InfoSpace Develops Financial Interactive TV Technology for Bloomberg Television
Expanded Interactive TV Experience Soon to be Available to Bloomberg's Worldwide Audience
BELLEVUE, Wash. and NEW YORK, Jan 24, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- InfoSpace, Inc. (Nasdaq: INSP chart, msgs), a leading global provider of cross-platform merchant and consumer infrastructure services on wireless, broadband, and narrowband platforms, and BLOOMBERG TELEVISION(R), the worldwide business news and information network, today announced a technology development agreement. InfoSpace will develop and deliver a customized interactive TV (iTV) application that enhances the Bloomberg TV viewing experience through interactive access to a personalized stock portfolio and other compelling functions.
(Photo:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000420/INFOLOGO )
Under the terms of the agreement, InfoSpace will develop a private-labeled Bloomberg iTV product that will be delivered across multiple iTV platforms, including WebTV, Microsoft TV, Liberate Technologies, and other platforms that utilize the ATVEF (Advanced Television Enhancement Forum) standard.
The Bloomberg iTV application will be integrated directly into the Bloomberg broadcast signal via ATVEF triggers, which will launch an interactive viewing experience. In conjunction with the Bloomberg broadcast, users will be able to quickly and easily access market information (including major indices, most actives and treasury markets); world, technology and business news; a personalized stock snapshot; stock quotes; company research; and more.
"Through this key agreement with Bloomberg, InfoSpace extends its broadband services and interactive television applications to a recognized global brand and massive audience," said Michael Riccio, InfoSpace executive vice president, broadband. "We are very pleased to be working with Bloomberg and look forward to bringing their large financial audience a compelling, interactive solution."
"Bloomberg Television is committed to providing viewers with the best business and financial information," said Katherine Oliver, general manager of Bloomberg Television and Radio. "By utilizing InfoSpace's interactive TV technology, Bloomberg Television can deliver a better broadcast for our viewers."
About BLOOMBERG TELEVISION
BLOOMBERG TELEVISION is broadcast internationally in seven languages through ten networks distributing 24-hour news and information emphasizing business and the financial markets. It reaches a worldwide audience of 200 million people. Bloomberg Television is backed by BLOOMBERG NEWS, a wire service with over 1,000 reporters in 79 different bureaus around the world.
About InfoSpace, Inc.
InfoSpace is a leading global provider of cross-platform merchant and consumer infrastructure services on wireless, broadband, and narrowband platforms. The company provides commerce, information, and communication infrastructure services to wireless devices, merchants, and Web sites. InfoSpace's partners encompass a global network of wireless, PC, and non-PC devices, including cellular phones, pagers, screen telephones, television set-top boxes, online kiosks and personal digital assistants. InfoSpace has relationships with AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Intel, Virgin Mobile, Verizon Wireless, Hasbro, National Discount Brokers, and Bloomberg LLC, among others. InfoSpace's affiliate network also consists of more than 3,200 Web sites that include AOL, Microsoft, Disney's GO Network, NBC's Snap, Lycos, and ABC LocalNet. InfoSpace is also positioned to tap the market for broadband wired (DSL and cable) and broadband wireless (2.5G and 3G) services, such as interactive gaming, television and other entertainment services. In addition, the company recently added back-end payment processing to InfoSpace's existing commerce services, allowing InfoSpace to offer everything a merchant needs to conduct the entire lifecycle of a transaction, one of the key drivers of mobile commerce adoption.
This release contains forward-looking statements relating to the development of the company's products and services and future operating results that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. The words "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," variations of such words, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Factors that could affect the Company's actual results include the progress and costs of the development of our products and services and the timing of market acceptance of those products and services. A more detailed description of certain factors that could affect actual results include, but are not limited to, those discussed in InfoSpace's Annual Report on Form 10-K, in the section entitled "Factors Affecting InfoSpace's Operating Results, Business Prospects and Market Price of Stock Risk Factors." Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. InfoSpace undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
CONTACT: Steve Stratz of InfoSpace, Inc., 206-357-4104, or steve.stratz@infospace.com; or Chris Taylor of Bloomberg Television, 212-318-2660, or taylorc@bloomberg.net.
Source: InfoSpace, Inc. |
