TiVo and America Online Announce Alliance for AOL TV <AOL.N>
TiVo and America Online Announce Alliance for AOL TV SUNNYVALE, Calif. and DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aug. 17, 1999-- Companies To Bring Consumers Personalized Television Service and AOL Interactivity TiVo, Inc., the creator of personal television services, and America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL), the world's leading interactive services company, today announced an alliance that will further expand interactive possibilities for the television. In addition, America Online has made a minority equity investment in TiVo. The two companies will collaborate to bring consumers a new interactive experience by combining TiVo's personal television service with AOL TV's enhanced interactive television experience. Future versions of TiVo's personal video receiver are expected to be created for consumers to access the services. The TiVo service enables consumers to time-shift their favorite television shows and create a customized television lineup for viewing at any time. TiVo's intelligent "thumbs up, thumbs down" ratings provide a personalized selection of new programming suggestions, which ensure that the receiver is always able to provide the best programs available on television to fit individual viewer preferences. "When TiVo created personal television we envisioned a service that would give viewers choice and control over their television viewing experience that allows our viewers to experience TV that is customized for their unique interests and schedules," said Mike Ramsay, TiVo's President and CEO. "As we look toward the future, we envision a viewer experience that provides consumers with an even higher degree of interactivity, and who better to bring this to life than AOL. By partnering with the world's leading interactive service, we will be better able to provide our customers with enriched interactive television viewing that provides a new kind of connected television experience." "AOL has always focused on making the online experience a key part of our members' lives. As consumers want to extend that interactive experience to devices beyond the PC, we see TiVo as a great way to help us deliver our hallmark, ease-of-use and convenience to the television," said Bob Pittman, President and Chief Operating Officer of America Online, Inc. "With our strong focus on consumers we plan to deliver them the interactive services that are best suited to enhance their television-viewing experience." AOL TV, part of the AOL Anywhere initiative, will offer members a new AOL interactive service on the television platform designed to include key pieces of AOL's current functionality as well as new features designed to enhance the television-viewing experience. Earlier this summer, AOL announced agreements with DIRECTV, Hughes Network Systems, Philips Electronics and Liberate Technologies (formerly Network Computer, Inc.) which are also key to the development of AOL TV. 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; the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers; AOL MovieFone, the nation's No. 1 movie listing guide and ticketing service; and Spinner Networks and NullSoft, Inc., leaders in Internet music. 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 TiVo TiVo, headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., is the creator of personal television. The TiVo service lets consumers take control of their television viewing by allowing them to watch what they want, when they want. TiVo enables consumers to pause, rewind, instant replay and playback in slow motion any live television broadcast. As part of TiVo's easy-to-use service and unique technology, viewers can time-shift their favorite television shows and create a customized television lineup for viewing at anytime. The company was founded in August 1997 by two former Silicon Graphics senior executives, Michael Ramsay and James Barton, both of whom were instrumental in early generation interactive video-on-demand systems and Hollywood special-effects technology. TiVo can be reached on the World Wide Web at www.tivo.com. This release contains forward-looking statements about TiVo's business, partners and other factors that may effect market acceptance, future revenues and financial results. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. TiVo is a trademark of TiVo Inc. -- Product slides/digital images are available upon request
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