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Freedom Interactive and Zvents Partner to Provide Online Local Event Search Capabilities to Over 40 Freedom Interactive Websites
Freedom Interactive to Launch Zvents Event Search Technology Across Four Newspaper Websites in First Stage of Planned Enterprise-Wide Rollout.
San Mateo, CA - January 22, 2007 -- Freedom Interactive, the Internet division of the nation's 12th largest media company, Freedom Communications, today announced a partnership with Zvents, the leading local event search technology firm, to power a new online event calendar for Freedom Interactive's network of over 40 websites nationwide. This new partnership will enable the users of Freedom Interactive websites nationwide to discover, contribute, share and promote events through the Zvents Media Platform, Zvents' local event search technology product.
By March 2007, four Freedom Interactive properties, www.OCRegister.com (Orange County, CA), www.SqueezeOC.com, (Orange County, CA), www.eastvalleytribune.com (Mesa, AZ) and www.thetimesnews.com (Burlington, NC) will launch a new online event calendar powered by Zvents, in the first stage of a planned enterprise-wide rollout. Once this solution is launched across these Freedom Interactive properties, users will be able to create and edit their own events, add reviews, offer comments, upload photos and more.
"Freedom Interactive is embarking on a long-range strategic initiative to reinvent the user experience on all our news and information websites," said Michael Mathieu, President of Freedom Interactive. "Zvents' local event search will give our users a compelling experience, and allow us to pursue our mission of connecting our local communities. We are also committed to providing our advertising partners with innovative marketing platforms. Zvents' search-based solution allows us to deliver highly targeted local advertising, one of the most significant growth areas on the Internet today."
"We are delighted to partner with Freedom Interactive and The Orange County Register to bring high-quality event search to southern California," said Ethan Stock, Zvents CEO. "We believe that local media companies like Freedom are positioned to capitalize on the growth trend of local Internet products. Our search technology, content aggregation, and ad targeting capabilities are designed to help them maximize their potential, and we're very pleased that Freedom has chosen to work with us."
About Zvents
Zvents is the leading event search technology company and developer of the Zvents Media Platform, an events search engine that powers media and publishers with dynamic local event content and a targeted, self-service advertising system. Zvents provides a complete and compelling user experience, enabling users to discover, contribute, share and promote events through their local media. The company aggregates rich event information from the open web and user-contributed content, and links high-quality editorial content from partners with its local event index. Zvents is based in San Mateo, California. For more information, visit www.zvents.com.
About Freedom Interactive
Freedom Interactive is the Internet subsidiary of the nation's 12th largest media company – Freedom Communications – national, privately owned information and entertainment company headquartered in Irvine, Calif. Freedom Interactive owns and operates web sites coast to coast, each offering local, up-to-the-minute breaking news stories, extensive content with a unique perspective, and trusted local news coverage on demand. The company's web sites are associated with various Freedom Communications media properties including over 70 newspapers and magazines, such as The Orange County Register and The Gazette in Colorado Springs, and nine broadcast television stations.