• by Karl Greenberg , November 13, 2006

Captivate Network, a Westford, Mass.-based division of Gannett, is on a roll. It has signed new programming partners, and will also start streaming live news today for the first time. The company--which places video news and marketing content in elevators in 23 markets, with 2.3 million viewers a day, per Captivate estimates--will run breaking news from 11 new partners.

The new partners--which will provide business and financial news, world news, and political and lifestyle stories, among others--include Conde Nast Traveler, The Learning Channel, Wired.com, CNET.com, Discovery Channel, Salon.com, and Space.com.

Mike DiFranza, president and general manager of Captivate, said 57% of Captivate viewers use the network as their primary source of news during the day. "We have two media partner models," he says. "One that guarantees carriage rights. In other situations, they will be programming partners we will choose when appropriate."

Based on the programming schedule, the live news comes from sources such as CNN and USA Today. "We used to publish news throughout the day with a time lag. Then a year ago, we started a network upgrade that put buildings on high-speed data and updated the software to make simultaneous news distribution possible."

He said Captivate ad partnerships and revenue have been growing rapidly. Federal Express recently began advertising on Captivate. "It's a function of what's going on in the market in general," says DiFranza.

Gannett--which reported third-quarter operating revenue of $1.19 billion, an increase of 2.7% versus the quarter last year--acquired Captivate in 2004.