Granite Broadcasting to Integrate Ad-backed E-mail into TV Station Sites

Granite Broadcasting Corp. and CHEK Inc. formed a new media alliance to jointly provide free Web-based email on all of Granite’s television station Web sites.

The service will allow users to send and receive email free-for-life >from any computer via any Web browser, the companies said. Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

The new service is expected to increase traffic on each of Granite’s 10 TV station Web sites since users access the account from the stations’ homepages. Each email template will be branded with the station’s identity and the stations will offer banner advertising on the templates. Granite will promote the new service on its television station Web sites, as well as through broadcasts of 30-second promotional spots in each of its markets.

“This alliance represents another avenue for increasing traffic on our TV station Web sites,” said Stuart J. Beck, president of Granite Broadcasting. “The combination of free email and access to local news content provides Internet users with a one-stop source for a large portion of their daily information and communications needs. We believe the growth potential of this resource is enormous7”

CHEK Inc., founded in 1997, is an Internet communications firm specializing in the development of Internet applications.

Granite operates 11 television stations in geographically diverse markets reaching 7 percent of the nation’s television households.