American Foundation for the Blind Selects AbleTV to Webcast JLTLI 2001 Event Live

Global Participation Expected in Accessible Interactive Webcast, Friday, March 16, 1:30 PM EST at www.abletv.net on the TVWorldwide.com Network with Audience Tracking by Reliacast
Event Page

For Immediate Release
March 13, 2001

Chantilly, Va. -  AbleTV.net, web-based TV channel for the disabled on the TVWorldwide.com network, announced today that it had been selected by the American Foundation for the Blind to webcast the 15^th Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute (JTLI 2001) keynote address and panel discussion live from the Washington Marriot Hotel, at 1:30 PM EST on March 16. The webcast will feature keynote speaker Carl Kupfer, M.D. from the National Institute of Health, followed by a panel discussion on “Bringing Services to People” with on-line participation by chat and e-mail. The webcast will feature AbleTV.net’s captioned video streaming or “webcapting” process to assist on-line participants with disabilities. The free event will also feature the on-line audience management capability of Reliacast, Inc., selected for its state-of-the-art ticketing software solution.

“We’re excited about the prospect of offering the important JLTLI event for accessible on-line participation worldwide, “ stated Ms. Regina Genright, director, AFB Information Center. “ AbleTV is renowned for its webcasts addressing issues important to the community of those people with disabilities and we welcome everyone tuning in worldwide.”

The webcast will be directed by Jeff Pledger, President of AbleTV.net, who lost his sight 17 years ago due to illness.  “We are pleased to provide captioned streaming for this live event, “ remarked Pledger. “ The American Foundation for the Blind truly is fulfilling Helen Keller’s Vision with events like this to level the playing field for people who are blind or visually impaired.”

“It’s great to have the Reliacast Virtual Turnstile software for feedback to enhance the experience for online participants,” commented Dave Gardy, CEO of TVWorldwide.com.

The program will be archived with the captioning for later viewing after the webcast at the www.abletv.net. Participants should have the free Real Player installed prior to the event and can log on for their free Reliacast R-TicketÔ any time prior to the webcast on the 16th. Questions can be directed to info@tvworldwide.com before and during the event.

In addition to being a video streaming service provider, The TVWorldwide.com  is building a network of community-based Internet TV channels, each underwritten by a strategic partner, “aimcasting” to targeted B2B and special interest audiences worldwide. TVWorldwide.com has worked with one of its first aimcast channels, AbleTV.net, to pioneer live and archived video streaming with closed captioning and audio description to aid web site accessibility for the disabled. With this advance, AbleTV.net received its charter sponsorship from Microsoft Corporation.  TVWorldwide.com received first round financing from PSINet Ventures, Ltd., the wholly-owned corporate unit of PSINet, Inc. (Nasdaq:PSIX)

About the American Foundation for the Blind The American Foundation for the Blind—the organization to which Helen Keller devoted more than 40 years of her life—is a national nonprofit whose mission is to eliminate the inequities faced by the ten million Americans who are blind or visually impaired. Headquartered in New York City, AFB maintains offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and San Francisco, and a governmental relations office in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.afb.org.

About Reliacast, Inc.

Reliacast, Inc. is a leading provider of audience management solutions for streaming media. The company's software products enable businesses and enterprises to measure, manage, and control audiences of live, on-demand, and broadcast channel content