SOURCE: TV Worldwide

June 26, 2007 07:33 ET

TV Worldwide Launches Famous 'Victory at Sea' TV Series Free Online at Maritime TV

First Unlimited Online Access to Complete Historic Television Series Featured on TV Worldwide's Internet TV Channel, Maritime TV, Highlighting "Tell America" Campaign for U.S. Merchant Fleet (www.MaritimeTV.com)

CHANTILLY, VA--(Marketwire - June 26, 2007) - As part of the "Tell America" Internet TV campaign to draw attention to the importance of the U.S. flag merchant shipping fleet, TV Worldwide's Internet TV channel for the maritime industry, Maritime TV (www.MaritimeTV.com) announced the launch of the first free, unlimited online access to the historic 'Victory at Sea' TV Series. With special highlighting of those episodes featuring the Merchant Marine's role in World War II, Maritime TV is providing access to the complete 26-episode series, one of the most ambitious documentary undertakings of early network television, pioneering the TV genre of compilation documentaries. 'Victory at Sea' originally was aired by NBC on Sunday afternoons, starting October 26, 1952, ending May 3, 1953 and featured the music of Broadway composer Richard Rodgers.

The announcement comes on the heels of Maritime TV's "Tell America" presentation of several event webcasts (www.TellAmericaTV.com), including the 74th observance of National Maritime Day, May 22nd, 2007, where representatives from the U.S. government, Congress, industry management and labor organizations, united in appealing for what one dignitary termed a "revolution" to address a "looming transportation crisis" in the maritime industry. Most recently, on June 18th, Maritime TV featured the live webcast of Senator John McCain's commencement address to the United States Merchant Marine Academy's class of 2007.

"History repeats itself," stated Dave Gardy, Chairman and CEO of TV Worldwide, the parent network of Maritime TV. "We are pleased to bring the historic 'Victory at Sea' TV series to the Internet for free access, to allow students, industry observers and the general public to see the important role played by the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II, and highlight crucial policy lessons for our nation to this day. History also repeats itself from a TV perspective...in addition to being the first compilation documentary, if one considers relevance to today's online vernacular, 'Victory at Sea' was probably the first-recorded 'Mashup' video."

Maritime TV is planning a special salute to U.S. Merchant Marine veterans during TV Worldwide's official webcast of the National Capital Fireworks Celebration on July 4th for the satellite and web viewing of troops overseas around the globe in cooperation with the National Park Service. Maritime TV launched the "Tell America" webcast campaign in response to a groundswell of support from all sectors of the industry to get the word out to Americans on the critical importance of the unheralded U.S. merchant fleet. Few know that in World War II, German Submarines (U-boats) sank U.S. merchant ships at such an alarming rate that the overall the rate of death for the Merchant Marine was one in 26, the highest rate of any of the wartime services.

During one recent Maritime TV webcast, Congressman Elijah Cummings (MD, 7th District), Chairman of the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee saluted attending Merchant Mariners. "Unfortunately, despite their significant contributions to our national defense and to our economy, our Merchant Mariners and our maritime industries are almost invisible in our nation," remarked Cummings. "I just wanted to come by here to honor you, to honor you for doing what you have done for this country. No one may ever come and say to you, 'thank you for the job you did.' Thank you for leaving your family and putting your life on the line."

"We been overwhelmed with support for our 'Tell America' campaign to let mainstream America know about the importance of the U.S. maritime industry and the extraordinary economic and security challenges this industry faces today," stated Dave Gardy, CEO of the Maritime TV's parent network, TV Worldwide. "The 'Tell America' webcast campaign will extend through the summer and beyond, depending on sponsor support, with compelling live and interactive programming for audiences ranging from school students to government and industry professionals."

The free Maritime TV live and archived webcast content such as 'Victory at Sea' and other events surrounding the "Tell America" campaign are available for viewing at www.MaritimeTV.com. The next "Tell America" event, the official webcast of the National Capital Fireworks Celebration on July 4th with a salute to the U.S. Merchant Marine, will begin at 8:30 PM ET, Wednesday, July 4th. Participants should have the free Windows Media Player installed prior to viewing the event. Questions can be directed to 703-961-9250, ext. 235.

About TV Worldwide and Maritime TV

As a pioneering global Internet broadcasting and streaming media company, TV Worldwide (www.tvworldwide.com) developed the first Internet TV network of community-based Internet TV channels, including Maritime TV (www.MaritimeTV.com). Each channel serves targeted, special interest demographic audiences worldwide, ranging from the community of people with disabilities to the Homeland Defense industry. Fortune 500 companies, 15 federal government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, and numerous International Associations, including the National Association of Broadcasters, use TV Worldwide's live and archived state-of-the-art video streaming content applications and Internet TV channels. In recognition of the company's unique achievements in new media, TV Worldwide was selected by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) to webcast the 58th annual Emmy awards for Technology and Engineering in December of 2006. TV Worldwide has been named one of the streaming video industry's "Hottest Streaming Companies" by Streaming Magazine and CEO Dave Gardy was honored by the magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Streaming Media. Mr. Gardy also currently serves as the President of the International Webcasting Association (IWA) (www.webcasters.org).