Survey Says . . . E-Pub/Pearson Agree to Bring Family Feud, Match Game, and 100% Online
NEW YORK, January 27, 1999 – E-Pub (Holdings) Ltd. and Pearson Television, Inc. are ready for action! The two companies have announced a partnership that will bring the classic game shows “Family Feud” and “Match Game” to E-Pub's Uproar.com site, along with the international hit “100%.”
Pearson will promote the online versions of the shows during its own television game show programming. All of the game shows covered in the deal will return to U.S. television in 1999. “Match Game” has already begun airing, while a new “Family Feud” presented by comedy star Louie Anderson, as well as “100%” with Casey Kasem, are slated to debut later this year.
The hosts of the television programs will direct viewers to the Uproar Web site, and every show will have a video spot promoting Uproar.com. In addition, Uproar contestants will be able to qualify online to become contestants on the television programs.
“Almost everyone who owns a television has played along with ‘Family Feud' and ‘Match Game,' and that will soon be true for ‘100%.' With Uproar's online versions of these game shows, now everyone can be a contestant,” E-Pub CEO Michael Simon said. “Pearson has made these game shows familiar to people around the world and we're looking forward to extending that reach to the Internet. Convergence is a reality.”
The partnership brings together two of the most powerful entities in the entertainment industry. Pearson Television controls nearly 70% of the world's game show formats, and produces and distributes them in a variety of languages across 25 countries. Uproar.com, a leading Internet game show site, is a top 30 Web site with over 4 million unique visitors in the month of December, according to NetRatings.
“Uproar has demonstrated that the Internet is ready for online game shows, and they have the expertise to bring our television properties to the growing Internet audience,” Pearson Television Chief Executive Greg Dyke said. “Bringing together these two companies will leverage the time-tested success of the game show with the unlimited potential of the Internet.”
About E-Pub
E-Pub is a leading online entertainment company specializing in the creation, distribution, and syndication of online game shows through its leading web property, Uproar. E-Pub's game shows are a powerful tool for companies and Web sites interested in building brand recognition, attracting and retaining visitors, and growing brand equity.
All E-Pub properties are supported by licensing revenue and innovative advertising models. Games shows produced on Uproar include CBS SportsLine Team Trivia, Puzzle A-Go-Go, Picture This, Cosmo's Conundrum, and Bingo Blitz. More than 15,000 sites worldwide have joined Uproar's game show syndication program.
According to the December 1998 NetRatings, Uproar and its affiliated sites generate over 4 million unique contestants per month, making it the 27th most popular Web site on the Internet. Other sites in the E-Pub family include Uproar UK (http://www.uproar.co.uk), Uproar Germany ( HYPERLINK uproar.de http://www.uproar.de), the Centre for the Easily Amused (http://www.amused.com), and GameScene (http://www.gamescene.com).
Produced by E-Pub (Holdings) Ltd. (http://www.e-pub.com), Uproar has offices in New York, London, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Budapest. Multiple investors, including Esther Dyson, fund Uproar. E-Pub is listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. E-Pub and Uproar were both founded by CEO, Michael Simon.
About Pearson Television
Pearson Television is a division of Pearson plc, the international media group, which also owns the Financial Times, Penguin Putnam Books, Addison Wesley Longman and the US educational publisher, Simon and Schuster. Pearson plc is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and is one of the FTSE top one hundred companies.
With the acquisition in November 1997 of All American Communications, Inc. Pearson Television is now the world's largest international producer of entertainment and serial drama based on its significant library of game show and serial drama formats. Its US shows include one of the world's most recognized television properties “Baywatch” and the highly rated “The Price is Right”.
In addition to its extensive production output, Pearson Television sells its comprehensive catalogue to over 100 territories through its subsidiary, Pearson Television International. Pearson also holds a number of significant stakes in broadcast channels including the UK's Channel 5. |
