 550,000 times. Adam’s accomplishments have been featured in Entertainment Weekly’s Must List, Esquire, Fast Company, Entrepreneur and on ABC News.
ACE broadcasting monopolizes iTunes’ podcast page with a diverse line up of shows ranging from parenting to sports. The NY Times raved about Carolla’s “Carcast,” for automobile lovers like himself. “The Parent Experiment” is hosted by wife, Lynette Carolla, and was #1 on iTunes for six weeks running and is still the #1 parenting podcast. There is also “The Film Vault” (#1 in Comedy and Overall), “Daves Of Thunder” with Dave Dameshek, and a sports podcast hosted by NBA champ John Salley, “Spider & The Henchman.”
“The idea that people want to be under our umbrella is flattering, and it is why we did it for free and used our own money. It would be nice to make your own decisions, ones you have to live and die with,” Adam said in a March 2010 feature of Fast Company Magazine.
More on Adam:
Adam Carolla, who is best known for his work in television and radio, has previously hosted CBS RADIO’s “The Adam Carolla Show,” was co-host of the nationally syndicated radio call-in show “Loveline,” co- created, executive produced and co-hosted Comedy Central’s “The Man Show,” co-created, executive produced and was a character on “Crank Yankers,” as well as a contestant on ABC’s popular series “Dancing With The Stars.” Carolla also starred, wrote and produced the award-winning indie film “The Hammer.” Currently, Adam is writing a book of rants due this fall for Crown Publishing, titled “In 50 Years We’ll All Be Chicks.”
About Wizzard:
Through its Media business segment, Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 14,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 20 million monthly users worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iTunes, Zunes, Androids, BlackBerrys and many other devices and destinations. Wizzard Media is part of a publicly-held, Pittsburgh based company with Software and Healthcare business segments, thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contacts
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
Wizzard Reaches 1,450 Mobile Apps and Tops Rankings in the Amazon Appstore
May 05, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced that it now has 1,450 Apps for sale in various App Stores including the Apple App Store, the Google Marketplace and the Amazon Appstore.
Additionally, as of May 1st, Wizzard had several Apps ranking in the Top Paid Apps for their respective categories in the Amazon Appstore including: #6 Art of the Drink-Bartending TV, # 14 Meditation Oasis, # 15 Cali Lewis, #22 Radio Speltorsk, #26 Hot Jamz – Hip Hop/Rap News, #26 Practical Defense, #29 FTW: Your Wrestling Podcast, #33 Free Beer Podcast, #36 Filmspotting.
Amazon, a leading global Internet company, is one of the most trafficked Internet retail destinations worldwide with approximately 100 million visitors annually. According to comScore, Amazon’s U.S. monthly unique audience was 76.7 million in September 2010.
“As we continue to roll out the technology, built into our Apps and web sites, for our paid subscription product we are focused on delivering enhanced value for the approximately 20 million monthly unique audience members reached through the Wizzard Media Network,” said Laurie Sims, President Wizzard Media. “We believe we have a strong business model with an inexpensive monthly subscription package of a buck or two a month and we are encouraged by the initial audience conversion rates. With over 290 million iOS (iPhone) and Andriod devices having been sold to date, more people than ever before have access to podcasts and our podcast Apps.”
About Wizzard:
Through its Media business segment, Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 14,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 20 million monthly users worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iTunes, Zunes, Androids, BlackBerrys and many other devices and destinations. Wizzard Media is part of a publicly-held, Pittsburgh based company with Software and Healthcare business segments, thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contacts
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
Wizzard Software Announces Preliminary First Quarter Results Revenues up 20%
May 03, 2011
PITTSBURGH-Wizzard Software (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced preliminary results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2011.
“As we start 2011 with over $2.4 million cash in the bank and debt free, with no outstanding convertible notes, preferred stock, interest payments or dilutive ratchets, we are positioned to achieve profitability”
Total revenue for the first quarter was $1.57 million compared with $1.30 million in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 20%. Wizzard achieved a gross profit of $699,000 for the first quarter of 2011, versus a gross profit of $485,000 in the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 44%.
Operating expenses totaled $1.1 million, a 10% decrease from operating expenses of $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2010.
Preliminary net loss available to common shareholders, including non-cash expenses, was $607,000 or $0.01 per share, in the quarter ended March 31, 2011. This represents a 55% decrease from our net loss of $1.3 million, or $0.02 per share, in the first quarter of 2010.
As of March 31st, 2011, Wizzard’s cash on hand was in excess of $2.4 million. The first quarter results were highlighted by solid performance across all of Wizzard’s business segments.
“As we start 2011 with over $2.4 million cash in the bank and debt free, with no outstanding convertible notes, preferred stock, interest payments or dilutive ratchets, we are positioned to achieve profitability,” said Chris Spencer, chief executive officer at Wizzard Software. “We are executing on our innovation roadmap with new moneymaking tools and products for our podcast publishing customers and we continue to expand on our market leadership position. For the first time since we entered the podcasting industry we have a clear picture of how to capitalize on the asset we have created and with the current capital on hand, and the clean balance sheet, we have never been in a better position to do so.”
At this time, the Company is finalizing its financial results for the first quarter of 2011 and will report those results on or before May 16, 2011. The results described above are estimated, preliminary and may change. Since the Company has not completed the normal quarterly closing and review procedures for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, and subsequent events may occur that require adjustments to these results, there can be no assurance that the final results for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 will not differ materially from these estimates. These estimates should not be viewed as a substitute for full interim financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.
About Wizzard:
Through its Media business segment, Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 14,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 20 million monthly users worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iTunes, Zunes, Androids, BlackBerrys and many other devices and destinations. Wizzard Media is part of a publicly-held, Pittsburgh based company with Software and Healthcare business segments, thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contacts
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
Wizzard Media Launches 100 New Android Apps Via Amazon.com Appstore
April 13, 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcast network, today announced the availability of 100 new media Apps in the Amazon Appstore for Android. Wizzard Media’s Apps empowers podcast producers with the ability to monetize their content by charging for mobile Apps and enables users with the capability to consume their favorite podcasts, interact with the show’s producers and conveniently stream content directly to their mobile device.
And now with the availability of the Wizzard Media Apps in the Amazon Appstore, these Apps are open to Android users among Amazon’s U.S. customer base of more than 65 million people and range in price from $.99 to $4.99 each. “Amazon.com is the Wal-Mart of online shopping with its great prices and massive reach,” said Chris Spencer, Wizzard CEO. “We are excited about the expansion of our App product line to Amazon.com which enables audiences of shows on our network with the ability to buy their favorite media Apps from another one of the top App stores in the marketplace.”
Management believes Wizzard is strongly positioned to capitalize on the rapidly growing demand for mobile content through App sales, in-content advertising and reoccurring content subscriptions and through these mobile Apps, is in the process of rolling out the Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcast network, today announced the availability of 100 new media Apps in the Amazon Appstore for Android. Wizzard Media’s Apps empowers podcast producers with the ability to monetize their content by charging for mobile Apps and enables users with the capability to consume their favorite podcasts, interact with the show’s producers and conveniently stream content directly to their mobile device. technology for creating a subscription based service, similar to Netflix Online.
“Gartner Research is predicting 39% of global smartphone sales in 2011 will be Android phones and in 2012 Gartner is predicting 49% of global smartphone sales will be Android Phones,” said Laurie Sims, President, Wizzard Media. “Our content producer customers have been requesting Android Apps so we are making it available on the Amazon Appstore to deliver that powerful experience to even more Android users among Amazon’s huge customer base.
“This is a natural progression in Wizzard’s strategy to become the leading mobile content distribution and monetization service for the mobile entertainment lifestyle shift rapidly infiltrating our society,” continues Spencer. “Our service provides serious mobile content publishers with state-of-the-art distribution services, unique monetization solutions and compelling audience engagement experiences that are extendible to future platforms, as we are demonstrating with this expansion.” With these new Apps, Wizzard Media now has over 1,200 total Apps, allowing podcast producers on its network to reach their audiences through their mobile devices. As part of Wizzard’s move toward creating a simplified, inexpensive subscription service, producers using Wizzard’s network can offer premium content to their audience for an inexpensive monthly subscription fee through their website and now through various Apps.
These Apps are currently available in the Amazon Appstore by searching for Wizzard Media at www.amazon.com/appstore.
About Wizzard:
Through its Media business segment, Wizzard Media provides podcast publishers with distribution and monetization services. Our clients include Microsoft, National Geographic, Harvard Business Review, NPR and more than 14,000 others who use Wizzard Media products to measure their podcast audience, deliver popular audio and video entertainment and monetize their content through advertising and App sales. In 2010, the Wizzard Media Network received over 1.64 billion podcast requests from approximately 20 million monthly users worldwide through iPods, iPhones, iTunes, Zunes, Androids, BlackBerrys and many other devices and destinations. Wizzard Media is part of a publicly-held, Pittsburgh based company with Software and Healthcare business segments, thousands of shareholders and a world-class team. Visit us on the web at www.wizzardsoftware.com/media, email us at contact@wizzard.tv.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
Contacts
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
Wizzard Media’s Podcast Apps Chosen for Launch of Amazon Android Appstore
March 23, 2011
PITTSBURGH-March 23, 2011- Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced the availability of their popular Podcast Apps in the new Amazon online App marketplace: Android Appstore.
Amazon, (NASDAQ:AMZN – News), a leading global Internet company, is one of the most trafficked Internet retail destinations worldwide with approximately 100 million visitors annually. The marketing and sales reach of Amazon will boost opportunities for discovery and sales of Wizzard Apps by extending the proven Amazon model to Android Apps for smartphones and tablets.
In addition to the 1,100 Apps Wizzard currently offers through Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Marketplace, over 300 Apps have already been submitted to the Amazon Appstore for inclusion in the initial rollout over the next several weeks. The standard list price for the Podcast App for Android will be $1.99.
“We are honored to have been selected to have our Apps sold on Amazon.com, the world’s largest internet only e-commerce website, and to be a part of their launch of the Amazon Android Appstore,” says Chris Spencer, Wizzard Media CEO. “Google allows for multiple App stores to exist for the Android operating system and we believe that by adding more high quality, high profile distribution outlets for our Android Apps, we will reach more customers and ultimately, increase App revenues.”
There are now over 72 million activated Android phones, growing at over 200,000 new activations each day, and mobile Apps revenues are predicted to surge to $29.5 billion by 2013 (Google, Gartner and Canalys). With the addition of Amazon, one of the strongest brands on the Internet, Wizzard Apps will gain significant exposure to a new consumer base. Management believes this will lead to increased App sales, network downloads and growth in unique audiences.
Among the first of Wizzard’s podcast Apps now live in the Amazon
Appstore include: archiCADmonkey, AllThingsThatFly.com – ATTF, Driving Sports TV, Art of the Drink-Bartending TV, Pod F. Tompkast, Photography Tips, Dave’s Lounge – Downtempo Music App, Eagle Heights, GamerTag Radio App.
Amazon plans to increase daily traffic to the Appstore, quickly ramping downloads for Apps and leverage its powerful online sales and marketing platform to compete with Google Marketplace. Apps can be previewed online prior to download and a free App-of-the-day will highlight Premium Apps. Utilizing Amazon’s strength for cross-marketing, Apps will also be recommended to users within the Appstore and when browsing other online stores within Amazon.
The Amazon Android Appstore currently offers several thousand Android apps and is accessible from both Amazon.com and through a mobile App. Amazon states that it offers the “Earth’s Biggest Selection”, where customers can find anything they might want to purchase online including books, music, videos, consumer electronics, clothing, household products and now, Android Apps. Amazon already sells a vast amount of digital content ranging from e-books to movies-on-demand. Their online music store rivals Apple’s iTunes music store and sells music for most mobile devices. According to comScore, Amazon’s U.S. monthly unique audience was 76.7 million in September 2010.
About Wizzard Media:
Wizzard Media provides publishing and distribution services to podcasters and monetization services for podcasters. Wizzard Media is the industry’s leading podcasting network with an unprecedented 1.64 billion download requests in 2010. Podcasts are a means for independent and professional content creators to publish audio and video shows for the world to enjoy over the Internet or on mp3 players, such as the Apple iPod®, iPhone® and the Microsoft Zune®. Podcasting is a relatively new phenomenon, but Wizzard Media collectively broadcasts millions of podcast downloads per day through media aggregators like Apple’s iTunes and Microsoft’s Zune Marketplace. For more information, please visit www.wizzardsoftware.com/media.
Legal Notice
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: “Forward-looking Statements” as defined in the Private Securities litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future results or events. We disclaim any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. There are important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with changes in general economic and business conditions, actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services, changes in our business strategies and acts of terror against the United States.
iPod, iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iTunes are all registered marks or trade names of Apple, Inc. Zune is a registered mark of Microsoft. Blackberry is a registered mark of Research in Motion. Android and Android Market are trademarks of Google.
Contact:
Arthur Douglas and Associates
Art Batson, 407-478-1120
