IT'S A DONE DEAL!
For Immediate Release:
FOX SPORTS NET AND ACTV
SIGN MULTI-YEAR PROGRAMMING
AGREEMENT
FOX SPORTS NET PROGRAMMING TO ANCHOR ACTV
REGIONAL PREMIUM NETWORKS NATIONALLY
New York, December 19, 1996 -- ACTV Inc. and FOX Sports Net have signed a master programming agreement which covers all FOX Sports Net programming regions through June 30, 2003. The agreement grants ACTV the right to license FOX Sports Net programming with each FOX Sports Net regional sports network. ACTV will apply its brand of individualized programming to FOX Sports Net's professional and collegiate sports offerings. The objective of the agreement is to launch the first three commercial premium regional services in 1997.
FOX Sports Net is the domestic telecasting arm of the worldwide sports alliance recently formed between News Corporation, Liberty Media
and Tele-Communications Inc. The network consists of seven owned-and-operated regional sports affiliates from coast-to-coast. Combined, FOX Sports' regional cable networks provide more than 3000 hours of live programming each year, covering more than 1200 events.
Under terms of the agreement, ACTV has the right to offer enhanced FOX Sports Net programming to any distributor carrying the regionalized FOX Sports channel.
In each region, ACTV and FOX Sports Net will work together in developing innovative sports programming, which will be the basis for new and differentiated programming services. ACTV and FOX Sports Net believe that these sports-driven services will have a positive impact on operator revenue growth and will add impetus to the deployment of digital terminals.
ACTV's individualized hockey coverage, for example, allows the viewer to access elements which enhance the regular coverage. Features like
Hit Parade - a recap of the game's hardest hits; Saving Grace - a compilation of the game's best saves; Star Cam - which provides an isolated view of the featured player of the game; Goals-On-Demand - a compilation of all of the scores of the contest; and in-depth statistics are all part of the enriched coverage provided by ACTV's proprietary software.
ACTV and Fox Sports West have been evaluating enhanced sporting events in Southern California for the past year and a half, clearly demonstrating that sports viewers see significant added value for ACTV's brand of individualized programming when combined with the
enormous versatility of FOX Sports West's offerings. Equally important, over 80 percent of viewers expressed increased satisfaction with TCI of Ventura County, which is directly attributable to the operator's carriage of ACTV's individualized programming.
FOX Sports Net's Chief Operating Officer Jim Martin noted, "This agreement with ACTV is significant for Fox Sports as it builds upon our strong brand awareness and provides us with the opportunity to expand that awareness into the premium channel arena. We believe that
enabling sports fans to view the game as they want to, utilizing a simple remote, will significantly improve the quality of sports on television."
"This agreement with FOX Sports Net secures the highest-quality sports programming with which to anchor our regional premium networks,"
said David Reese, President of ACTV Entertainment. "Working closely with FOX Sports Net will allow us to create unique and innovative
sports programming, which is attractive to subscribers, and which will build new sources of revenue for distributors."
ACTV, through its ongoing relationships with the David Sarnoff Research Center and General Instrument, has created a digital application that is fully compatible with GI's digital terminal. The ACTV programming technology has been designed so that it adds no cost to the digital terminal.
ACTV, Inc. (NASDAQ: IATV) is headquartered in New York. A California subsidiary, ACTV Entertainment, is located in Beverly Hills.
Contact Information:
ACTV, Inc.
Stu Ginsburg
Bender, Goldman Helper
(212) 371-0798
(212) 754-4380 (fax)
FOX Sports
Vince Wladika
(212) 556-2472 |
