Narrowstep and Firecracker Team Up to Bring the Best of Asian Movies to Broadband Television
April 16 2007 - 9:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
LONDON and NEW YORK, April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Narrowstep(TM) Inc. (OTC:NRWS) (BULLETIN BOARD: NRWS) , the TV on
the Internet Company, announced today that its proprietary
technology system, telvOS(TM), has been chosen by Firecracker
Media, a leading film and media company, to bring the best of East
Asian cinema to the UK, Ireland, North America and Australasia via
a broadband channel called Firecrackertv.com. Firecrackertv.com is
a streaming online movie channel featuring Asian movies on demand
and provides an extensive catalogue from across Asia, featuring
rediscovered gems to brand new movies in a range of genres from
martial arts to anime to art-house, including films from cult
Filipino grindhouse director Bobby A. Suarez and
acclaimed/award-winning films such as "Nuan" (Huo Jianqi, China,
2003), "Monday Morning Glory" (Woo Ming Jin, Malaysia, 2005), "Post
Revolutionary Era" (Zhang Yang, China, 2004), "Love's Lone Flower"
(Tsao Jui-Yuan, Taiwan, 2005), "The Big Durian" (Amir Muhammad,
Malaysia, 2003), and much more. In recent years, the success of
films such as "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "Kill Bill Vol. 1
& 2," "Hero" and "Oldboy" has made Asian films increasingly
popular to mass audiences, but access to them has been limited.
Firecracker launched the TV channel to make similar films and TV
shows available to a wider audience, to complement their existing
online and print magazine, and highlight the Firecracker Showcase,
a UK-based, annual East Asian Film event. David McCourt, Chairman
and CEO of Narrowstep Inc., says, "Firecracker TV is a brilliant
example of how broadband television is working to give viewers
control over what they watch and when they watch it. There is a
very devoted group of people who love this genre of film and
through our technology Firecracker is able to expand their
distribution reach and bring the content to them. "It also
demonstrates how new broadcasting platforms are enabling content
owners to get more life out of their content, giving older films
and programs new life, new fans, and new commercial opportunities."
With some free content including exclusive video interviews,
behind-the- scenes excerpts, trailers and short films,
Firecrackertv.com presents feature films and TV shows as premium
content available on a subscription basis starting at 2.60 GBP per
film. Content is not available for download and Firecracker
positions the service as a film rental site. Erika Franklin,
Managing Director, Firecracker Media, says, "We are specialists in
East Asian cinema and with knowledge of the wealth of content that
audiences do not have easy access to, having a television channel
was a natural progression for us. With a broadband channel, and
particularly with Narrowstep, it is affordable, reliable and
perfect for our market, and we're pleased to be able to deliver
this content to our international audience in such a convenient
way." About Narrowstep Narrowstep(TM) Inc. (OTC:NRWS) (BULLETIN
BOARD: NRWS) , the TV on the Internet company, is a leading global
provider of broadband television services. Narrowstep's proprietary
technologies and customer-focused services enable TV channels to be
delivered over the Internet. 100+ companies worldwide have chosen
Narrowstep because it offers the most television-like and true
community building broadband experience. The company's telvOS(TM)
(Television Operating System(TM)) and nBed(TM) technologies enable
the most comprehensive delivery of video to mobile, wireless,
Internet, broadband, VOIP and entirely new IP-delivered broadcast
services. For more information, visit http://www.narrowstep.com/ or
call 212-404-1400. About Firecracker Media Ltd Firecracker Media
Ltd is a film and media organization specializing in bringing the
best in East Asian cinema to the international audiences,
particularly in English-language territories. In 2004, Firecracker
Media Ltd launched Firecracker Magazine, supported by the National
Lottery through the UK Film Council. Firecracker is an online
magazine bringing audiences the best in East Asian cinema, with
exclusive interviews and features, and all the latest reviews of
films plus reviews of movies as they are released across Asia. With
contributions from our correspondents from around the world,
Firecracker brings Asian cinema to you. Launched in May 2006 with
the benefit of a second award from the UK Film Council, there is
now also a print version of Firecracker in the UK, available for
free at a network of top independent cinemas, bars and student
unions nationwide. With exclusive interviews and features which
will not appear online, Firecracker in print will be published
quarterly. The next issue -- Issue 3 -- will be available in May.
For more information, please visit
http://www.firecracker-media.com/. DATASOURCE: Narrowstep Inc.
CONTACT: Belinda Thomas, , Parveen Kaur, , or Sophie Naylor, , of
Franklin Rae Communications, +44 (0) 20 7317 5400, for Narrowstep
Inc. Web site: http://www.narrowstep.com/
http://www.firecracker-media.com/
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