Live Nation Entertainment Inc (LYV)

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Live Nation and Comcast Announce Naming Agreement for Hartford's Premiere Music Venue - 'Comcast Theatre'
Date : 04/15/2009 @ 7:00AM
Source : PR Newswire
Stock : (LYV)
Quote : 3.945 0.465 (13.36%) @ 2:58PM


Live Nation and Comcast Announce Naming Agreement for Hartford's Premiere Music Venue - 'Comcast Theatre'





HARTFORD, Conn., April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast, the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communications, and Live Nation, the world's largest live music company, today announced a seven year partnership that gives Comcast the naming rights to the former New England Dodge Music Center located in Hartford, Connecticut. Starting with the opening of this summer's concert season, the amphitheater will be called the Comcast Theatre.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090415/NE99049 )

"We are excited to join with Live Nation to place our name on one of the most-loved entertainment venues in Connecticut," said Michael Parker, Area Vice President for Comcast in Connecticut. "As we continue to invest and grow throughout the state, this partnership underscores our long-term commitment to delivering an unparalleled entertainment experience to our local customers."

The Comcast Theatre, owned and operated by Live Nation, can accommodate 25,000 people and hosts approximately 20 concerts per year. Some of the well-known acts on this summer's lineup include Nickelback, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Coldplay, Phish, Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and Dave Matthews Band, with many more expected to be announced shortly.

"Comcast recognizes that our live music platform is a unique and powerful way to reach their customers," said Jim Koplik, Chairman of Live Nation's Northeast Region. "Brands like Comcast realize that an association with live music is impactful and drives their business. On the heels of a record year in 2008 at this venue, and with concert attendance looking very strong for the coming season, we are seeing a very healthy appetite for these kinds of sponsorship deals despite the current economic downturn."

With more than 1,300 employees in Connecticut, Comcast has made significant investments throughout the state, offering the most advanced services over its fiber-optic network, including high definition television, video-on-demand, digital video recorders, high-speed Internet and phone services. Additionally, Comcast operates two call centers in the state, including a state-of-the-art facility in Enfield that opened in 2007 as part of Comcast's commitment to its local customers. The company is also proud of its partnership with the 83 Connecticut communities it serves, contributing grants to non-profit organizations, in-kind services like high-speed Internet and cable television to schools, libraries and Boys & Girls Clubs and volunteer hours. Last May, over 1,000 of Comcast's Connecticut employees participated in the company's annual Comcast Cares Day, volunteering for Comcast's company-wide day of service at seven nonprofit organizations throughout Connecticut. The company is gearing up for this year's Comcast Cares Day, which will take place this year on Saturday, April 25.

About Live Nation

Live Nation's mission is to maximize the live concert experience. Our core business is producing, marketing and selling live concerts for artists via our global concert pipe. Live Nation is the largest producer of live concerts in the world, annually producing over 22,000 concerts for 1,600 artists in 33 countries. During 2008, the company sold over 50 million concert tickets and drove over 70 million unique visitors to LiveNation.com. Live Nation is transforming the concert business by expanding its concert platform into ticketing and building the industry's first artist-to-fan vertically integrated concert platform. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol LYV. For additional information about the company, please visit http://www.livenation.com/investors.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (http://www.comcast.com/) is the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communication products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 14.9 million high-speed Internet customers and 6.5 million Comcast Digital Voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, ten sports networks operated by Comcast Sports Group and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet businesses, including Comcast.net (http://www.comcast.net/). Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

Comcast serves more than 550,000 customers in Connecticut and employs 1,300 individuals.

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090415/NE99049

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DATASOURCE: Comcast Cable


CONTACT: Kristen Roberts, [phone],

, or Laura Brubaker, [phone],

, both of Comcast; or Jim Bozzi of Live

Nation, [phone] x207,


Web Site: http://www.comcast.com/