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Entertainment Leaders Team With Exodus for Around-The-Clock Internet Hosting and Management
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 1999--
Summer 1999 Box Office Sales Hotter Than Ever;
From Columbia TriStarInteractive to AOL MovieFone,
Motion Picture Industry Serves Up Movie
Information and Ticket Sales Online
This summer, success on the silver screen is closely linked to
success on the computer screen: from trailers to promotional events
and ticket sales, leaders of the film industry rely heavily on the
Internet to make the most of box office potential.
Companies such as Columbia TriStar Interactive (a division of
Sony Pictures Entertainment) and AOL MovieFone have teamed with Exodus
Communications(TM) Inc. (Nasdaq:EXDS), the leader in complex Internet
hosting and managed services, to offer extensive background
information, sweepstakes opportunities and ticket sales, all available
online.
Columbia TriStar Interactive, AOL MovieFone and other
entertainment industry giants have servers located in Exodus(TM)
Internet Data Centers (IDCs) and utilize Exodus' high-speed, redundant
backbone and network management expertise to handle the ever-growing
demand on their Websites.
Film fans can find out the latest on new releases such as
"Arlington Road" and "Muppets from Space," and on upcoming releases
such as "Dick." They can also catch up on Adam Sandler and the hit
film "Big Daddy," and enter the "Big Daddy" Sweepstakes to win a trip
to New York City.
"With some of the top summer movies and more than 500,000 Website
subscribers, it's important for us to meet moviegoers' expectations
that they'll find out the latest scoop on films," said Ira Rubenstein,
vice president, marketing at Columbia TriStar Interactive. "Exodus has
proven to us that even with an ever-growing number of fans joining our
site, we cannot outgrow Exodus' capacity to deliver information."
AOL MovieFone.com is a comprehensive site where the online
community can buy movie tickets with one click of a button, scan
viewers' comments on new releases and watch trailers to help them
decide what films to see. According to Box Office Guru, July is the
hottest month for movie-going, and last year generated 11 percent of
total ticket sales revenues.
AOL MovieFone sold three million tickets and logged 25 million
user sessions online in 1998, and is well on the way to surpassing
this figure only half way through 1999.
"AOL MovieFone has seen a strong increase in usage of our
services which shows that today's moviegoers are demanding instant
access to listings and tickets," said Philip Talamas, director of
operations at AOL MovieFone.
"We chose Exodus because we needed peace-of-mind that one of our
revenue sources -- online ticket sales -- would be in the hands of
people/facilities with a reputation for reliability and performance."
Despite being a week shorter than the 1998 summer season (defined
as the Friday of Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day), AC Nielsen
reports that 1999 box office sales through July 18 have outpaced last
year's revenues by 5.2 percent.
"We are proud to be working with leaders in the entertainment
industry, such as Columbia TriStar Interactive and AOL MovieFone, to
help them meet the demands of diverse audiences nationwide," said
Ellen M. Hancock, president and CEO of Exodus.
"Performance, around-the-clock reliability and the ability to
respond to and grow with the interests of thousands of people
nationwide is the deciding factor for success of these companies. We
deliver the best managed services, network connectivity and
facilities, so our customers can focus on serving up great
entertainment online." |
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