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Internet Initiative Japan Inc. is new streaming partner of Berlin Phil Media GmbH

Agreement finalised on technological development of the Digital Concert Hall of the Berliner Philharmoniker

Berlin / Tokyo, 8 April, 2016
Internet Initiative Japan Inc.
Berlin Phil Media GmbH

As of 1 January 2016, the companies Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (IIJ, NASDAQ: IIJI, TSE: 3774) and Berlin Phil Media GmbH have entered into a collaboration. As the streaming partner, IIJ will support the technological and financial development of the Digital Concert Hall, operated by Berlin Phil Media, which has been broadcasting concerts of the Berliner Philharmoniker in sound and high definition video since 2009.

The focus of the cooperation is the pioneering streaming of high-quality content. The following projects are in preparation:

  • The establishment of a platform for high-resolution audio (“HiRes audio”) within the Digital Concert Hall which will allow releases of the Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings label to be accessed in uncompressed studio quality. This service was launched in Japan on 8 April 2016 and will be available in other countries in future.
  • In Japan, IIJ will exclusively show live recordings of the Berliner Philharmoniker on the online platform PrimeSeat, an audio streaming service in HiRes quality. The first broadcast will be transmitted on 16 April 2016.
  • The transmission of video streams of the Digital Concert Hall will be introduced using IIJ’s cloud network.

Other innovative projects will include streaming in the new Ultra HD format 4K2K, binaural recordings and the many possibilities of virtual reality.

Internet Initiative Japan Inc., founded in 1992, is one of the world’s leading network solutions providers. One of the company’s main activities is top quality audio streaming. In cooperation with the Berliner Philharmoniker, IIJ successfully conducted a public streaming test with an audio signal in Double-rate DSD 5.6MHz format in April 2015. In December of the same year, the company launched the online platform PrimeSeat. This HiRes audio streaming service also marks the entry of IIJ into the music streaming market.

Berlin Phil Media, a subsidiary of the Berliner Philharmoniker Foundation, is responsible for the media production and online communication of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In 2009, the company launched the Digital Concert Hall video platform which presents their concerts in HD video. In the Digital Concert Hall, 50 live concerts are broadcast annually and its archive currently offers around 400 concerts. Berlin Phil Media has engaged with high-resolution audio since the founding of the orchestra’s own label, Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings, in 2014. Its product range includes high-resolution audio recordings on Blu-ray and as downloads.

About IIJ

Founded in 1992, IIJ is one of Japan's leading Internet-access and comprehensive network solutions providers. IIJ and its group companies provide total network solutions that mainly cater to high-end corporate customers. IIJ's services include high-quality Internet connectivity services, systems integration, cloud computing services, security services and mobile services. Moreover, IIJ has built one of the largest Internet backbone networks in Japan that is connected to the United States, the United Kingdom and Asia. IIJ was listed on the U.S. NASDAQ Stock Market in 1999 and on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2006.

The statements within this release contain forward-looking statements about our future plans that involve risk and uncertainty. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results. Readers are referred to the documents furnished by Internet Initiative Japan Inc. with the SEC, specifically the most recent reports on Forms 20-F and 6-K, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

For inquiries, contact

IIJ Corporate Communications

Berlin Phil Media GmbH
Tobias Möller
Head of Marketing and Communications

Leipziger Platz 1, 10117 Berlin

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