Date: Fri, 7 Sep 2012 09:54:35 -0400
Subject: [WSFA] fwd: Ustream to Re-Broadcast 2012 Hugo Awards Ceremony Sunday at 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT)
From: Michael Walsh <walshmichaelj at gmail.com>
To: wsfa-forum at yahoogroups.com, WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net>

FYI

mjw

---------- Forwarded message ----------

PRESS RELEASE #37

Ustream to Re-Broadcast 2012 Hugo Awards Ceremony Sunday at 7 p.m. CT
(8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT)

Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction Convention,
Chicago, IL - August 30 to September 3, 2012

press at chicon.org
www.chicon.org

Postal queries to: Chicon 7, P.O. Box 13, Skokie, IL 60076

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, September 7, 2012

Chicago, Illinois, USA - Chicon 7, the 70th World Science Fiction
Convention (Worldcon), is pleased to announce that the 2012 Hugo
Awards Ceremony will be re-broadcast in its entirety and ad-free via
Ustream on Sunday, September 9, starting at 7 p.m. CT (8 p.m. ET, 5
p.m. PT) at www.ustream.tv/channel/hugo-awards.

The original live broadcast of the ceremony was interrupted on Sunday,
September 2 when an automated infringement system detected content in
the stream that it deemed copyright infringement. Although the
material was cleared for Chicon 7 use, the feed could not be restored
before the ceremony concluded, meaning that fans around the world were
unable to enjoy the remainder of the show.

Ustream founder and CEO Brad Hunstable spoke directly to Chicon 7
Chairman Dave McCarty on Tuesday, September 4, and expressed his
regret at the loss of the broadcast. Hunstable's online blog post
notes "Unfortunately, we were not able to lift the ban before the
broadcast ended. We had many unhappy viewers as a result, and for that
I am truly sorry.  As a long-time Firefly, Stargate and Game of
Thrones fan among others, I am especially disheartened by this....I
have suspended use of this third-party system until we are able to
recalibrate the settings so that we can better balance the needs of
broadcasters, viewers, and copyright holders.  While we are committed
to protecting copyright, we absolutely must ensure our amazing and
democratizing platform allows legal broadcasters to Ustream their
events and shows."

To makeup for the disruption to the original broadcast, Ustream will
feature the full un-edited and bot-free ceremony on its Homepage this
Sunday, September 9, starting at 7 p.m. CT. Ustream will also run the
broadcast ad-free on the Worldcon Hugo Awards channel at
www.ustream.tv/channel/hugo-awards, and provide additional marketing
and promotional support to raise the profile of the event. The
broadcast will subsequently be available from the same channel on an
on-demand basis. Ustream has also offered additional support and
publicity for the streaming of future Hugo Award Ceremonies for
upcoming Worldcons in San Antonio, TX (2013) and London, UK (2014).

According to Dave McCarty, "this incident is just one of several that
have been in the news recently, and it reflects a broader challenge
faced by the industry. I welcome Brad's personal response and his
commitment to review the way in which channel suspensions are
triggered and controlled. And of course, we are delighted that all
science fiction fans can experience a great Hugo Awards Ceremony which
celebrated the best in recent science fiction literature and media and
its fans. As Chair of the Hugo Award Marketing Committee, I also look
forward to building this partnership with Ustream over the coming
years."

ABOUT THE HUGOS

The Hugo Awards are the premier award in the science fiction genre,
honoring science fiction literature and media as well as the genre's
fans. The Hugo Awards were first presented at the 1953 World Science
Fiction Convention in Philadelphia (Philcon II), and they have
continued to honor science fiction and fantasy notables annually for
nearly 60 years.

More information about the Hugo Awards, including a list of the 2012
winners, is available from www.chicon.org/hugo-awards.php.

ABOUT USTREAM

Ustream Inc. is the leader in live, and social video streaming. The
interactive platform connects broadcasters and viewers of unlimited
size through innovative technology including co-hosting video
features, IRC chat, Facebook, and Twitter. Ustream's free and premium
solutions allow any broadcaster to create their own customizable
channel with robust social and notification features to enhance
visibility and virility across multiple platforms. In addition to
activating the embeddable features on external websites, users are
able to broadcast and view content while interacting in real-time
directly from mobile phone devices, tablets, streaming players, smart
TVs, and more. The company attracts millions of users ranging from
music artists, celebrities, politicians, athletes, corporate
executives, animal enthusiasts and gamers, all which have contributed
to Ustream's Guinness World Record for the Most Content Ingested by An
Online Video Service. For more information, visitwww.u!
 stream.com and follow Ustream's socials: Twitter ( at Ustream); Facebook
(facebook.com/Ustream).

Brad Hunstable's personal apology for the interruption to the original
Ceremony broadcast can be found at
http://www.ustream.tv/blog/2012/09/03/hugo-awards-an-apology-and-explanation/.

ENDS

Chicon 7 is the 2012 World Science Fiction Convention ("Worldcon").
The first Worldcon occurred in New York City in 1939 and Worldcons
have been held annually since then except for 1942-45 when there was
no event due to World War II. Chicon 7's Guests of Honor were
five-time Hugo winning author Mike Resnick, artist Rowena Morrill, art
agent and collector Jane Frank, science fiction fan and former
Worldcon chair Peggy Rae Sapienza, and astronaut Story Musgrave.
Chicon 7's Toastmaster was John Scalzi.

For more details about the convention, visit www.chicon.org. Send
press questions, or requests to be removed from the Chicon 7 press
release mailing list, to press at chicon.org. Send general queries to
info at chicon.org. "World Science Fiction Society," "WSFS," "World
Science Fiction Convention," "Worldcon," "NASFiC," "Hugo Award," and
the distinctive design of the Hugo Award Rocket are service marks of
the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.