NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Branded Cities Network ("Branded Cities"), Panasonic Eco Solutions North America ("Panasonic") and ABC Regional Sports & Entertainment Sales, ("ABC"), have created an alliance to upgrade and redesign the NASDAQ MarketSite Tower, one of the world's most photographed, iconic outdoor digital signs that serves as the epicenter for NASDAQ OMX news and events. Through this alliance, New York City's Times Square will be transformed using newly installed state-of-the-art technology with dynamic live content on the renowned seven-story NASDAQ MarketSite Tower. The giant, 10,800 square foot LED, located at the southeast corner of Broadway and 43^rd Street, has been a fixture in the Times Square landscape since 1999.

Through their recent strategic alliance, Branded Cities and ABC will jointly market and sell the iconic NASDAQ OMX digital signage. "Branded Cities and Panasonic have secured exclusive marketing rights to one of the most coveted marquee LEDs in the world and we look forward to marketing alongside NASDAQ OMX," said John Watkins, President, ABC National Television Sales.

Branded Cities operates several signs in New York City, and the marketing of the iconic NASDAQ OMX digital signage marks Branded Cities' much anticipated entry into Times Square. "The NASDAQ OMX sign is a landmark in New York City because of its uniqueness and location where both marketers and consumers can greatly benefit from the display. We will bring new, engaging ways of reaching consumers," said Steve Ellman, Chairman and CEO of Branded Cities Network.

"NASDAQ OMX has unmatched visibility assets and we are dedicated to continually enhancing our portfolio – which includes our MarketSite Tower – to ensure our issuers and member companies have a unique experience with one of the most celebrated and recognizable symbols in global capital markets," said Bruce Aust, Executive Vice President, Corporate Client Group, NASDAQ OMX. "We look forward to working with Branded Cities, Panasonic and ABC to maximize our signage, and to power it with cutting edge, state-of-the-art technology to benefit our customers and all visitors to Times Square."

In the coming months, Panasonic will replace the existing NASDAQ MarketSite sign with a new high resolution billboard that incorporates the latest outdoor surface-mount LED technology. The state-of-the-art display exceeds the 4K Ultra High Definition standard for vertical resolution and will feature advanced automated monitoring and diagnostics capability.

"The NASDAQ MarketSite is an iconic and ideal location and this project demonstrates Panasonic's ability to provide innovative, end-to-end solutions in the LED display industry together with its partners," said Jim Doyle, President of Panasonic Eco Solutions North America. "As people experience Times Square, the newly upgraded NASDAQ Tower display will bring a renewed meaning to 'seeing the bright lights of the big city' and greatly increase the visibility of the video content, benefitting events, news, and advertisers."

About Branded Cities Network

Branded Cities Network, a subsidiary of EL Media, is a fully integrated, digital, spectacular signage media company. BCN's current U.S. platform includes Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, Minneapolis and New York. EL Media's current platform, through its Canadian joint venture with Clear Channel Outdoor, includes Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton and Winnipeg. BCN is owned by The Ellman Companies and Cantor Fitzgerald. Ellman is a privately-owned media, real estate and investments company founded in 1972 with diverse ownership interests throughout the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean. For more information visit: www.brandedcities.com or www.ellmanco.com. Cantor Fitzgerald is a preeminent capital markets investment bank serving more than 5,000 institutional clients around the world, recognized for its strengths in fixed income and equity capital markets, investment banking services, prime brokerage and commercial real estate financing. For more information please visit: www.cantor.com.

About Panasonic Eco Solutions North America (Enterprise)

Panasonic Eco Solutions North America is a division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation. The company develops and provides customized and integrated technology-based system solutions for enterprise customers in a variety of industries such as sports, entertainment and digital outdoor. Additionally, the company supplies renewable energy and energy-efficiency solutions to corporate and public sector organizations. For more information visit: www.panasonic.com.

About ABC Regional Sports and Entertainment Sales

ABC Regional Sports and Entertainment Sales, a unit of ABC National Television Sales, is a leading advertising sales and marketing representative that provides its advertisers with access to consumers wherever they are: in the stores, on the streets, at home, on-line, in-stadium or in the car. ABC RSES currently represents numerous digital out of home media properties, the ESPN Owned Radio Stations and two 24/7 regional sports networks.  

In Times Square New York, ABC RSES represents several LED Spectacular Screens including The ABC SuperSign and The Disney Store Spectacular. ABC RSES and ABC National Television Sales are part of The Walt Disney Company. 

About NASDAQ OMX Group:

The inventor of the electronic exchange, The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., fuels economies and provides transformative technologies for the entire lifecycle of a trade - from risk management to trade to surveillance to clearing. In the U.S. and Europe, we own and operate 26 markets, 3 clearinghouses and 5 central securities depositories supporting equities, options, fixed income, derivatives, commodities, futures and structured products. Able to process more than 1 million messages per second at sub-40 microsecond speeds with 99.99% uptime, our technology drives more than 70 marketplaces in 50 developed and emerging countries into the future, powering 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Our award-winning data products and worldwide indexes are the benchmarks in the financial industry. Home to approximately 3,400 listed companies worth $6 trillion in market cap whose innovations shape our world, we give the ideas of tomorrow access to capital today. Welcome to where the world takes a big leap forward, daily. Welcome to the NASDAQ OMX Century. To learn more, visit nasdaqomx.com. Follow us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/NASDAQ) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx). (Symbol: NDAQ and member of S&P 500)