Sprint and ABC News Now Offer Viewers First-Hand Account of Inaugural Parade via Video Mail Technology

Sprint and ABC News Now Offer Viewers First-Hand Account of Inaugural Parade via Video Mail Technology ABC News Now Coverage to Include Video Reports From Inaugural Parade Participants, Marking First Time Video Mail From Sprint Used to Transmit Video for Network News Programming OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- ABC News Now and Sprint (NYSE:FON) are collaborating to bring viewers first-hand accounts from the Inaugural parade Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005, utilizing Sprint's innovative Video Mail technology. Video Mail from Sprint allows customers to capture, view and share everyday moments directly from their Sprint PCS Vision(SM) Video Phones. Nearly two dozen parade participants equipped with these mobile devices will file from aboard parade floats, in marching units and along the route of the parade from the Capitol to the White House. These up-close accounts will air during ABC News Now coverage of events on Inauguration Day. By providing ABC News Now viewers with a perspective from within the parade, this collaboration marks the first time Sprint's Video Mail technology will be used to transmit video specifically for news programming. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001013/SPRINTLOGO ) Thousands of participants are expected to march in the 1.7 mile parade from Capitol Hill to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Among those in the parade contributing Video Mail reports are: -- The Red Hot Mamas from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 38 women forming a shopping cart drill team -- The Crawford High School Pirate Band from Crawford, Texas -- American Rescue Dog Association, a search and rescue team in their first-ever parade Spectators stationed along the Inaugural parade route will also be equipped with Sprint PCS Vision Video Phones. Starting at 8 a.m. EST on Inauguration Day, Sam Donaldson and Michel Martin will anchor live coverage for ABC News Now from Washington, D.C., and New York. Correspondents Hari Sreenivasan, Gigi Stone, David Kerley and Jonathan Karl will contribute live reports from the nation's capital covering the swearing-in ceremony, the President's address to the nation and the parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. From 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. EST, ABC News Now will update viewers on the news of the day and recap events from Washington. ABC News Now's live coverage resumes at 9 p.m. with live reports from the Inaugural balls. ABC News Now is the first 24/7 news network built for digital distribution via digital cable, digital television, broadband and wireless. It is currently available to 65% of the country via digital transmission from numerous ABC affiliates, including all 10 Owned Stations. Many affiliates have arranged for cable coverage within their local markets. In addition, ABC News Now is available to nearly 30 million Internet viewers, including 24 million AOL members. It is also available through an ABC News On Demand or RealNetworks' SuperPass subscription and for Comcast.net, SBC Yahoo! DSL and BellSouth DSL customers. ABC News Now is channel 5 on MobiTV, the first live television network for mobile phones currently available to Sprint PCS Vision customers and on the Cingular Wireless Network on the mMode and Media Net services. Video Mail from Sprint is powered by LightSurf, which enables a seamless exchange of digital pictures, audio and video using any visual communications systems or any other Internet-ready, graphics-capable wired or wireless network. About Sprint Sprint is a global integrated communications provider serving more than 26 million customers in over 100 countries. With more than $26 billion in annual revenues in 2003, Sprint is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying state-of-the-art network technologies, including the United States' first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and an award- winning Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint provides local communications services in 39 states and the District of Columbia and operates the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide PCS wireless network in the United States. For more information, visit http://www.sprint.com/ . Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001013/SPRINTLOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Sprint CONTACT: Media, Lisa Ihde of Sprint, +1-202-585-1960, lisa.e.ihde@mail.sprint.com , or Julie Summersgill of ABC News, +1-212-456-2478, julie.l.summersgill@abc.com Web site: http://www.sprint.com/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment