Game Show Network and ACTV Team Up to Offer Interactive Game Play
CULVER CITY, Calif. & NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--March 5, 2001--
ACTV's Enhanced Media Services and Tools Power Interactive Versions
of "Mall Masters" and "$100,000 Pyramid" for Microsoft WebTV Plus
and Other ATVEF-Compliant Platforms
Game Show Network (GSN), the 24-hour network devoted exclusively to game shows and interactive game play, and ACTV Inc. (Nasdaq:IATV), a leading digital media company, today announced that they will produce interactive versions of "Mall Masters" and "$100,000 Pyramid" for the Microsoft WebTV Plus platform and other ATVEF-compliant platforms.
ACTV's Enhanced Media Services subsidiary, Bottle Rocket, will enable GSN viewers equipped with WebTV interactive set-tops to enjoy real-time game play while watching the GSN original program "Mall Masters" and the classic program "$100,000 Pyramid." ACTV has mirrored the look and feel of the programs' onscreen games and developed a flexible authoring tool that allows GSN content developers to create a single version of an interactive program that is compatible with the WebTV Plus platform and other ATVEF-compliant platforms.
"Game Show Network continues to be dedicated to creating interactive programming. Both `Mall Masters' and `$100,000 Pyramid' are already popular shows on our air. By adding this iTV component to two additional on-air programs, we hope to create a richer experience for the GSN viewer," said Kristin Peace, vice president of programming for GSN.
"Game shows initially represent one of the most important genres for interactive broadband delivery," said Bruce J. Crowley, president of ACTV Enhanced Media Services. "GSN is embracing interactive TV, and we look forward to working with them as they grow the programming into the first fully interactive, 24-hour game-based network. ACTV is also committed to taking our interactive capabilities to the next step, extending our services to include not only the two-screen environment, but also one-screen and remote devices."
WebTV Plus subscribers will be able to play along with "Mall Masters" and "$100,000 Pyramid," compete against other viewers for prizes and access all of the enhanced media content while watching "Mall Masters" and "$100,000 Pyramid" on GSN at the same time.
GSN and Stone Stanley Entertainment, a leading independent television production company, have teamed up to produce "Mall Masters," a new original game show shot on location at the world-famous Mall of America in Minneapolis, where 40 million-plus people visit each year.
The fast-paced game show polls shoppers on their opinions on everything from favorite pizza toppings to social behavior. Contestants on "Mall Masters" then compete by answering these same multiple choice poll questions and register a winning answer each time they correctly select the majority opinion.
Hosted by Dick Clark, "$100,000 Pyramid" originally aired from 1982 to 1989. The skill-filled show has two teams, each composed of a celebrity and a contestant, competing in a two-part word game. Players first supply clues to words in a given category for their partners to identify.
The team with the highest score progresses to the Winner's Circle, where the procedure is reversed; Naming elements of a listed category, one player tries to have the other identify that category. If all six categories -- conveniently shaped into a pyramid -- are named, the contestant wins the grand prize.
The enhanced "Mall Masters" and "$100,000 Pyramid" programs will debut in late spring 2001. For more information on GSN's interactive content, visit gameshownetwork.com.
ACTV Inc. is a digital media company providing technical and creative services, tools and proprietary products for enhanced media, interactive TV advertising and personalized programming applications. Based in New York City, ACTV has strategic relationships with key players in the Internet, television and digital technology fields, including Liberty Digital, Motorola Broadband Communications Sector, OpenTV and Liberty Livewire Corporation. For more information, visit actv.com.
ACTV's Enhanced Media Services division includes HyperTV, which enables the synchronization of television programming and online content, and Bottle Rocket, which creates customized and licensed online games.
Game Show Network is the premier programming service exclusively dedicated to the exciting world of games, game playing and game shows. Game Show Network is jointly owned and operated by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Digital Inc. Game Show Network offers a wide array of programming including game show favorites from its diverse library, and new interactive game shows where viewers can become contestants in their own homes. Game Show Network can be found on the World Wide Web at gameshownetwork.com.
Liberty Digital Inc. is a diversified new media company focused on the development of interactive television programming with interests in interactive television technology, e-commerce and content businesses. Liberty Digital's Series A common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "LDIG." For more information, visit libertydigital.com.
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a division of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corp. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution, television production and distribution, worldwide channel investments, home entertainment acquisition and distribution, operation of studio facilities, development of new entertainment products, services and technologies, and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web spe.sony.com.
CONTACT:
Game Show Network, Culver City
Carrie Gerlach, 310/244-8897
carrie-gerlach@spe.sony.com
or
ACTV Inc., New York
Ted O'Donnell, 212/217-1600 (Investor Relations)
ir@actv.com
or
Bratskeir & Company, New York
212/679-2233 (ACTV Media Relations)
Mike Rosen, mrosen@bratskeir.com
Ryan Poliakoff, rpoliakoff@bratskeir.com
or
Brainerd Communicators, New York
Kim Holt, 212/986-6667 (Financial Media)
holt@braincomm.com
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