Akamai Unveils TheHDWeb

Akamai Technologies,
Inc., announced TheHDWeb, a ‘proof-of-concept’ portal designed to showcase the
experience consumers can have with high definition content online. The Website,
available at www.thehdweb.com, showcases content from a variety of industries
including music, movies, professional sports, games and news.

Companies
providing HD content for the initiative include Apple, BBC Motion Gallery, CBS,
Gannett, MTV Networks, NBA and more. The proof-of-concept portal will serve as
a temporary Internet Programming Guide to HD video on the Web and provide
access to a complete HD experience.

“Our
audiences love watching their favorite music and pop-culture programs in HD,
and at TheHDWeb.com, they can see sneak peaks of how The Hills and Run’s House
will appear in the near future,” said Nick Rockwell, Senior Vice President
and CTO, Global Digital Media, MTV Networks.
“Akamai’s platform and unique network
architecture are ideally suited to helping us deliver the exceptional HD
experiences that our viewers demand. We look forward to expanding our
long-standing and strategic relationship with Akamai, which has been a strong
supporter of our major global events like the Video Music Awards.”

The HDWeb
portal will bring together the most powerful brands online to showcase premium
content, offer a glimpse into the ‘future’ of the Internet, engage audiences
with higher quality video experiences, seed the market for premium content
monetization strategies, and show industry support and leadership around the
move toward high-definition video.

“Akamai’s edge architecture works with the access networks to provide the
capacity to deliver high throughout files. Many of the companies participating
in our HDWeb initiative have already seen growing demand in the broadcast world
for increasing amounts of content in HD format, and understand that delivering
the experience on the Web offers increased opportunity for brand immersion, content
monetization and positive user experience,” said Brad Rinklin, vice
president of marketing, Akamai.

“The NBA has a long history of utilizing high definition, as we recorded
our first game in HD at the 1992 NBA All-Star Game in

Charlotte,” said Steve Hellmuth,
Executive Vice President of Operations and Technology for NBA Entertainment.
“As Akamai is now looking to bring the HD experience online through this
innovative initiative, the NBA highlight package online in HD will be another
great way for our fans to experience the excitement of our game.”

“We are proud of the work journalists at Gannett television stations
across the country have done to pioneer compelling local news in high
definition,” said Peter Lundquist, Vice President Content & Product
Development for Gannett Digital. “They have brought stories of travel,
hope, adventure and intrigue to viewers in a format that makes the experience
that much more engaging and entertaining. The opportunity to be part of
Akamai’s initiative and continue to showcase these efforts on the Web is
exciting. We could not have offered this choice without Akamai’s unique
infrastructure, and we look forward to working with them moving forward to
bring high-quality video experiences to our viewers.”

Akamai works closely with leading broadband ISPs to deploy servers directly in
those networks to ensure that content is served closest to the end user for a
superior HD experience.

“The combination of Akamai servers with the power of Verizon’s all-fiber
FiOS network — which leads the industry with downstream and upstream broadband
speeds and high-quality TV — will result in a robust experience for our
broadband customers accessing HD video online,” said Shaygan Kheradpir,
Verizon CIO and executive vice president.