Comcast & SU2C Launch Video-On-Demand Effort To Broaden Awareness & Raise Funds For Cancer Research - Stand Up To Cancer

Press

Posted December 15, 2009

Comcast & SU2C Launch Video-On-Demand Effort To Broaden Awareness & Raise Funds For Cancer Research

“Stand Up 2 Cancer On Demand” Debuts on Comcast December 15th Bringing Exclusive Content, Extraordinary Line-up of Artists and New “Up 2” PSA Starring Renée Zellweger.December 15, 2009 – Comcast Corporation and Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) have joined together to create the first-ever video-on-demand (VOD) initiative Stand Up 2 Cancer On Demand to broaden awareness and raise critical funds for innovative cancer research.  Debuting exclusively on Comcast beginning December 15th, Stand Up 2 Cancer On Demand will feature an extraordinary library of musical entertainment including hundreds of music videos from many of the world’s biggest stars and groups.

Available for no additional cost to viewers in more than 18 million Comcast homes through March 14th, Stand Up 2 Cancer On Demand will feature more than 60 of the viewers’ favorite artists including Alicia Keys, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews Band, Norah Jones, Mariah Carey, Bon Jovi, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Idina Menzel, Jack Johnson, Sting, Renée Fleming, Plácido Domingo and other stars of the Metropolitan Opera.

In addition, viewers will be encouraged by numerous celebrity and notable participants to “stand up” to cancer and make a donation at “http://www.su2c.org/givehttp://www.su2c.org/give or call a dedicated 24/7 phone line that will appear during the On Demand music videos. Viewers will also be able to select content from the “A Reason 2 Give” folder [“On Demand”  > “Top Picks” > “SU2C” > “A Reason To Give”] and 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit Stand Up To Cancer’s collaborative scientific “Dream Teams” or innovative projects aimed at bringing better treatments to patients faster

“We are proud to come together with Stand Up To Cancer to harness the power and popularity of our On Demand service to drive awareness and provide people with this outlet to give,” said Diana Kerekes, Vice President, Video Content for Comcast.”

“Whether it’s how the research we fund is conducted, or how we engage the entertainment community, collaboration and innovation are Stand Up To Cancer’s twin mantras,” said Laura Ziskin, the highly-acclaimed film producer and a SU2C Founding Member. “Comcast partnered with us on something that has never been done before, and it involves actors, musicians and music labels who often compete with one another and are standing together in an effort to end this disease. We are deeply grateful not only to Comcast, but also to EMI Music, SONY Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and the Metropolitan Opera for making their incredible content available.”

The On Demand destination will also exclusively debut Stand Up To Cancer’s new public service announcement, entitled “Up2.”  Directed by filmmaker Jesse Dylan (Will.i.am’s iconic “Yes, We Can” video), the spot stars Renée Zellweger, Rob Lowe, Josh Groban, Derek Fisher, Michael Strahan, Minka Kelly, and Mandy Moore among many others, conveying the core message: it’s up to each of us to play a role in ending cancer. Legendary songwriter and musician Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) composed a powerful anthem entitled “Stand Up To Cancer” which he recorded multiple versions of for Stand Up 2 Cancer On Demand and SU2C’s “Up 2” campaign. One version includes a collaboration with Joss Stone and a separate instrumental version recorded by an orchestra led by Hans Zimmer and featuring violin virtuoso Anne Marie Calhoun, who co-wrote the track with Stewart.

“Cancer takes 1,500 lives every single day, that’s more than half a million Americans each year,” said Lisa Paulsen, President & CEO of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the 501(c)(3) charitable organization for the television and film business that serves as the fiduciary behind SU2C, who is also a Founding Member. “Stand Up To Cancer is building a grassroots movement of people who are saying, ‘enough is enough; I want to help the scientists working to end this disease.’ Through Comcast and the treasure trove of content that’s been assembled, we can organically reach people in more than 18 million homes to encourage them to join our movement.”

For a limited time, Stand Up 2 Cancer On Demand will feature holiday music selections including Bob Dylan’s comical new “Must Be Santa” video.  Stand Up 2 Cancer On Demand will also feature compelling entertainment clips and informative messages from scientists, as well as numerous celebrity and notable participants including Meryl Streep, Katie Couric, Brian Williams, Jon Stewart, Salma Hayek and the late Patrick Swayze. Celebrities ranging from the casts of TV shows shows like LOST and Brothers & Sisters, to an array of personalities including Dr. Oz, the E! News anchors and others are featured in special, tailored messages “wrapped around” the video content, each conveying why it is so important to support SU2C’s distinctive cancer research.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information and communication products and services. With 23.8 million cable customers, 15.7 million high-speed Internet customers, and 7.4 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 (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.

About Stand Up To Cancer

The Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) movement raises funds to hasten the pace of groundbreaking translational research that can get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives. SU2C is a program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) and was founded by a group of media, entertainment and philanthropic leaders whose lives have been affected by cancer in significant ways. The group includes Laura Ziskin, executive producer of Stand Up To Cancer’s historic September 5, 2008 telecast that aired simultaneously on ABC, CBS and NBC, and a cancer survivor; the Entertainment Industry Foundation, represented by Board of Directors Chairperson Sherry Lansing (Founder of the Sherry Lansing Foundation), CEO Lisa Paulsen and Vice President Kathleen Lobb; Katie Couric; Rusty Robertson and Sue Schwartz of the Robertson Schwartz Agency; Noreen Fraser, founder of the Noreen Fraser Foundation and a cancer survivor; nonprofit executive Ellen Ziffren. Diane Balma is Stand Up To Cancer’s Executive Director.

Founded in May, 2008, Stand Up To Cancer has raised more than $100 million, and provided funding to five Dream Teams comprised of over 200 exemplary scientists whose projects aim to produce results benefiting patients within the grants’ three-year term, as well as 13 young investigators whose innovative, “high risk/high reward” research would not likely receive funding from conventional sources. The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is Stand Up To Cancer’s partner, and is responsible for administering the grants, and—in conjunction with the SU2C Scientific Advisory Committee, led by Nobel Laureate Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and David H. Koch Institute at MIT—providing scientific oversight.

Major League Baseball was the lead donor to contribute to Stand Up To Cancer, and Sidney Kimmel, the country’s largest individual supporter of cancer research, pledged $25 million during last year’s telecast. Other major SU2C supporters include Amgen, AARP, Bloomberg Philanthropies, GlaxoSmithKline, Revlon, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Wallis Annenberg & The Annenberg Foundation, Alliance for Global Good, Milken Family Foundation, Philips Electronics, Steve Tisch, MasterCard Worldwide and many others. In addition to ABC, CBS and NBC, SU2C major media partners include AOL, Condé Nast Media Group, eBay Inc., Facebook, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Hearst Corporation, Los Angeles Times, Meredith Corporation, The New York Times Company, Time Inc, and WebMD.

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation

The Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), as a leading charitable organization of the entertainment industry, has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support programs addressing critical health, education and social issues.

For additional information on Stand Up To Cancer, please visit http://www.su2c.org

About the Stand Up To Cancer On Demand Production Team

Laura Ziskin – Executive Producer
Pamela Oas WiIliams – Executive Producer
Fred Siegel – Executive Consultant
Madeline Marotto – Co-Executive Producer
Bedonna Smith – Co-Executive Producer
Lanette Phillips – Producer
Susan Applegate – Co-Producer
Peter Baron – Music Curator/Record Label Liaison
Chelsea McNally – Production Manager
Alicia Clark – Assistant to Co-Executive Producers
Business & Legal Affairs: Henry W. Root, Esq. and Lynn Quarterman, Esq.
Business & Legal Affairs: J. Stephen Sheppard, Esq. and Andrea Cannistraci, Esq.
Music clearance by Winogradsky/Sobel
Production Company: Mighty 8 in association with Laura Ziskin Productions
Mighty 8 is a production company specializing in music videos, music related films and special projects.

Media Contacts:

Kathleen Lobb
Stand Up To Cancer
(212) 522-3231
klobb@eifoundation.org

Chet Mehta
ID
(323) 822-4871
cmehta@id-pr.com

Ellen Mellody

Comcast
(215) 286-4675
Ellen_mellody@comcast.com

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