Lets break down this ridiculous press release so that normal people can understand what it means...
<<<DALLAS, Nov. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Early next year, digital cable television subscribers of Insight Communications cable systems in Rockford, Illinois and Columbus, Ohio will be the nation's first viewers to obtain instantaneous 24 hour-a-day access, to LocalSource™ television, a comprehensive, city and neighborhood-specific interactive information service from Source Media's (Nasdaq: SRCM - news) Interactive Channel.>>>
In pain English this means:
We at Source Media told the shareholders we would roll out our ***Program Guide*** (which we give away to Insight for free), with Insight Communications in December of 1998. It is now December of 1998 and we are not ready to roll out our **freebie** program guide (which is a glorified lo-tech web page on cable TV), with Insight, so we are making a real fancy announcement - using **new** names like "LocalSource TV" which means nothing but helps confuse shareholders into thinking they own something so they don't look at our $120 million worth of debt that we can't possibly pay back.
What we are rolling out with Insight Communications is a digital version of our program guide that we offered in Colorado Springs and Denton where the product failed to attract subscriber interest. By changing the name to LocalSource TV, hopefully shareholders and cable companies will not realize we are trying to sell an already failed product that has since its failure last year developed many new competitors.
<<<LocalSource™ television provides yellow and white pages directories, sponsored local news, sports, timely weather, health tips from local and national experts, entertainment guides, community event calendars, school information, dining guides, real estate listings, legal and financial reports, e-commerce opportunities linked to participating advertisers and information sponsors and much more.>>>
In plain English:
LocalSource™ television is a lo-tech website that is easy to create and copy. We hope cable companies will let us give it to them for free instead of making their own, because then we can make new press releases to make it look like we have accomplished something when really we continue on a path toward bankruptcy.
<<<A Proven Business Model. The introduction of LocalSource™ television via Interactive Channel and digital cable television builds upon a proven business model that is based on Source Media's ten years of experience and relationships forged with local newspapers and yellow page directories serving over 100 million households and businesses nationwide. Covering more than 250 markets, including the nation's top ninety media markets, Source Media currently has ongoing relationships with more than 500 yellow page directories, almost 300 local newspapers and 200 radio and television stations. LocalSource™ television also provides cable operators with the ability to offer community specific, interactive content that will be cross-promoted by corresponding content on the Internet, print, telephone audiotex and video.>>>
In plain English:
We have proven we can lose money and put out press releases that make it sound like we are going to be a "force" in internet cable TV, when in actuality we are irrelevant and have proven we can't sign up any cable companies to use/buy our services that will pay us any money. We have proven that we can lose customers faster than anyone in the yeller page biz, and that historically we have gone backwards in revenue if you take away the revenue we bought with the Brite and VNN purchase (the yeller page biz we know so well).
<<As part of the LocalSource™ cross platform product development, Source Media plans to introduce LocalSource™ Internet in 200 markets nationally, including Rockford, Illinois and Columbus, Ohio early next year, further enhancing the growing relationship between cable operators and the Internet.>>
In plain English:
We are going to offer internet advertising to our yellow page ad customers, but word it in this press release so it sounds like we are providing some great new internet service in 200 markets. We hope this really makes the stock go up because we are paid extra bonuses if we can get the stock to trade higher.
<<''It's not enough to simply provide information to cable customers without making it useful and consequently valuable. LocalSource™ Television enables users to find what they are personally looking for, when they want it, right in the convenience of their own neighborhood. For example, when someone wants to purchase a new camera, they can do their research on national brands available, then identify the hometown outlets where they can purchase it conveniently; all via their cable system and all via LocalSource™ noted Wendy Borow-Johnson of the Interactive Channel.>>
In plain English:
We tried this already and it failed in Colorado Springs and Denton. We are going to try it again since we don't have an internet access product to sell (our Virtual Modem is untested and not saleable) and we are desperate to try anything since we don't have an original though in our heads and we are quickly running out of cash. We hope cable companies will work with us even though most are already developing their own program guide or are looking at other companies with program guides who have money and large software programming staffs to support them.
Hope this plain English interpretation of SRCM's press release helps the common man understand what Source is really trying to say.
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Cheers Steve |
