The Wizetrade Group Leverages Akamai Technologies and Microsoft Silverlight to launch the Next Generation of Wizetrade TV ... in HD

The Wizetrade Group Leverages Akamai Technologies and Microsoft Silverlight to launch the Next Generation of Wizetrade TV ... in HD

Online TV network for traders airs up to 4 channels of programming simultaneously

PLANO, Texas, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wizetrade Group today announced the launch of Wizetrade TV-HD, the latest evolution of its online TV network. Wizetrade TV-HD is dedicated to empowering individual traders to take control of their financial futures through live-in-the-market analysis of all major markets, including stocks, options, foreign currencies, commodities and futures.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080626/LATH509LOGO)

Since its debut in August 2006, viewers by the thousands have watched Wizetrade TV(R) to learn how to recognize the best potential trades in the major financial markets. This unique training and interactive TV/social networking platform allows viewers to share their hottest trade opportunities and strategies with on-air experts and other viewers.

"Wizetrade TV is real people, making real trades and taking real profits," said John Dankovchik, president of The Wizetrade Group, an internationally recognized provider of investment trend recognition software and a leading investor training organization. "We were the first online TV network to provide 11 hours of live-in-the-market programming to Wizetrade customers each trading day. With the launch of Wizetrade TV-HD, we continue to set new industry standards by opening our network to the general public free of charge and adding three additional channels dedicated to investor education of all skill levels.

"In our commitment to providing cutting edge technology, we have also incorporated a powerful search function that we believe we are the first to introduce," Dankovchik continued. "Viewers can search by keyword or trading symbol and instantly find references within our broadcast content. Search results will direct viewers to within seconds of when their keyword or symbol was referenced during a broadcast."

To ensure the reliable delivery of Wizetrade TV-HD online, The Wizetrade Group will continue its longstanding relationship with Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM), the global leader in powering rich media, dynamic transactions and enterprise applications online.

"Akamai's state-of-the-art content distribution and acceleration infrastructure brings confidence and security to tens of thousands of investors who rely on Wizetrade TV for their daily investment analysis needs," said Tim Napoleon, Chief Strategist, Digital Media, Akamai. "We embraced the opportunity to deliver high definition quality broadcast content to a growing audience of online traders, and look forward to our continued relationship as Wizetrade TV continues to evolve."

The enhanced Wizetrade TV-HD Player is powered by Microsoft Silverlight, a comprehensive and powerful solution for the delivery of media experiences through a Web browser. Silverlight is a plug-in that can be added in mere seconds to the most popular Internet browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Safari from Apple, Chrome from Google and Opera. Once Silverlight is installed, customers can log in to the Wizetrade TV Player and choose the channel they want to watch.

"The Wizetrade TV-HD Player is a great example of how easy it is for our customers to use Microsoft Silverlight to rapidly develop the types of high-quality Web media experiences that online audiences now demand," said Brian Goldfarb, Director of the Developer Platform Group at Microsoft Corp. "Microsoft continues to be delighted by the various ways customers such as Wizetrade are leveraging Silverlight to deliver enhanced experiences on the Web to their end users."

"With the launch of Wizetrade TV-HD, we're also introducing three new shows to our Channel 1 daily programming schedule," Wizetrade TV Executive Producer Michael Cerny said. "CTFX Frontline is dedicated to automated trading of the FOREX market. Lunch Money is a mid-day recap of all the markets, and The Automated Trader, dedicated to automated trading in the equities and FOREX markets. Our whole crew is excited to satisfy hundreds of viewer requests for this new content."

All daily programs are archived for 14 days (10 business days) and are available 24/7 via Video on Demand.

Channels 2, 3, and 4 will provide more focused training on investing using the Wizetrade suite of trend recognition software products, including Wizetrade Stocks, Wizetrade Options, Wizetrade FOREX and Wizetrade Commodities. Channel 2 content is primarily for those who are new to trading and want to learn more about the markets in general. Channel 3 programming is for traders who are using the automated trading tools CommandTRADE and CommandTRADE FX in conjunction with an integrated broker. Channel 4 is reserved for special programs, including analysis and commentary following key announcements in the marketplace (such as Non-Farm Payroll, an announcement from the Fed regarding interest rates, etc.).

"Today, more than ever, traders need the tools and information necessary to take control of their financial future. Wizetrade TV-HD is a direct response to those needs," Dankovchik said. "Our viewers continue to drive the content of our daily programming with their live emails and phone calls, sharing their questions, comments and successes with each other and our seasoned experts. When someone watches Wizetrade TV, they're a part of a worldwide network of traders -- traders helping other traders succeed. That's what it's all about!"

To watch Wizetrade TV-HD, or for more information, please visit http://www.wizetradetv.com/.

About The Wizetrade Group:

Founded in 1999, The Wizetrade Group, LLP provides traders of all experience levels with a suite of software products and investor training classes that assist them with their trading selections. The Wizetrade suite of products includes tools for trading stocks, stock options, (spot) FOREX currencies, commodities and futures, as well as automated trading tools CommandTRADE(R) and CommandTRADE(R) FX. Through Wizetrade TV and Wizetrade University, individual investors take advantage of a wide range of workshops, classes and online resources that enable them to make confident trading decisions. For more information, visit http://www.wizetrade.com/ or call 800.304.8881.

The Akamai Difference

Akamai(R) provides market-leading managed services for powering rich media, dynamic transactions, and enterprise applications online. Having pioneered the content delivery market one decade ago, Akamai's services have been adopted by the world's most recognized brands across diverse industries. The alternative to centralized Web infrastructure, Akamai's global network of tens of thousands of distributed servers provides the scale, reliability, insight and performance for businesses to succeed online. Akamai has transformed the Internet into a more viable place to inform, entertain, interact, and collaborate. To experience The Akamai Difference, visit http://www.akamai.com/.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080626/LATH509LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: The Wizetrade Group

CONTACT: Dan Dunn, Communications Manager of The Wizetrade Group,
1-800-304-8881, ext. 22262, ddunn@wizetrade.com

Web site: http://www.wizetrade.com/
http://www.wizetradetv.com/
http://www.akamai.com/

-------
Profile: intent