lanet Hollywood And MTV Join Forces To Create 'Sound Republic' - Live
Music Destinations Around The World
Flagship Site Scheduled For London Will Open July 1998
New York Location Scheduled to Open Autumn 1998
ORLANDO, Fla. and NEW YORK, June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Planet Hollywood
International, Inc. (NYSE: PHL) announces today that it will join forces
with MTV: Music Television, a division of Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA) to create
live music based destinations around the world. Under the brand name of
"Sound Republic", each venue will feature a live music performance space as
well as a music based restaurant and retail outlet. Premier "Sound
Republic" locations will open in London in July and in New York this Autumn.
"Sound Republic" will also benefit from the involvement of celebrity
partners from the world of music who, as stockholders, will participate in
developing a strong business platform to enable future expansion of the
"Sound Republic" brand. Celebrity partners will be announced at a later
date.
"Sound Republic" will be launched through two flagship locations in London's
Leicester Square and New York's Times Square. Both the London and New York
locations will feature a 600-800 seat live music venue which will be
connected to the restaurants but will have their own separate entrance.
Additional locations scheduled to open in the future include Seattle,
Washington; Dallas, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Paris, France.
MTV, through its global network reaching over 300 million households around
the world, will promote this new brand with regular broadcasts of live music
performances and other related programming from "Sound Republic" locations
worldwide. Each "Sound Republic" location will be specially wired for
television production and many will have working television studios
incorporated into their design to facilitate program production and
direct-to- air-live broadcasts.
"This announcement of our third core brand along with Planet Hollywood and
the Official All Star Cafe, marks another important milestone in the
continued development of our company," commented Robert Earl, President and
Chief Executive Officer of Planet Hollywood International, Inc. "We believe
MTV represents the strongest partner in the world of music with which to co-
develop and build our new brand to ensure its longevity and success. Our
new locations will offer guests cutting edge technology, the best in sound
and visual experiences, and truly the most unique experience in music since
MTV's introduction in 1981."
"Our goal is to work with Planet Hollywood to re-invent and create an unique
setting for live music," commented Van Toffler, General Manager, MTV. "We
want to give music fans around the world a new, intimate way to experience
live music whenever they want it. We're thrilled to be working with Planet
Hollywood, a company that has blazed the trail in the global leisure
business. 'Sound Republic' will benefit from both their vast experience and
MTV's own passion for music and strength as a global youth marketer."
Each "Sound Republic" will draw upon regional, national and international
music influences to create an interactive environment celebrating live
music. Emphasis will be placed on the use of state-of-the-art audio-visual
technology to provide a tribute to all aspects of live music in a
multi-screen format. The "on screen" production will include unique footage
assembled specially for "Sound Republic" together with contributions from
its celebrity partners.
"Sound Republic" will be supported by a unique and distinctive logo which
will be incorporated in a full range of music-related clothing and
merchandise designed to have broad consumer appeal. This range will be
created by young designers, specifically for "Sound Republic" and will be
available through retail outlets at each "Sound Republic" location.
Finally, "Sound Republic" will benefit from a cutting edge menu combining
global tastes, ingredients and recipes that will be enhanced through
striking presentation. "Sound Republic" will provide a refreshing, unique
and memorable dining experience for all restaurant patrons.
Planet Hollywood is a creator and worldwide developer of consumer brands
that brings consumers closer to the leisure activities they love, such as
movies and sports. The Company's worldwide operations offer products and
services in the retail, leisure, entertainment, lodging and gaming sectors.
The Company is organized under five operating divisions: Consumer; Food &
Beverage; Lodging & Gaming; Retail & Merchandising; and Theaters &
Entertainment. Planet Hollywood International, Inc.'s Class A common stock
is listed under the symbol "PHL" on the New York Stock Exchange.
MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc., owns and operates five cable television
programming services - MTV: Music Television, M2, VH1, Nickelodeon/Nick at
Nite and Nick and at Nite's TV land - all of which are trademarks of MTV
Networks. Information about MTV and M2 is available on MTV Online, on
America Online (keyword: MTV) and the World Wide Web (http://mtv.com).
Certain statements contained herein are forward-looking statements that are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the Company's actual results
in future periods to differ materially from what is currently anticipated.
Those risks include, among others, risks associated with the timing of and
costs associated with new business development, general competitive factors
and a change in retailer or consumer acceptance of the Company's and its
partners products and services.
/CONTACT: Val Brown, Sound Republic, 212-840-3825; or Caroline Mockridge,
MTV, 212-258-8458/
09:51 EDT
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