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SLING MEDIA AND CBS ANNOUNCE BETA TEST OF NEW DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR VIDEO
Companies to engage in trial of new Clip and Sling™ technology

Las Vegas — Consumer Electronics Show (CES) — January 9, 2007 — CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS and CBS.A) and Sling Media, Inc. today announced a beta test of a new technology designed to help audiences share short segments of programming. The experiment centers around a new application and service from Sling Media called Clip+Sling, which was demonstrated during a CES Keynote presentation by CBS Corporation President, Leslie Moonves. The trial will begin sometime in the second quarter of 2007.

Clip+Sling gives Slingbox owners the power to clip and share content directly from live or recorded television, in a simple process via the SlingPlayer application. Slingbox customers will be able to clip and share content with friends and family that are a part of their digital community and who aren’t necessarily Slingbox users. This new feature will be built into both the desktop and mobile versions of the SlingPlayer software. Customers can expect to see this new functionality incorporated into the SlingPlayer by Q2, 2007. Additional details will be announced closer to launch.

“CBS is interested in how new media solutions can help build communities around content,” said Quincy Smith, President of CBS Interactive. “As we move forward into an increasingly digital and interactive future, that capability will sometimes come from unexpected places, products and services that in the past might have been seen as disruptors, instead of enablers. The entrepreneurs at Sling have caught the attention of a lot of people. Part of our job as a major media company is to educate ourselves as to what our audience wants and investigate new ways of reaching them. We think this new capability, if done with consideration for the content owners, is intriguing and worthy of study. That’s what we intend to do in this beta test.” 

“We have always wanted to empower the consumer with our technology,” said Blake Krikorian, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Sling Media. “CBS Corporation and Sling Media understand that if you give customers control in an empowering, content-rich environment then both consumers and media companies can win big.”
The deal is the first for the newly formed Sling Media Entertainment Group, which was created this past December to define and create rich and engaging experiences for Slingbox customers as well as their family and friends. The deal is a major step forward for Sling Media, which is focused on serving not only Slingbox users, but also audiences at-large, content companies and advertisers.

“The Internet and new consumer technologies have fostered a clip culture around video.  It’s the new water cooler.” said Jason Hirschhorn, president of the Sling Media Entertainment Group. “With Clip+Sling and our relationship together with CBS, we’re embracing that behavior by making it easy enough for everyone to use while creating revenue and promotional opportunities for content owners.”

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Chris Leckness is the Owner/Administrator of Mobilitysite. He is a Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices and a member of the exclusive focus group, Mobius. Chris runs a Mobilitysite, GotZune, and a few other smaller sites and blogs. His personal blog is chris.leckness.com.