Proteus To Produce Interactive Award For The 32nd Annual American Music Awards®
32nd ANNUAL AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS® ON ABC TO OFFER MOBILE, INTERACTIVE AWARD
Washington/San Francisco -/21 Oct, 2004 - The Wi-Fi Technology Forum/- Proteus, Inc., a leading creator and developer of mobile entertainment and a unit of Telitas US, Inc, has announced that it is working with the Walt Disney Internet Group's Enhanced TV division (ETV) and T-Mobile USA to produce a new interactive award for the 32nd Annual American Music Awards®. The T-Mobile® Text-In Award will be chosen by viewers from a list of top artists from each of the five major music genres (country, rock, pop, rap/hip-hop, and soul/rhythm & blues).
Voting has begun and will conclude during the airing of the show, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, on Sunday, November 14 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on the ABC Television Network. T-Mobile Text Messaging customers, as well as viewers voting on ABC’s Web site (
http://www.abc.com, Keyword: AMA) or during the show via Enhanced TV by going to ABC.com and clicking on the Enhanced TV logo, will choose from nominees Kenny Chesney, Evanescence, Norah Jones, OutKast and Usher. These nominees reflect artists vying for best seller in their genre from January 1, 2004 to present, in the U.S. The winner will be revealed during the live telecast of the special.
Through ETV’s arrangement with Proteus, ABC is able to provide T-Mobile subscribers real-time voting capabilities. Specifically, T-Mobile subscribers will be able vote by sending the letter corresponding to their favorite artist (“A” for Kenny Chesney, “B” for Evanescence, “C” for Norah Jones, “D” for OutKast or “E” for Usher) to “ABCTV” (22288). Standard text messaging charges apply for text messaging an entry. Each vote will be counted towards the T-Mobile Text-In Award and will be cumulated in conjunction with the Web-based voting up until the presentation of the award.
“We are very excited to continue our relationship with ABC Enhanced TV, said Craig Shapiro, executive director, wireless services, for Proteus. “The American Music Awards is one of the highest rated awards specials on television each year, and the text message voting experience puts the excitement at the fingertips of the ABC audience.”
About Proteus
Proteus is a unit of Telitas US, Inc. As the leading creator and developer of mobile entertainment, Proteus maintains connectivity with all major U.S. wireless carriers. Proteus was the first company in the U.S. to bring wireless applications to the mainstream television audience with FOX Sports’ broadcasts of the NFL’s 2001 NFC championship game and Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002. Additionally, Proteus handled Cingular Virtual Crew Chief (NASCAR on FOX) in 2002, which marked the first usage of two-way SMS interactivity in a U.S. television broadcast. Recent wireless entertainment hits from Proteus include HBO's “The Sopranos,” and NBC’s coverage of the 2004 Olympics. Formed in 1996, the company is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in New York and San Francisco.
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