NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- International consumer electronics distributor Emerson Radio Corp. (AMEX:MSN) has entered into a multi-year agreement with the AEG LIVE owned and operated Nokia Theatre Times Square to be the exclusive provider of televisions, video monitors and other electronic devices located throughout the 2,100-capacity concert venue set to open in Times Square this fall.
Named one of the venue's 'Founding Partners,' Emerson will also develop and install a specially created kiosk designed to allow theatre guests to interact with existing as well as soon to be released products. In addition, the kiosk will offer free downloads of music files for use with personal compressed audio players.
Emerson will also receive interior and exterior signage opportunities including messaging on the theatre's external Times Square electronic display marquee, a state-of-the-art 10' high x 85' long LED screen.
"There's no better place to get your message across than at the crossroads of the world, Times Square," says Geoffrey Jurick, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Emerson Radio Corp. "This sponsorship represents a unique opportunity for the Emerson brand name to be showcased along with the biggest, brightest, and the best in the industry."
"The Nokia Theatre in New York Times Square is the ideal venue to showcase the Emerson brand name," says Patrick Murray, President of Emerson Radio Consumer Products Corporation. "For more than 55 years, Emerson has been a brand that consumers have recognized for quality, innovation and value. We're pleased that through this sponsorship, we will reach a whole new generation of consumers looking for the same qualities that their parents and grandparents have come to enjoy."
Located in the heart of Times Square at the corner of Broadway and 44th Street in the Viacom/MTV building, Nokia Theatre Times Square will attract the hottest names in entertainment, yet still provide an intimate experience for patrons. The state-of-the-industry venue is designed by the award-winning architecture firm, Rockwell Group, and is located in the former Lowes Movie Theater building.
"Emerson Radio Corp. is truly the perfect partner for Nokia Theatre Times Square," said Randy Phillips, President and CEO, AEG LIVE. "The wide range of their cutting edge product line and the technology that they will bring to our theatre, coupled with their long and established history of quality and innovation and use of interactive displays, will clearly complement all of the other great innovations and amenities that the fans that will visit Nokia Theatre Times Square will benefit from. It is a match made in marketing heaven."
AEG LIVE, the live entertainment division of Los Angeles based AEG, will oversee the creation and management of the venue (currently undergoing a $15 million renovation), and anticipates producing more than 150 concerts, awards shows, live broadcasts and special events each year following the theatre's upcoming launch.
David Rockwell, the award winning architect and designer, and the Rockwell Group are the architects and designers of the Nokia Theatre Times Square. The theatre is designed as an innovative, multi-use theater that can be transformed to accommodate a wide array of events including live television and web broadcasts, live recordings, award shows and cocktail events. It is a theatre that was designed to be user-friendly and give both the fans and artists an overall superior event and concert experience. The auditorium will feature two VIP mezzanines with lounge seating, a state-of-the-art, in-house lighting system and an in-house sound system by JBL. Backstage there will be luxury dressing room suites with full bathrooms including showers, flat-screen TV's and wireless Internet capabilities for band and crew. There will also be a Green room that will be able to seat 30 band, crew and VIP's, a warming pantry that will tailor to the artists specific catering and cooking needs.
About Emerson Radio Corp.
Emerson Radio Corp. (AMEX:MSN), founded in 1948, is headquartered in Parsippany, N.J. The Company designs, markets and licenses, throughout the world, full lines of televisions and other video products, microwave ovens, clocks, clock radios, audio and home theater products.
About AEG LIVE
AEG LIVE, the live-entertainment division of Los Angeles-based AEG, is a collection of companies dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance, touring for a variety of programming and multi-media production. AEG LIVE, the nation's second largest concert promotion and touring company, with five regional offices, is comprised of stand-alone affiliate divisions including: AEG LIVE Events, creators and producers of special events of all sizes; AEG-TV, devoted to creation and marketing of live events for television, DVD, pay-per-view, cinema and other electronic media and AEG RADIO, developers and packagers of national and regional radio programming. AEG LIVE Tours & Special Events and AEG LIVE Exhibitions, the company's national promotion divisions are currently producing tours and productions including Celine Dion A New Day.Presented By Chrysler now appearing at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and the recently announced "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," an international tour of the artifacts of King Tut. Recently promoted concert tours have included artists such as Prince, Usher, Kenny Chesney, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera and Dixie Chicks. Goldenvoice, the company's southern California-based regional promotion division, created and operates the award winning annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. The company recently announced a joint venture with AOL and XM to create Network Live, a company dedicated to creating and distributing live entertainment programming through the Internet, satellite and other third party global media platforms such as VOD, wireless and HDTV. AEG LIVE is a partner with Queen Latifah and Usher in separate joint ventures which include merchandise, touring, CD and long-form DVD releases. The company operates Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie (Texas) and will be opening Nokia Theatre Times Square, a 2,500-seat concert venue in Times Square in Fall 2005.