2010-02-03 14:28:07 -

NBC Universal Interactive and KickApps, the industry's first complete Social Software solution today announced a broad licensing agreement including the latest version of the award winning App Studio and recently released Premium Social Video platform.

Expanding on an existing relationship with NBC Local Media, the new agreement includes full access to the KickApps platform for a variety of NBC Universal sites, including a unique socially driven fan site launching from Telemundo in the coming months. Using the KickApps platform will allow NBC Universal to launch increasingly socially integrated site and video features, driving deeper user engagement and interest in their world-class content.

”We’re really excited about the KickApps App Studio- it’s by far the most advanced solution we’ve seen for publishing and

managing social media, and it’s going to make a huge difference in our ability to quickly build and launch socially powered sites for our brands,” said Marc Siry, SVP of Digital Products and Services for NBC Universal.
“Additionally, their support for the Open Source Media Framework was a key differentiator in our decision to work with KickApps for our premium social video needs- we truly believe it will help us innovate quickly for our brand and advertising partners.”

Using KickApps powered social media applications, the NBC’s local media markets, covering the top DMAs across the country [New York ( nbcnewyork.com : ), Los Angeles ( nbclosangeles.com : ), the Bay Area ( nbcbayarea.com : ), Washington, D.C. ( nbcwashington.com : ), San Diego ( nbcsandiego.com : ), Dallas/Ft. Worth ( nbcdfw.com : ), Philadelphia ( nbcphiladelphia.com : ) Chicago ( nbcchicago.com : ), Connecticut ( nbcconnecticut.com : ) and Miami ( nbcmiami.com : )] enabled local audience members to assign a Mood rating to content.

laughing, furious, bored, intrigued, sad or thrilled. Highly rated articles and the readership’s prevailing mood appear in the website’s header noting the mood and the article of the day that residents are most interested in, e.g. New York is furious about possible tax hikes.

Additionally, local audience members can share their local Moments in the “So My City” section, e.g. So New York, So Los Angeles and So Washington. The So My City section becomes a reflection of each community’s unique interests, likes and dislikes, and brings members together around their local community. Moments are submitted under one of three categories: ‘Check It,’ ‘Confess’ and ‘What The?’


"Media is in a transformative phase and we’re working hard to reinvent the local experience with our local NBC websites," said Robyn Peterson, NBC Universal Local Media. "The new websites create new ways to host the conversations that matter to our members and enable them to play a larger role in the stories themselves. Reader input and content gives our editorial and business teams a lot of insight into our audience and enables us to create better content and programming and more effective advertising opportunities."


Local members can upload their Moments as text micro-blogs with photos and video.

NBC Local Media attributes the growth of sites such as nbcnewyork.com : (WNBC-TV), nbcchicago.com : (WMAQ-TV) and nbcphiladelphia.com : (WCAU-TV) to the inclusion of more social-media tools, allowing visitors to interact with one another and the content on the site.



- Visitors to the 10 Web sites doubled from 6 million in Nov. 2008 to 12 million in Oct. 2009.


- Page views are up 296 percent from 29 million to 113 million


“Our partnership with NBC Universal marks the culmination of what was a tremendous year for KickApps,” said Alex Blum CEO of KickApps. “Our business experienced explosive growth in 2009 reflecting the near universal adoption of social experiences as baseline functionality for most sites and the acknowledgement that KickApps has delivered a differentiated approach to customizing, deploying and managing a broad range of social media and video applications.”


About KickApps

An award winning Social Software Platform, KickApps provides on-demand social media, online video and widget applications that enable web publishers and marketers to drive deeper customer relationships, and grow, engage and monetize online audiences. Its SaaS platform includes a suite of applications that include, social networking, user-generated content, programmable social video players, drag-and-drop widget building, WidgeADs™ and many others that are tightly integrated with robust media moderation, member management and reporting. Customers include: NBC Universal, ProSieben, Guinness World Records, Scripps Network Interactive, HBO, Cinemax, Cox Television, the Phoenix Suns, the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers and thousands of other web sites.
For more information, visit www.kickapps.com : and www.kickdeveloper.com :



About NBC Universal:

NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks.



For Press inquiries:KickAppsDavid Lapter, 212-730-2959 Dlapter@kickapps.com : mailto:Dlapter@kickapps.com