Airing March 20-21 On DIRECTV's The 101® Network
Among the Many Acts Performing During the Two-Day DIRECTV Broadcast are Airborne Toxic Event, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Juliette Lewis and the New Romantiques, Lenka, The Oak Ridge Boys and Tinted Windows;Additional Acts to be Announced
March 05, 2009, EL SEGUNDO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DIRECTV, the nation's leading satellite television provider, is heading to Austin, Texas' trendsetting South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival for a third year to bring DIRECTV customers SXSW Live, a live television broadcast of the celebrated music event airing exclusively on DIRECTV's original entertainment channel, The 101® Network. The special, broadcasting live in HD and 5.1 surround sound, airs March 20-21 beginning at 5 p.m. EDT.
Hosts Matt Pinfield and Robin Dorian will take viewers through two full days of festival coverage and live performances. Confirmed acts at press time include The Airborne Toxic Event, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters, Carlene Carter, Ed Harcourt, Echo and the Bunnymen, Forever The Sickest Kids, Juliette Lewis and the New Romantiques, Lenka, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Proclaimers, Shiny Toy Guns, Shwayze, Solange Presents Sol-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams, Third Eye Blind, Tinted Windows and The Von Bondies. Additional acts will be announced in the coming weeks.
In addition to more than 16 live concert performances, the special will also include backstage interviews with the industry's hottest up-and-coming and established artists, behind-the-scenes coverage and remote reporting from hot spots throughout the festival - all designed to make viewers feel as if they are at the festival itself.
"For the third year in a row, DIRECTV customers will be able to experience SXSW Live with a front-row seat and an exclusive look into one of the premier music festivals in the world," said Eric Shanks, executive vice president of Entertainment for DIRECTV. "Not only is this larger-than-life television special another free perk that only DIRECTV customers get to experience, there's the added enjoyment of seeing many up-and-coming acts in their first television appearance ever before taking the next step to stardom."
"We are thrilled to continue our annual partnership with DIRECTV for this special live broadcast event," said Roland Swenson, managing director of SXSW Festivals and Conferences. "Advancing our long tradition of innovation, DIRECTV allows us to offer an amazing quantity and quality of video and sound coverage on multiple platforms live from our event. SXSW Live elevates our festival above and beyond the expected, making the SXSW experience available to millions of people around the world."
The broadcasts will originate from updated state-of-the-art venues featuring The Bat Bar, a modern music club, and the traditional Lonestar Lounge. Both venues have been constructed from the ground up in the Austin Convention Center to host the exclusive SXSW Live performances on DIRECTV.
Last year's show featured rising superstar Katy Perry, British hip-hop sensation Dizzee Rascal, renowned producer/songwriter Daniel Lanois, English popsters The Ting Tings and legendary Los Angeles punk rockers X. The inaugural broadcast in 2007 included indie rockers The Bravery, Swedish hipsters Peter, Bjorn & John, infamous reggae and dub music pioneer Lee "Scratch" Perry and punk godfathers The Buzzcocks.
SXSW Live is produced through a partnership with the SXSW Music and Media Conference, Blaze TV (www.blaze.tv) and DIRECTV. The show is created, produced and directed by Conor McAnally.
Those without DIRECTV still have time to sign up for the nation's leading satellite service in time to enjoy the special by calling 1-800-DIRECTV or visiting www.directv.com.
For more information on the SXSW Music Conference, please visit: http://2009.sxsw.com/music. For more information on SXSW Live, please visit: www.sxswlive.com.
About DIRECTV, Inc.
DIRECTV, Inc. (NASDAQ:DTV), the nation's leading satellite television service provider, presents the finest television experience available to more than 17.6 million customers in the United States and is leading the HD revolution with more than 130 HD channels. Each day, DIRECTV subscribers enjoy access to over 265 channels of 100% digital picture and sound, exclusive programming, industry-leading customer satisfaction (which has surpassed national cable companies for eight years running) and superior technologies that include advanced DVR and HD-DVR services and the most state-of-the-art interactive sports packages available anywhere. For the most up-to-date information on DIRECTV, please visit directv.com.
About SXSW
South By Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media Conference, taking place March 18-22, 2009, features a legendary festival showcasing more than 1,800 musical acts of all genres from around the globe on over eighty stages in downtown Austin. By day, the Austin Convention Center comes alive with conference registrants doing business in the Trade Show and partaking of a full agenda of informative, provocative panel discussions featuring hundreds of speakers of international stature. In its 23rd year, SXSW remains an essential event on the music industry calendar. For more information, access our website at http://sxsw.com.
Contacts
The Lippin Group
Paki Newell, Lauren Kelcher
323-965-1990
pnewell@lippingroup.com
lkelcher@lippingroup.com
or
DIRECTV
Darris Gringeri
212-205-0882
dagringeri@directv.com
