(Washington, DC) The Associated Press today announced that the newest multimedia Web sites to sign on during the initial launch phase of its online video service have brought the total to nearly 1,100 media sites with a collective audience of 76 million UV's. That makes the initiative between AP and MSN one of the most successful new products ever offered by the Associated Press.

Powered by MSN Video and leveraging AP content, the Online Video Network is uniquely tailored for Web sites and provides high-quality, in-depth reports from the world's largest newsgathering agency.

"Since the March 1 roll-out of the OVN, we have experienced unprecedented interest from AP newspaper, radio and television member sites," said Jim Kathman, Product Manager, AP Online Video Network. "Today, with more than 1,100 affiliates, we feel this is a strong indication that the value of getting content, technology, and ad sales in a single video solution makes great sense for AP member websites."

Market research just released by Pew Internet and the Online Publishers Association shows that home broadband access is at an all time high and growing and news consumption increasingly favors online video. These two trends continue to provide an opportunity for AP members to generate more web audience and incremental revenue with the AP OVN product.

"More and more people are going online to watch news; for many it is the preferred way to get news. The Associated Press is changing the face of news for its members and helping them to meet demands of a diversifying news viewing audience; Microsoft is thrilled with the adoption of the Online Video Service.”said Todd Herman, director of advertising and business strategy for MSN Entertainment and Video at Microsoft Corp.

About The Associated Press
The Associated Press is the world's oldest and largest newsgathering organization, providing content to more than 15,000 news outlets with a daily reach of 1 billion people. AP's multimedia services are distributed by satellite and the Internet to more than 120 countries. See details at http://www.ap.org and on the AP Online Video Network promo page at http://www.ap.org/ovn