More OEN news.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OPTICAL ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK ANNOUNCES IPTV
CARRIAGE AGREEMENT WITH STARZ ENTERTAINMENT
GROUP
One of 400 IPTV channels to be Deployed on OEN’s FISION™
FTTH service in Houston, Texas
Houston, TX – January 12, 2006 – Optical Entertainment Network™ (OEN)
announced today that it has signed a number of IPTV carriage agreements with Starz
Entertainment Group LLC (Starz). As a result of the new deal, all 13 Starz and Encore
channels will be offered to subscribers along with Starz HDTV and Starz On Demand as
part of OEN’s premium service offerings.
OEN’s FISION service will provide digital IP Video, Internet and Voice service to 1.6
million households in Houston, Texas, the 10th largest television market in the U.S., over
an existing fiber network covering the majority of the city. FISION will provide fiber-tothe-
home (FTTH) service, which presents unparalleled programming offerings to
residential subscribers in Houston, Texas. STARZ is the latest addition to the most
complete line-up of IPTV channels in the US, which also includes the largest number of
SD and HD TV channels in a system that is made fully available for license in other
metropolitan areas.
The company has created the first integrated service for Video, Internet, Voice, Video-
On-Demand (VOD) and Home Security designed specifically to take advantage of the
benefits of FTTH technology. OEN has acquired programming agreements for IPTV
distribution from top television networks and will deliver 400 television channels,
including over 50 channels of High Definition Television (HDTV) to subscribers. In
addition, OEN will offer 10 to 100 Mbps Internet service to subscribers’ homes, video-ondemand,
subscription video-on-demand, pay-per-view specials and events as well as
original programming created by OEN Studios, the creative television production arm of
Optical Entertainment Network.
“Our Starz IPTV license is very important to us and we see it as a strong vote of
confidence in our fiber-to-the home platform from a leading network,” said Thomas
Wendt, CEO of OEN. “The wide variety of commercial-free films shown on the thirteen
Starz and Encore channels - with everything from Elf on Starz to The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King on Encore - will give our subscribers the very best that Hollywood
has to offer. Better yet, Starz on Demand will give our subscribers to Starz instant, ondemand
access to more than 100 movies per month at no extra charge.”
“With blockbuster movies such as National Treasure and The Aviator exclusively on
Starz and Starz On Demand this year, OEN will be equipped to provide terrific
programming to movie lovers in Houston,” added Christine Carrier, division vice
president for Starz Entertainment Group. “We look forward to working with OEN to
provide their customers the great movies, all uncut and commercial-free.”
- More -
About FISION
FISION is scheduled to launch in Houston, Texas, the 10th largest Television market in the
US. In addition to delivering over 400 channels of entertainment programming, FISION will
deliver High-Speed Internet at unprecedented speeds of 10 to 100 Mbps per subscriber and
innovative applications such as telemedicine, video conferencing and home security.
FISION will also provide IP Voice services including local and long distance services, to
deliver on the promise of true convergence from one company. More information on
FISION can be found at www.getfision.com for residents of Houston, Texas.
About Optical Entertainment Network
Optical Entertainment Network is a Houston, Texas based company providing the first major
market deployment of Video, Internet and Voice to residential and commercial customers
over a system specifically designed to optimize fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology. OEN
has signed the largest number of IPTV carriage agreements to date, acquired directly with
programming networks. The company is a platinum member of the FTTH Council. More
information can be found at the company’s website at www.4fiber.tv.
For additional information on OEN and FISION:
Cathy Clarke
CNC Associates
cathy@cncassocs.com
(617) 527-2089
GB+ND
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