America Online and GemstarAnnounce Licensing Agreement for Deployment of AOL TV ElectronicProgramming Guides
May 25, 1999 08:30 AM
DULLES, Va. and PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 25, 1999--
Cutting-Edge Interactive Navigation of TV Programming to Become a Key Component of Interactive TV Experience
America Online, Inc. AOL , the world leader in branded interactive services, and Gemstar International Group Limited GMST , the leading developer of interactive television technologies, today announced that they have reached a long-term licensing agreement for AOL to use Gemstar's technology and intellectual property to develop and deploy AOL TV(SM) electronic programming guides.
The Gemstar license will facilitate AOL's plans to develop its own customized electronic programming guides for AOL TV that incorporate features of interactive navigation of the television experience. These guides will enable members to sort programs by themes or categories, and select shows for viewing or recording -- all with AOL's hallmark ease-of-use and convenience.
Scheduled for launch next year, AOL TV will offer members a new AOL interactive service on the television platform, one that will include key pieces of AOL's current functionality as well as new features designed to enhance the television-viewing experience. The set-top boxes will initially be connected to AOL through built-in 56k modems over standard phone lines, and will be upgradable to "always on" high-speed connectivity.
Earlier this month, AOL announced agreements with DIRECTV, Hughes Network Systems, Philips Electronics and Network Computer, Inc. (NCI), which are also key to the development of AOL TV. The Company said that it expects that AOL's powerful brand will drive the acceptance and value of interactive television.
Bob Pittman, America Online's President and Chief Operating Officer, said: "Gemstar's technology will help AOL TV offer the best in interactive navigation for the television experience and will be a key component of the AOL TV service. The programming guide we develop will allow our members to check programs by category -- such as sports or movies -- and then switch directly to the show or record it with a few clicks of their remote controls. This is the kind of convenience and ease-of-use that mass market consumers expect from AOL."
Barry Schuler, President of America Online's Interactive Services Group, said: "The goal of our AOL Anywhere strategy is to bring connected interactivity to multiple platforms and devices. AOL TV will bring interactive connectivity to the TV and make it work better, and our agreement with Gemstar helps make that possible. Our programming guide will ensure that the consumer using AOL TV will have an enhanced interactive television experience that is much easier to navigate."
Henry Yuen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gemstar, said: "We are pleased with the opportunity to work with America Online on its groundbreaking new service, AOL TV. Because of its worldwide leadership in interactive services, America Online is the right partner to bring the benefits of interactive TV to mass market consumers."
About America Online
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 17 million members, and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; AOL Moviefone, the nation's number one movie listing guide and ticketing service, and the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers. Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy.
About Gemstar
Gemstar develops, markets and licenses proprietary technologies and systems aimed at making technology user-friendly for consumers. Gemstar's technology and intellectual property are licensed to major companies in the consumer electronics, satellite, cable and personal computer industries, including Aiwa, Akai, Cox, Daewoo, Funai, GTE, Hitachi, Hughes Network Systems, JVC, LG Electronics (Goldstar), Matsushita (Panasonic, Quasar), Microsoft Corporation, Mitsubishi, Orion, Philips (Magnavox, Philips), Samsung, Sanyo, Scientific-Atlanta, Sharp, Shintom, Sony, Southern New England Telephone, Thomson multimedia (GE, Proscan, RCA, Thomson), Time Warner, Toshiba, Uniden and Zenith. Gemstar has 75 issued U.S. patents in the general area of audio-visual technologies with over 1,500 claims and 70 foreign patents with over 1,000 claims. The Company continues to pursue a worldwide patent prosecution program and has more than 130 pending U.S. patent applications and over 160 pending foreign patent applications.
Gemstar is a leading provider of electronic program guide services, which allow a user to view a television program guide on screen, obtain details about a show, sort shows by themes or categories, and select shows for tuning or recording, all through the remote control. In the United States, data for Gemstar's electronic program guide services are carried on the ABC, FOX, CBS, NBC, UPN and PBS networks. Gemstar's electronic program guide has been built into a number of models of new televisions, VCRs and TV/VCR combination units. Gemstar's electronic program guide is also licensed to cable, telco and MMDS service providers, and has been integrated into direct broadcast satellite receivers, digital and advanced analog cable set-top boxes, PCTV and other Internet devices and computer operating systems such as Windows 98.
Gemstar's VCR Plus+(R) instant programming system is a world standard for VCR programming. VCR Plus+ allows a user to record a television show simply by entering a number -- the PlusCode(R) number -- printed in television program guides. The PlusCode numbers are published by over 1,800 newspapers and television programs guides worldwide, with a combined circulation of over 330 million. The VCR Plus+ system has been licensed to virtually every major television and VCR manufacturer and is now available in 40 countries and 6 continents, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South America and South Africa.
Except for historical information contained here, the matters discussed in this news release contain forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, including the timely availability and acceptance of new products, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the management of growth, and the other risks detailed from time to time in each company's respective SEC reports.
Note to Editors: GUIDE Plus+, VCR Plus+ and PlusCode are trademarks of Gemstar. Other product names used herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective companies.
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