Online System Services and InterMedia Launch Pilot to Deliver Local Content And Community Services to More Than 400,000 Homes Passed in Conjunction With The InterMedia @Home Service in Nashville
PR Newswire - January 29, 1999 03:00
Online System Services' Portal Complements the InterMedia @Home Service, Delivers Local Content to 300,000 Subscribers in Major Market
DENVER, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Further strengthening its position as the de facto industry leader in developing internet-based content, commerce and communication services, 0nline System Services, Inc. (OSS) (Nasdaq: WEBB), and InterMedia Partners, the tenth largest cable operator in the United States, today announced that they will launch a pilot program to deliver OSS' customized i2u local portal to more than 400,000 homes passed and approximately 300,000 subscribers in the Nashville, Tennessee market, giving consumers a quick and easy online route to the local information they demand. The i2u local content will work in concert with @Home Network (Nasdaq: ATHM), which is providing the national content. This is testimony to the strength and depth of i2u's local content play and its unique ability to complement national content offerings of other providers.
Online System Services has customized its i2u local portal, which combines local content with search, communication and commerce services, specifically for InterMedia. The InterMedia-branded local portal comes complete with an extensive array of local content, personalized services and commercial services designed specifically for the Nashville market. The local services, including web hosting, instant messaging and online community building, will give consumers and businesses the ability to access the Web and create and manage their individual online experience in a high-speed environment featuring local content.
"Our customized i2u portal was enthusiastically received in our other markets, and we're excited to extend it to our Nashville @Home market. OSS' local content integrates seamlessly with @Home's national content, and we're looking forward to giving our consumers access to the local information they demand," said Bill Haggerty, Director, Subscriber Services of InterMedia. "The groundwork we set with OSS last year is paying off in tremendous growth opportunities -- we believe the InterMedia-branded local content, commerce and community capabilities will cement customer loyalty to our services."
Online System Services has designed the InterMedia-branded i2u portal to deliver content services that generate new revenue opportunities, increase brand awareness, build customer loyalty and retention and drive new customer acquisitions.
"We look forward to generating tremendous market momentum in Nashville by providing consumers with a comprehensive Internet experience that delivers our local content, commerce and communications services alongside @Home's national content," said Steve Adams, Chairman and CEO of Online System Services. "We are delighted to continue working with InterMedia to deliver the best the Internet has to offer to their customers."
Consumers continue to respond enthusiastically to the i2u local portal, and positive feedback was qualitatively measured during focus groups recently conducted by an independent market research firm. The participants judged the i2u local portal to be appealing, especially for its interactivity, customization capabilities and "hometown" feel, and indicated they were very likely to regularly visit a similar site about their locale. i2u's comprehensive coverage was considered a strong value-add, and participants noted that i2u stood above its portal competition with its local links, depth of information and well organized and concise content.
"The enthusiastic feedback from the focus groups demonstrates that people not only believe in the concept of online communities and local content, but felt they were actively participating in them through i2u," said Adams. "This response underscores i2u's ability to complement national content and validates the direction we're taking as the leading provider of private label portals -- we differentiate ourselves from the competition by being fast easy to use and loaded with the content in demand by consumers.
Under terms of the agreement, the companies have the option to expand the i2u local content portal to additional InterMedia @Home markets upon the successful completion of the pilot. Online System Services will deploy, market and support the i2u platform in market as part of the partnership with the InterMedia team.
About Online System Services
Online System Services is an industry leader in developing portals and online communities, and stands at the forefront of the Internet's revolutionary turn toward content. OSS develops and markets content, commerce and communication services which enable end-users to create and manage their online experience using simple, on-screen templates and integrated tools. Using its proprietary Portal Objects(TM) foundation, which is based exclusively on Microsoft Corporation technologies, OSS builds customized, private-label portals, branded i2u(TM), for distribution partners in four strategic markets: high-speed access, education, enterprise and banking. i2u custom portals come complete with an extensive array of personalized services designed to promote customer loyalty and repeat traffic, increase brand awareness and generate new revenue opportunities. OSS' clients include Bresnan Communications, InterMedia Partners, MVS.NET, Peak Cablevision, Rapid Communications, Tele-Communications, Inc., TCI Education Project, RE/MAX International and Rockwell Federal Credit Union.
About InterMedia Partners
InterMedia Partners, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, is currently the tenth largest cable system operator in the nation serving nearly 1.2 million customers located in the Southeast states of Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. InterMedia is a leader in the cable industry in the deployment of advanced cable communications services, high-speed internet access and entertainment services.
Information and statements in this report, other than historical information, should be considered forward-looking and reflect management's current views of future events and financial performance that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions and developments within the Internet and Intranet industries; product development and technology changes; competition and pricing pressures; length of the sales cycle; variability of sale order flow and management growth.
CONTACT: Elizabeth Kosztolnyik, Director, Marketing Communications of Online System Services, Inc., 303-296-9200, or liz@ossinc.net; or John Liviakis, President, or Tony Altavilla, Vice President, both of Liviakis Financial Communications, Inc., 916-448-6084; or Bill Haggerty, Director, Subscriber Services of InterMedia Partners, 615-248-7424.
SOURCE Online System Services, Inc.
/CONTACT: Elizabeth Kosztolnyik, Director, Marketing Communications of
Online System Services, Inc., 303-296-9200, or liz@ossinc.net; or
John Liviakis, President, or Tony Altavilla, Vice President, both of Liviakis
Financial Communications, Inc., 916-448-6084; or Bill Haggerty, Director,
Subscriber Services of InterMedia Partners, 615-248-7424/
/Web site: ossinc.net |
