Here's todays news:
K-TEL INTERNATIONAL INC. AND GRTV NETWORK ENTER INTO EXCLUSIVE PROGRAMMING AGREEMENT; MUSIC-RELATED PROGRAMMING TO MARKET K-TEL PRODUCTS AND PROMOTE "K-TEL EXPRESS," WWW.KTEL.COM BUSINESS AND
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 1998--K-tel International
Inc., (Nasdaq:KTEL.O), a leading marketer of entertainment products
worldwide, and GRTV Network, one of the world's fastest growing direct
response television networks, have entered into an exclusive agreement
through which GRTV Network will air original, K-tel music-related
direct response programming.
The announcement was jointly made Wednesday by K-tel President
David Weiner and GRTV Network President and Chief Executive OfficerMichael Wex.
Under terms of the agreement, beginning June 1998, GRTV will
broadcast a daily half-hour music block designed to promote K-telmusic products.
In addition to marketing existing K-tel music products to the
consumer through traditional direct marketing methods, all K-tel
programming broadcast on GRTV Network will promote "K-tel Express"
(www.ktel.com), the company's new on-line music service which launched
May 1. Additionally, during the initial three-month agreement, the
two companies will evaluate possible co-marketing joint venturestogether.
Since its formation in Jan. 1996, GRTV Network has contracted
such major multiple station operators (MSOs) as Time Warner Cable,
MediaOne Group and Cablevision Systems, currently reaching more than
35 million households throughout the United States. GRTV Network is
also available 24 hours a day to all C-band satellite dish owners and
DirecTV subscribers.
By year's end, GRTV projects it will broadcast programming to 45
million homes.
Regarding the announcement, Weiner stated, "This agreement allows
K-tel to marry its rich history in marketing music products directly
to the consumer through television with our aggressive expansion into
direct marketing via the Internet. GRTV Network's reach is
extraordinary, providing us with the valuable opportunity to
strengthen our traditional marketing activities, as well as continue
building our new endeavors."
Added Wex, "GRTV Network is actively striving to acquire original
and successful direct response programming to further establish GRTV's
proven ability to attract consumers. With the formation of this
exclusive agreement with K-tel, GRTV will continue to expand the
network with new programming formats, which can be applied to a
variety of dayparts and in turn reach a larger market base for its
program suppliers." K-tel International is a vertically integrated developer,
marketer and distributor of a wide array of entertainment and consumer
products worldwide.
The company markets its product lines to retailers, wholesalers,
distributors and licensees across the globe, or directly to the
consumer via the Internet (www.ktel.com), television and other forms
of direct response media. K-tel has active operations in the United
States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Finland.
GRTV is a division of Guthy-Renker, a vertically integrated
global electronic retailing company with annual revenues for 1997 in
excess of $350 million. The company was founded in 1988 by Bill Guthy
and Greg Renker, and is based in Palm Desert, Calif.
In 1997, Guthy-Renker won the NIMA Award for "Infomercial of the
Year," the industry's equivalent to the Oscar Award for Best Picture,
marking the fourth time in six years that the company has garnered the
top honor. Guthy and Renker have been cited as among "America's
Smartest Young Entrepreneurs" by Fortune magazine and received a
regional Entrepreneur of the Year award from Inc. Magazine. |
