September 05, 2007

OMD Portugal and ViaTecla, together with Microsoft’s technical support and Diário Económico’s editorial Marcom’s contents, will publicly launch, the first specialized InternetTV Channel in Portugal. Entirely dedicated to the Marketing, Media and Advertising world this channel will, for the first time, broadcast live online content.

www.mediapreview.tv will be a media, marketing and advertising channel entirely developed for the Portuguese market, with daily updates of the content which will include news, national and international videos and will also broadcast live interviews produced in a studio especially created for the channel at OMD’s offices in Carnaxide, or at outdoor sites. OMD will be responsible for producing and establishing partnerships for contents to www.mediapreview.tv, an unbiased, accurate and useful information channel.

"It is up to an international player with the influence and prestige of OMD to place itself with an active role within the media information scene, sharing knowledge and anticipating trends, but also providing the market with innovative and more interactive tools for a richer experience by professionals and general users alike." explains Bernardo Rodo, Managing Director of OMG Digital - the Digital and Interactive Unit of the Omnicom Media Group in Portugal.

The General Manager of Microsoft in Portugal, Nuno Duarte commented, "we at Microsoft are very pleased to see the dynamics and the continuous ramp up of new projects in the media and digital contents area. We are delighted to see excellent local and international partners using some of our state of the art technology like Silverlight & Windows Vista Home Premium media capabilities in the case of the MediaPreview.tv channel. We hope to see more and more in the future, partners recognizing that they can make a difference and build their solutions based on our digital platforms. Microsoft Portugal will surely do everything to support these partners and their solutions, opening new doors and possibilities inside and outside Portugal."

This innovative project, already underway on a test basis, is being developed based on new Microsoft software that provides the user with a truly "mediatic" and live experience when compared to current online formats for broadcasting and sharing video contents. More than just visualising the contents, the user will experience the best of a television channel in terms of image quality and criteria for the selection of contents, as well as all the freedom to navigate and manage preferences of an information portal, and to attend to live interviews and transmissions - for the first time in this kind of channels, with no delays - that will allow interactions with the interviewers as well with the events covered. ViaTecla's most cutting edge technology will be used to organise and distribute media information.

"We are living in an era of changing paradigms, where the users have total control when it comes to choosing information - what they watch, how they watch it and where they watch it. When the project was developed, ViaTecla's strong consolidated know-how in media and information management, allowed it to enhance the available technology and innovate the experience it provides for the user" says Pedro Seabra, CEO of ViaTecla Software.

The www.mediapreview.tv, platform, entirely created and developed in Portugal, will be available to the whole international OMD network (leading media network worldwide), allowing for immediate customisation of content, both in terms of the locally established partnerships as well as the diverse contents to be published. The aim is to assure full management and autonomy by each regional agent of the group's network.

"Over the years, the Omnicom Media Group has consistently invested in gaining knowledge on the consumers, what they consume in terms of media and their use and participation in new communication platforms. This knowledge is crucial in the process of building Brands and it is through this project that OMD Portugal (that won an award in 2006 for being the most creative OMD in the EMEA region - Europe, Middle East and Africa), once again innovates with www.mediapreview.pt, creating added value in the market where it operates" states Luis Mergulhao, CEO of Omnicom Media Group Portugal.