MSN, FX Team Up to Provide Viewing of 'Black. White.' Series Premiere on Demand

MSN, FX Team Up to Provide Viewing of 'Black. White.' Series Premiere on Demand

MSN Video Is Currently Streaming the Premiere Installment of FX's New Series 'Black. White.' in Its Entirety

REDMOND, Wash., March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MSN is giving folks who missed the first installment of FX's controversial new series "Black. White." a chance to see what this daring social experiment is all about. MSN has been given the rights to stream the first hour in its entirety, commercial-free. It is available today at http://msnvideo.com/ .

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO )

"Black. White." examines race with an extraordinary approach by putting new faces on the Sparks family, an African-American family, and the Wurgel family, a Caucasian family. Through the transformative power of makeup, the Wurgel family (Carmen Wurgel, her daughter Rose Bloomfield, and Carmen's boyfriend Bruno Marcotulli) become black, and the Sparks family (Brian, Renee and Nick) become white. The two families shared a home in Tarzana, Calif., for the duration of the six-week production, which wrapped last summer. Cameras followed each family member as they went about their daily routines throughout Southern California. The series is executive produced by RJ Cutler ("The War Room," "American High"), Ice Cube ("Barbershop," "Are We There Yet?") and Matt Alvarez.

"MSN(R) Video brings content from the best sources in the entertainment industry to millions of people every day," said Rob Bennett, general manager of entertainment and video services for MSN. "FX is known for its roster of cutting-edge television series and movies, and we are thrilled that it chose MSN as the online destination for 'Black. White.' Offering unique content like this is what makes MSN a leading destination for online entertainment."

The FX series debuts at a time when race relations continues to be a hot-button issue for many Americans. The racial tensions that have resulted from Hurricane Katrina's disproportionate hit on African-American communities continues to make headlines, while "Crash," a gripping story of race-based clashes in Los Angeles, just won the Oscar for Best Picture. Now consumers can visit MSN Video and take an active role in determining if this show is a cultural hit.

"Partnering with MSN gives 'Black. White.' enthusiasts the chance to see the show again and allows FX to reach more potential fans," said Stephanie Gibbons, executive vice president of Marketing and Promotions at FX. "The high-quality online video found on MSN and interactive community tools like MSN Spaces and MSN Messenger give FX viewers a unique opportunity to developer deeper connections with the show and with the issues it presents."

About MSN Video

MSN Video is the largest video-only streaming service on the Web, offering 41 channels of content that are updated multiple times a day. In addition to streaming an average of 66 million news, entertainment and sports video clips per month from more than 45 content partners, MSN Video presents a broad array of live events to online audiences worldwide. More than 50 top advertisers support MSN Video, which is available to consumers at no charge. MSN Video is available on the Web at http://msnvideo.com/ to consumers in the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia; the service also is in beta testing in the United Kingdom.

About MSN and Windows Live

MSN attracts more than 465 million unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 42 markets and 21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering compelling programmed content experiences to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide. Windows Live(TM), a new set of personal Internet services and software, is designed to bring together in one place all the relationships, information and interests people care about most, with enhanced safety and security features across their PC, devices and the Web. MSN and Windows Live will be offered alongside each other as complementary services. Some Windows Live services entered an early beta phase on Nov. 1, 2005; these and future beta updates can be found at http://ideas.live.com/ . MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/ . MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx .

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

NOTE: Microsoft, MSN and Windows Live are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

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Source: Microsoft Corp.

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