The Associated Press Launches Enhanced Celebrity News Service

The Associated Press (AP), the world’s largest news agency, has expanded its entertainment coverage with a new multi-million dollar investment in a celebrity service.

’Celebrity Extra’ (www.aptn.com/celebrityextra) focuses on A-list stars. A video version, launched on 6 August 2008, is aimed at the global broadcast and online markets. A photo version is due to launch in September 2008.

Celebrity Extra’s spotlight is on people rather than events, providing feature stories including backgrounds and profiles, scene-setters, fashion trends and behind-the-scenes access.

The services will complement AP’s existing market-leading coverage of Entertainment in video, photos and text.

To create the new content, AP has invested in additional staff and state-of-the-art video production technology in Los Angeles, New York and London.

Dan Becker, AP’s Director of Entertainment said: “Entertainment is a significant growth area – particularly for visual images of the top stars. We bring a unique combination of video, photos and text to the market, providing coverage with a global reach.”