GREAT NEWS for IATV:
(BSNS WIRE) Showtime Networks & HyperTV Networks to Enhance Television P
Showtime Networks & HyperTV Networks to Enhance Television Programming With
Synchronized Web Content and Community Chat
Business/Entertainment Editors
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 15, 1999--
HyperTV(TM) To Provide An Unparalleled TV-Internet Convergence
Experience For Showtime's Sci-Friday Lineup and Boxing Franchises
Showtime Networks Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Viacom Inc.
(NYSE: VIA) and HyperTV Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of ACTV, Inc.
(NASDAQ: IATV), today announced an agreement to enhance Showtime's
television programming with the delivery of synchronized and relevant
Web content and community chat made possible by ACTV's patented
HyperTV(TM) software solution for TV-Internet convergence.
SHO.com and HyperTV Networks will collaborate on the development
and delivery of unique TV-Internet convergence programming content for
viewers of Showtime's Sci-Friday programming lineup and boxing
franchises. Initially, a targeted pilot group of Showtime viewers will
be able to enjoy a HyperTV experience during specific programs airing
in the fourth quarter of 1999. Based on consumer response, the
companies will consider the further integration of HyperTV with
additional airings of programming within Showtime's Sci-Friday lineup
and boxing franchises.
"We're real believers in using the Internet to provide a more
comprehensive, interactive experience for our viewers while providing
a return path to the network," said Tom Hayden, senior vice president,
strategy and development, Showtime Networks. "HyperTV will enable us
to create convergent applications that can build new relationships
with the growing number of our viewers who currently have a television
and computer co-located in the same room. We believe the combined
expertise of Showtime and ACTV will enable us to deliver a superior
entertainment experience to our viewers."
To experience Showtime's HyperTV programming, all consumers need
is a standard television set and a computer with an Internet
connection. HyperTV Networks will develop customized "skins" for
Showtime's HyperTV interface, bringing the look and feel of the
network's programming to the convergence experience. The free HyperTV
plug-in will be offered to viewers through SHO.com.
"Showtime has been way ahead of the industry curve when it comes
to interactivity and TV-Internet convergence programming," said Bruce
Crowley, president, HyperTV Networks. "Together, we expect to create a
new genre of entertainment that will enable Showtime to better
leverage the power of the Internet to expand its audience. We believe
HyperTV offers television programmers the most effective and
cost-efficient way to extend their brands to the Web without eroding
their television audience, while vastly improving the traditional
television experience for their viewers."
According to a survey by Showtime Networks and Paul Kagan
Associates, nearly one in five U.S. households already exhibit
convergent behavior, simultaneously viewing television and accessing
the Internet. This represents more than 20 million convergent
households in the U.S. and that number continues to rapidly grow.
ACTV recently announced it had completed stress-testing for its
first HyperTV point-of-presence (POP), ensuring that it can
consistently support up to 100,000 simultaneous users of HyperTV
without crashing the system. The servers for the HyperTV POP, located
at Exodus Communications' (NASDAQ: EXDS) New York Internet Data
Center, will utilize Exodus' secure, high-speed and redundant network
architecture to deliver its content over the Internet. The HyperTV
Network is being built utilizing clustering technology, which offers
ACTV scalability to rapidly increase its ability to support additional
HyperTV users in increments of 100,000.
The patented HyperTV software is designed to be a browser plug-in
for newer versions of either Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet
Explorer, the most popular web browsers. HyperTV is software-based,
without hardware, chip or platform dependency, and can operate on any
of today's principal PC operating systems. It is also fully compatible
with analog or digital television and broadband delivery
infrastructures. Programmers don't have to alter their existing
delivery systems to begin providing their viewers with a HyperTV
experience. As next generation digital set-top boxes, cable modems and
other consumer devices are deployed, viewers will be able to enjoy a
HyperTV programming experience with each of the elements -- video,
audio, synchronized Web content and chat -- simultaneously delivered
directly to their television screen or desktop.
Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Viacom, Inc. (NYSE: VIA). SNI owns the premium television networks
SHOWTIME, THE MOVIE CHANNEL, and FLIX. SNI operates and manages the
premium television network SUNDANCE CHANNEL, which is owned by SNI,
Robert Redford and Universal Studios Inc. SNI also markets and
distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to
subscribers on a pay-per-view basis.
ACTV, Inc. (NASDAQ: IATV) is a leader in interactive digital
television with its proprietary "Individualized Television" and
"Individualized Advertising" software and programming capabilities.
The company has also pioneered TV-Internet convergence programming
with its patented HyperTV(TM) software solution. ACTV offers superior,
practical solutions for television programmers, advertisers, cable
operators, educators, and consumers looking to leverage the emergence
of digital television and the broadband delivery infrastructure.
ACTV has relationships with many of the dominant players in the
Internet, television and digital technology fields, including key
strategic investments from Liberty Media Group (NYSE: LMG.A, LMG.B)
and General Instrument Corporation (NYSE: GIC). ACTV Entertainment and
HyperTV Networks, Inc., are subsidiaries of ACTV, Inc. Visit ACTV's
Web site at actv.com.
Disclaimer: This news release contains forward-looking statements
as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans,
objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and
underlying assumptions and other statements which are other than
statements of historical facts. These statements are subject to
uncertainties and risks including, but not limited to, product and
service demand and acceptance, changes in technology, economic
conditions, the impact of competition and pricing, government
regulation, and other risks defined in this document and in statements
filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
All such forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, and
whether made by or on behalf of the Company, are expressly qualified
by the cautionary statements and any other cautionary statements which
may accompany the forward-looking statements. In addition, the company
disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof.
--30--rg/ny*
CONTACT: Mike Rosen
Bratskeir & Company
(for ACTV)
212-679-2233, ext. 213
mrosen@bratskeir.com
Joan Ziff/Jocelyn Brandeis
Showtime Networks
212-708-1590/212-708-1579
joan.ziff@showtime.net
jocelyn.brandeis@showtime.net
KEYWORD: NEW YORK
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ENTERTAINMENT INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET
COMED
Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet
with Hyperlinks to your home page.
URL: http |
