blinkx.tv Signs Partnership With VerdictOnCars

blinkx.tv Signs Partnership With VerdictOnCars

blinkx.tv Takes a Road Trip With VerdictOnCars

SAN FRANCISCO, March 21 /PRNewswire/ -- blinkx, the smartest thing on your computer and on the Web, today announced a content agreement with VerdictOnCars (www.verdictoncars.com), a premier motoring site, to enable users to view virtual test drives on demand from www.blinkx.tv. Using blinkx's unique search engine for TV and video content, www.blinkx.tv, car enthusiasts will be able to search for footage of their favourite models and view the cars in action on the road.

With more than 80% of new car buyers turning to the internet to research their purchase, and find the latest news and prices and specification details on their chosen model, the vast majority of consumers are basing their decisions on information found online. In partnering with blinkx TV, VerdictOnCars, one of the fastest growing informative sites for automotive content, offers users a next generation experience -- a virtual test drive by watching the cars in motion from their PC. Users can click straight to videos of their chosen car on the road, helping provide a full impression of how the car looks and performs by entering details of the make and model into www.blinkx.tv. For example, a buyer interested in the aesthetic qualities that distinguish Ferrari's 360 and 575 Maranello models can easily view high quality footage of how the two cars compare on the road. Test drives have become an integral part of motoring programmes such as the BBC's Top Gear, as everyone from the dedicated petrol head to an average family in the market for a new car are increasingly concerned with good looks as well as efficient performance. blinkx.tv allows VerdictOnCars to take the car shopper's online experience to the next level, making footage of test drives searchable and available on demand for the first time. The service, which currently includes models from high-end performances car makers such as Ferrari and Masarati, in addition to more family orientated manufacturers, including Nissan and Vauxhall, is being extended to encompass virtually all current models on the European market within months.

"Today's consumers are always looking for better and more comprehensive ways to do their research -- we're able to provide a truly next-generation experience by letting potential buyers see what the cars really look like up close at the click of a button," said Jay Nagley, Managing Director, VerdictOnCars. "We're pleased to partner with blinkx and make footage of the cars more widely available through www.blinkx.tv. Smart bodywork and getting the right image is increasingly important to car buyers: by finding and viewing the cars' aesthetic merits through www.blinkx.tv, buyers can make sure they get the full picture."

"We're pleased to announce this partnership with VerdictOnCars, blinkx's second partnership in the influential and highly marketable automotive sector," said Federico Grosso, Vice President Business Development, blinkx. "The highly discerning consumer is always on the look out for new outlets for information and recommendations that help them make their purchasing decisions -- in making videos of road tests accessible online, www.blinkx.tv responds to that need. By searching for videos of their favourite cars in action through www.blinkx.tv, prospective buyers can see their favourite cars put through the motions without having to leave home."

About blinkx

blinkx, the smartest thing on your computer and on the Web, is changing the way that people think about search. Only blinkx can harness the desktop, Web and TV -- unifying content with a one stop search tool. Available to users on the Web at www.blinkx.com and www.blinkx.tv, as well as free to download, blinkx automatically and intelligently links to content anywhere and in any format, on the Web, on the desktop and even on TV. blinkx's conceptual toolbar means users are no longer limited to keyword search; instead, blinkx assesses all the information that the user is actively viewing, and automatically recommends and retrieves relevant content, from local, Web and TV searches, based on context. In addition, www.blinkx.tv makes thousands of hours of TV content fully searchable and available on demand for the first time. blinkx is a privately-held company based in San Francisco and London. More information is available at www.blinkx.com.

Source: blinkx TV

CONTACT: Julia Blystone of Outcast Communications, +1-415-392-8282, or Julia@outcastpr.com, for blinkx TV

Web site: http://www.verdictoncars.com/

Web site: http://www.blinkx.com/

------- Profile: Ent