Former CNN International President Joins Livestation

LONDON, March 6: The
streaming live news platform Livestation has appointed former CNN International
president Chris Cramer as a strategic advisor to the company.

Cramer brings to the
company more than 40 years of experience in news broadcast, cable and online
business management, including senior positions at the BBC and CNN
International, where he spent 11 years. He is the newest member of the
platform’s stable of news-media veterans, which includes Philip Rowley, the
former chairman and CEO of AOL Europe, and William Cooper, the former head of
BBC Interactive.

"I'm working with
Livestation because I believe the technology and platform represent the future
of television news consumption," said Cramer. "Livestation's ability
to provide immediate access to multiple, respected news channels will raise
expectations for how consumers receive news. Broadcasters that choose to stream
live content will increase their viewership and extend greater value to
advertisers."

Livestation is a free
downloadable platform that streams live television news over a peer-to-peer
broadband-based network. The free service was developed by information
broadcast technology outfit Skinkers and is based on software developed by
Microsoft Research (Microsoft is a stakeholder in Skinkers). Last month, the
platform launched its second technical trial, which expanded the network’s
channel lineup beyond the single-channel test offering, picking up feeds from the
BBC, Bloomberg News, EuroNews, France 24 and Al Jazeera.

"Livestation is
compelling for news veterans like Chris because it addresses an unmet need,
delivering aggregated global news for immediate access to local coverage of
international events," said Matteo Berlucchi, the CEO of Skinkers.
"We are developing something completely unique: a free, high-quality
platform leveraging proprietary technology that gives viewers access to
breaking news as it happens anywhere in the world."

Livestation is expected to
move into a public beta test at the end of spring, and the commercial launch is
slated for the second part of this year.

The London-based Skinkers
was first established in 2001 as a software solutions firm for information
broadcast. Its specialty is in desktop alert technology, software that pushes
information onto users’ desktops, such as UPS’s shipment tracking alerts. Past
media clients include the BBC, CNN, Sky, Discovery, Channel 4, MTV and Warner
Bros., among others.

—By Ned Berke