News / Business
Classical TV Launches
On-Demand Access to the Richest Array of Free and Pay-Per-View Performing Arts Online
Classical TV Launches Premiere Destination for
The Greatest Performing Arts Online
Offering Unprecedented On-Demand Access to the Richest Array of Free and Pay-Per-View Performing Arts Online at www.ClassicalTV.com
Launch celebrated with limited time free streaming of Salzburg Festival Opening Gala July 30th
“The online performing arts showcase many of us have been dreaming of.”
-- James Wolcott, VanityFair.com
On July 23rd, Classical TV announces the launch of a website with the mission to offer no less than the greatest performing arts online—a library of full-length videos of opera, ballet, drama, jazz, pop and documentaries available for streaming online to home computer and entertainment systems. The site offers both an exclusive library of videos of performing arts events available for unlimited free streaming along with frequent pay-per-view special events: hot-ticket current season performances from the world's great opera houses, theaters, and concert halls for $4.99 or $9.99 for a 72-hour pass.
Unparalleled Library of Exclusive Content, Unprecedented Access to Everyone
Classical TV currently features over 250 hours of free content out of the 1200 hours of material it has acquired and is regularly adding to the site. These include performances from the world’s most prestigious stages such as New York's Metropolitan Opera House, St. Petersburg's Mariinsky (Kirov) Theater, Chatelet Theatre Paris, the Salzburg Festival and many others. Artists featured include Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Anna Netrebko, Roberto Alagna, Martha Argerich, Pierre Boulez, Lionel Hampton and many more.
This rich collection of material ranges from classic performers of the mid-20th century like Maria Callas to highlights from the current season such as Doctor Atomic offered as a high definition stream from the Metropolitan Opera. In addition to these bright stars and famed performing arts venues, Classical TV offers up treasures from the archives that have rarely been seen but are now available to a worldwide audience. Never before has this material been so widely available, on-demand, to worldwide audiences at little or no cost.
New pay-per-view performances will be offered at least once each week. Upcoming special events at www.ClassicalTV.com, priced at $4.99 or $9.99, include high definition streams from the Metropolitan Opera’s 2008-2009 season such as La Sonnambula with Juan Diego Florez and Natalie Dessay, and Thaïs with Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson plus Eugene Onegin from the Bolshoi Opera, Giselle from Dutch National Ballet, Peer Gynt from the Zurich Opera and much more.
Editorial Content from Renowned Arts Journalists
Classical TV also offers a wealth of lively and informative exclusive editorial content including feature articles, topical playlists, insider columns, and cultural news that give fresh insights into the world of classical performance and context for Classical TV’s vast library. Classical TV's roster of commentators includes some of the most respected cultural journalists including David Shengold, Vivien Schweitzer, Claudia La Rocco, Glenn Kurtz and Robert J. Hughes (whose Classical TV blog Hughes Views offers his unique perspective on the latest news from the current cultural scene).
Classical TV Offers Viewers Pay-per-View Content Free on Special Launch Weekends
To celebrate the launch, Classical TV will invite viewers to experience the site by offering limited-time free access to the Opening Gala of the 2009 Salzburg Festival, exclusively available from Classical TV. This concert – featuring the Vienna Philharmonic led by Nikolaus Harnoncourt performing waltzes and polkas by Josef Strauss and Schubert’s Eighth Symphony – will usually be available on the site for $9.99 for a 72-hour stream. From July 30th to August 1st, viewers will have free front-row access to this performance from the world’s most prestigious classical music festival just days after the event takes place in Vienna’s Great Festival Hall.
In the months of August and September, Classical TV will continue to offer limited-time free access to two special presentations showcasing the breadth and depth of its pay-per-view library. From August 13th-16th viewers will be able to access an exclusive free preview of the Best of the Montreux: Three Legends. This production offers classic performances from the world renowned Jazz Festival by Nina Simone (from 1976), Johnny Cash (1994) and Ray Charles (1997). Pavarotti – The Duets: The Best of Pavarotti and Friends will be available free from September 3rd-7th and features the celebrated tenor performing with Elton John, Bono, Andrea Bocelli, Sting, Mariah Carey, and Celine Dion. These performances are highlights from the series of United Nations charity concerts Pavarotti held each year in his home town of Modena, Italy to benefit War Child, and victims of war and civil unrest in Bosnia, Guatemala, Kosovo, and Iraq. Normally $9.99 each for a 72 hour stream, both of these presentations will be offered to viewers free on these Classical TV launch weekends.
Classical TV Sees Remarkable Audience Growth
In the three months since going live, Classical TV has seen remarkable audience growth of 20-50% each week as viewers discover both the free and pay-per-view event offerings exclusively available on Classical TV. Viewers hail from the United Kingdom, United States, Russia, Korea, Brazil, the Netherlands, Canada and many other nations across the globe.
The People Behind Classical TV
Classical TV was founded by eminent classical music entrepreneur Chris Hunt, founder of Online Classics, four-time Emmy winner and President of classical music’s international media association the IMZ. He describes the inspiration behind Classical TV: “We created Classical TV to synch with the freedom consumers expect nowadays to connect with programming they want, wherever and whenever they want – at home, on their phones, in the office, as well as in the concert hall.”
“There is a wealth of terrific opera, ballet and concerts that have been filmed but are inaccessible to most people. When can you ever see them on television? So my plan has been to offer as wide access as possible, so that people can watch what they want when they want, and for free. We also show videos of very recent productions, including many current season operas from the Met, so that were are really offering a free or cheap ticket to the opera without having to leave your living room. No buying expensive seats, travelling to the opera – which to see our new selection would also involve a lot of plane journeys – just easy access for everyone. Classical TV uses new-media technology to fulfill the age-old promise of the arts for everybody.”
Estée Lauder and TD Ameritrade Join Classical TV as Charter Sponsors
Classical TV is launching with Estée Lauder and TD Ameritrade as Charter Sponsors and will soon be announcing others. There has been strong interest from upscale marketers looking for high quality online video advertising opportunities and the Classical TV audience is deeply engaged with this unique and highly desired content.
###
Contact:
Rebecca Davis
347.432.8832
