SEATTLE, WA (Marketwire) April 27, 2009 - Wetpaint, the leader in fan-powered websites, announced today that virtual attendees to the "Deadliest Catch CatchCon" outnumbered in person attendees five to one, making it the largest virtual fansite convention ever. Thousands of fans tuned in live and viewed replays of fan-generated coverage on the Official "Deadliest Catch" fansite run by Wetpaint. Fans participated in live blog posts, real-time quizzes, questionnaires, Twitter updates, and posted hundreds of photos and videos with attendees.

The success of the event in engaging the show's fans and connecting them with one another offline continues an exciting trend of users meeting online due to shared interests, and leveraging their passions to inspire real-world fandemonium.
Three fansite members were awarded the honor of 'roving reporters' and given free tickets to the event, held Saturday, April 25th in Seattle, along with the responsibility of uploading footage and stories about the event. Through Wetpaint's Official "Deadliest Catch" Fansite, remote fans were able to submit questions to pose to the captains and crew, to view pictures and videos of the event, and to add their perspectives about the show.

"Throughout our network of over 1.5 million fan sites, we've have seen how passionate fans can be about their favorite entertainment content and TV shows," said Rob Grady, SVP, Marketing, Wetpaint. "An event like this proves that fans are significantly more engaged than online friends -- they are motivated to take real-world action and pour their passion into their favorite brands, which creates incredibly fun experiences for them, and great value for entertainment brands."
All of the fan content from comments, photos, videos, quizzes, and more can be found at the Wetpaint "Deadliest Catch" fansite, http://www.deadliest-catch-wiki.discovery.com/page/CatchCon+2009

About Wetpaint: Wetpaint provides the leading platform for fans to easily create and participate in online communities around the topics they care about most. With the world's largest network of 1.5 million fan-powered websites and partnerships with major brands such as Dell, Discovery Channel, Fox, HBO, HP, HTC, Showtime, and T-Mobile, Wetpaint offers mainstream Internet users and businesses a turnkey solution for creating and fostering passionate communities that drive traffic and increase loyalty. For company information, visit www.wetpaint.com.