News Announcement                                                    For Immediate Release

 

For more information contact:                                               For Media Inquiries contact:

Omar Choucair                                                                   Stacey Gaswirth

Chief Financial Officer                                                          Shelton Group

DG FastChannel, Inc.                                                          972-239-5119 ext. 132      972-582-2000                                                                                        sgaswirth@sheltongroup.com

 

 

Got HDTV?

DG FastChannel Challenges Private and Public Sectors

to Make HDTV Available to All American Homes

 

 

DALLAS – June 10, 2009 – DG FastChannel®, Inc. (NASDAQ: DGIT), a leading provider of digital media services to the advertising, entertainment and broadcast industries, urged private industry and the Federal government to take the next step in the upcoming transition to digital broadcasting by making high definition televisions (HDTV) easily available to consumers.

 

Scott Ginsburg, chairman and CEO of DG FastChannel addressed this issue in a letter to the FCC, outlining DG FastChannel’s proposal to bring HDTV sets into every American home.  According to the U.S. Government’s official site, a total of nearly $20B has been committed from private companies who have bought the analog spectrum in various auctions conducted by the FCC.  DG FastChannel suggests that a portion of the auction proceeds be used to provide loans or grants to those in need of financial assistance to acquire an HDTV for their home viewing while giving consumers the choice of a preferred vendor to use as has been the case with the digital to analog converter box. 

 

“Digital broadcasting, together with the HDTV format, transforms your television viewing experience by offering a better picture, better sound, better channels and more programs and thoroughly sets a new standard for viewing over-the-air TV content,” said Ginsburg.  “As we move into the new digital TV era, it does not seem fair that only some of us will enjoy the preferred viewing provided with an HDTV set, and others will not.  This new ‘digital divide’ unmistakably creates another classification of haves and have-nots, and should not become the status quo. It would be fundamentally wrong if only a subset of the American public were to enjoy the full benefits of digital broadcasting.”

 

 

 

The U.S. Government has committed $1.5B to support digital broadcasts via analog TV sets by making converter boxes available.  According to government statistics, some 59M coupons have been requested for converter boxes, while more than 30M coupons have been issued. With a total of approximately 114M Total TV households, some 12.6M households depend on over-the-air television for their TV broadcasts.  These households and others who view their digital TV through a converter box will not necessarily experience the robust HDTV medium. Approximately 3M households have not successfully deployed a converter box to watch digital transmissions, and therefore are in jeopardy of being cut off from viewing free over-the-air television on June 12, 2009. Furthermore, millions of additional households that receive paid TV services will not view TV on an HDTV set, and will miss out on the full digital experience.

“All Americans, particularly those individuals who are most affected by the transition, including low-income individuals, children, minorities, non-English speaking consumers, senior citizens, consumers with disabilities, and individuals living in rural areas or on tribal lands, should enjoy this 21 century technology combining digital broadcasting with HDTV sets.  Private industry and the Federal government have worked hand-in-hand to deploy millions of digital converter boxes, and by working together again, we will ensure that all consumers enjoy the benefits of DTV broadcasts over an affordable HDTV set,” Ginsburg added.

“The President and the Congress, in cooperation with the FCC, have worked tirelessly through the transition to the new digital broadcasting standards. That commitment to free over-the-air digital broadcasts is not the end of the road; rather, it is just the beginning. Our children should all experience, at one time and all together, the thrill of seeing and hearing public broadcasting in the full splendor of HDTV,” Ginsburg concluded. “Digital broadcasting is a national experience, and it should not be seen and heard in two different classes of service.”

 

DG FastChannel is known for its innovations in the broadcasting and advertising verticals that have brought both reliability and process improvement to these industries.  The company has an impressive record of ground-breaking innovations including: 

 

·         First to provide an HD electronic advertising network;

·         First in the electronic delivery of syndicated content;

·         First in providing a digital audio network;

·         First in providing a satellite store and forward network for advertising;

·         First in developing an IP network for advertising distribution;

·         First to provide a Web-based order management solution;

·         First to deliver an integrated digital asset management solution for agencies and broadcasters.

 

DG FastChannel is a leading provider of digital media services to the advertising, entertainment and broadcast industries, and operates the only comprehensive, file-based network distribution and asset management system for High Definition (HD) advertising, syndication and news, as well as rich media online advertising.

 

“DG FastChannel has developed and deployed technology which support the move from analog to digital TV,” according to Ginsburg.  “We were the first company to provide file-based workflow, and we have worked side-by-side with broadcasters creating standards in electronic distribution to make digital broadcasting a reality.”

 

 

About DG FastChannel

DG FastChannel provides innovative, technology-based solutions to help advertisers and agencies work faster, smarter and more competitively.  DG FastChannel delivers the standard in digital media services to the advertising, broadcast and publishing industries.  Through its Unicast and Springbox operating units, DG FastChannel is a leading Internet marketing technology company offering online marketing and advertising solutions through a powerful combination of proprietary visualization technology, and a premium rich media advertising platform for the creation, delivery and reporting of premium rich media.

 

The Company utilizes satellite and Internet transmission technologies and has deployed a suite of digital media intelligence and asset management tools designed specifically for the advertising industry, including creative and production resources, and digital asset management. More than 5,000 advertisers and agencies employ the Company’s workflow toolsets.  The Company has an online media distribution network of over 26,000 radio, television, cable, network, print and web publishing destinations.  For more information visit www.dgfastchannel.com.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements relating to the Company, including the expansion of its digital distribution network, the demand among certain clients for digital audio and video delivery.  These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected.  These and other risks relating to DG FastChannel’s business are set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  DG FastChannel assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.