AOL LLC today announced that it has acquired broadband video advertising innovator Lightningcast, Inc. of Washington, D.C.

AOL's acquisition agreement with Lightningcast is dated May 5th, and closed on May 17th. Financial terms were not disclosed. Lightningcast was previously privately held.

Founded in 1999, Lightningcast and its 34 employees - led by CEO Tom MacIsaac - will continue its current operations and work on behalf of clients as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Advertising.com of Baltimore, Maryland, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AOL LLC. Lightningcast will continue to be based in Washington, D.C.

Lightningcast is the industry leader in broadband video and audio ad insertion and campaign management. The Company pioneered the development of solutions for delivering advertising into on-demand, live, and downloaded video content across the web. Lightningcast's technology platform provides flexible solutions to owners and distributors of broadband video and audio content including seamless ad insertion, campaign management, and reporting. At the same time, Lightningcast has developed strong, established relationships with a diverse base of publishers, including some of the web's leading online companies and destinations, who license its technology for use on their own web sites.

In addition, earlier this year Lightningcast launched the "InStream" video advertising network, which allows Lightningcast to expand its role in providing managed insertion of streaming media advertising and reporting by becoming a direct seller of streaming media inventory (across its third party network) to advertisers.

Since 2002, AOL has successfully used Lightningcast's platform, first for audio (AOL Radio) and later for video streaming advertisements (AOL Video) – partnering on such innovative, groundbreaking projects as the recently launched broadband network, "In2TV", from AOL and Warner Bros.

AOL LLC will now merge Lightningcast streaming media technology and advertising network operations under Advertising.com within AOL's Audience business unit. Advertising.com's newly launched pre-roll video network and the InStream network will merge, operating under the InStream name. The combined network will comprise 300 websites and 175 million monthly streams. Advertisers will be able to target video campaigns across the network by behavior, demographic, content channel and more.

AOL's acquisition of Lightningcast will support Advertising.com's continued efforts to provide advertisers with a centralized resource for their online marketing needs. In addition to offering web, search and behavioral marketing solutions, Advertising.com created the first centralized network for the delivery of automated rich media campaigns, including floating, auto-expandable and sound-enabled creatives. Both the InStream network and Advertising.com's rich media network simplify the often complex planning, buying and execution processes for these more sophisticated ad formats.

"This acquisition will provide a huge infusion of talent, technology, and publisher relationships for Advertising.com at a time when streaming video is growing at a blistering pace," said Mike Kelly, President, AOL Media Networks, which oversees Advertising.com. "When we looked at the video ad market we identified and pursued the clear leader – Lightningcast. This acquisition will allow AOL and Advertising.com to continue to create cutting-edge ad solutions, own and further develop the leading strategic advertising platform, and set the course for the future of online video. The acquisition of Lightningcast is also an important component in furthering AOL's established leadership as the premier destination for video on the web."

"This acquisition brings together true pioneers in online advertising," says Tom Maclsaac, President and CEO of Lightningcast. "Advertising.com has always been ahead of the pack in interactive marketing, and Lightningcast has been the leading innovator in broadband video advertising. Now, we will be able to fully leverage Advertising.com's powerful sales team – and their expansive publisher base – to propel InStream forward as the dominant force in the streaming video advertising arena."

Lightningcast's existing InStream sales force will continue to focus exclusively on video, and work closely with the Advertising.com sales team to maximize the growing opportunities in video advertising. Lightningcast will also continue to build and expand its third-party video ad-serving business, which serves many of the leading online video publishers.

Other recent corporate acquisitions by AOL include Truveo, Inc. in December 2005, Music Now, LLC in November 2005, Weblogs, Inc. in October 2005, and Xdrive, Inc. and Wildseed, Ltd. in August 2005. AOL acquired Advertising.com in June 2004.

For more information on Lightningcast, please visit www.lightningcast.com.

About Lightningcast
Lightningcast is a leading provider of technology that enables broadband audio and video marketing, branding and advertising. Lightningcast's core ad management system helps customers manage and deliver targeted, audited audio and video advertising into audio and video content. Lightningcast also operates InStream, the first Internet ad network dedicated exclusively to broadband video advertising.

About Advertising.com
Advertising.com conducts strategic direct-response and brand marketing campaigns that guarantee bottom-line results for clients. From web ads to search listings, we offer diverse tactical tools, innovative thinking and the most expansive reach in the industry. Advertising.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL LLC. For more information, visit www.advertising.com.

About AOL LLC
AOL LLC and its subsidiaries operate a leading network of Web brands and the largest Internet access subscription service in the United States. Web brands include the AOL.com® website, AIM®, MapQuest® and Netscape®. AOL offers a range of digital services in the areas of education, safety and security, communications and music. The company also has operations in Europe and Canada. AOL, which is based in Dulles, Va., is a majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX).