Italy's Rai Television Goes for Olympic Gold with Quova

Italy's Rai Television Goes for Olympic Gold with Quova

Broadcast Giant's Subsidiary RaiNet Deploys Quova Media Solution to Stream Live Video of Turin Winter Games Starting Tomorrow

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Quova, Inc., the leading provider of Internet geolocation data and services, today announced a landmark agreement that will enable Rai-TV, Italy's state public broadcast network, to deliver online live and on-demand streaming of the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin. RaiNet, the Internet subsidiary of broadcast giant RAI S.p.A., has deployed Quova Media, the first geolocation solution for digital rights management, to power targeted streaming video feeds to online viewers in Italy.

RaiNet, which will provide the streaming video platform for Rai-TV's content, will leverage the Quova Media solution to determine whether each viewer is located within Italy. The Rai-TV stream will be either delivered or blocked based on Quova's data, protecting the territorial licensing rights of other nations and broadcasters. RaiNet was well aware that other Quova customers have chosen Quova Media to deliver live video coverage of Major League Baseball, the Tour de France and the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

"The International Olympic Committee grants broadcast rights only to networks that can meet its extremely stringent requirements for geographic control of territory rights," said Gianluca Stazio, chief marketing officer of RaiNet. "Only Quova proved capable of delivering the absolute accuracy and quality we needed, and only Quova could demonstrate the expertise to implement the necessary technology in the few weeks we had available. The choice of Quova over competitive services was obvious for us."

"On February 10, thousands of viewers will watch live on their personal computers as the world's Olympic athletes march into the Opening Ceremonies, and Quova is proud to make it possible," said Gary Jackson, COO of Quova. "We're the only company in the world at this point with the geolocation expertise to meet the demands of rights management for international sports broadcasts, and it has become an extraordinary business for us."

About RaiNet

Founded in 1999 and operating since June 2000, RaiNet is the digital factory of Rai Group and it is responsible for the production and distribution of multi-platform editorial contents over the Internet and Mobile. RaiNet provides the know-how and editorial/technical solutions for distributing Rai's offering on the emerging markets of mobile video service (over UMTS and DVB-H technology) and IPTV. RaiNet's customers and partners include such industry leaders as Telecom Italia, H3G, Vodafone, Wind and many Government departments for cross-media communication plans. Visit RaiNet online at www.rai.it.

About Quova, Inc.

Founded in January 2000, Quova, Inc. is the leading provider of IP Intelligence and geolocation services to online businesses, including five of the world's six largest global Internet companies. Quova's patented technology provides the geographic location of website visitors in real time, enabling businesses to detect fraud, manage digital rights, target content and ensure regulatory compliance. Quova's customers and partners include such industry leaders as Major League Baseball Advanced Media, BBC, Bankinter, Bell Canada, Cisco Systems, Corillian, VeriSign, IBM SurfAid, Absolut, Globo, 41st Parameter, Times Online and Sky Sports. A privately owned company with investments from Mobius Venture Capital, IDG Ventures, Nexus Group and Schoffstall Ventures, Quova is headquartered in Mountain View, California (T: 650.528.3700) with European headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (T: 31.20.888.45.30). Visit Quova online at www.quova.com.

NOTE: Quova, the Quova logo and GeoPoint are registered service marks and/or trademarks of Quova, Inc.

Source: Quova, Inc.

CONTACT: Mike Gaynes of Quova, Inc., +1-650-528-3700, or
mgaynes@quova.com

Web site: http://www.quova.com/

-------
Profile: intent