ValueVision Home Shopping Television Network to be Renamed SnapTV, Marking Major Integration of an Internet Portal Brand With a Cable Network
SnapTV.com Internet Shopping Service to Launch With Significant Portal and Direct E-Commerce Distribution
MINNEAPOLIS and SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15 -- ValueVision International Inc. (Nasdaq:VVTV), and NBC Internet (NBCi), to be formed as a result of the proposed merger involving Snap.com, XOOM.com (Nasdaq:XMCM) and several Internet assets of NBC, announced today strategic commerce initiatives under the brands SnapTV and SnapTV.com. ValueVision's home shopping cable television network will be re-branded SnapTV and a companion SnapTV.com Internet shopping service will be launched together with a wide-ranging direct e-commerce strategy.
The SnapTV strategic agreements span television home shopping, Internet shopping and direct e-commerce initiatives, marking a major integration of an Internet portal brand with a cable channel. The moves will position SnapTV and NBCi as leaders in the ongoing convergence of television and the Internet, combining the promotional and selling power of television with the purely digital world of e-commerce. The NBCi merger transactions, announced in May 1999, are subject to SEC and XOOM.com shareholder approval.
Under the terms of the SnapTV agreements, ValueVision International's television home shopping network, which currently is called ValueVision and reaches approximately 32 million cable homes, will be re-branded as SnapTV and its companion VVTV.com Web site will be re-launched as SnapTV.com -- leveraging the brand affinity cultivated by Snap.com, NBCi's primary consumer brand. ValueVision's cable re-branding will be phased in over the next 6-9 months. The re-branded TV network will continue to be owned and operated by ValueVision and will feature several new entertaining and innovative programming formats that uniquely highlight the convergence of television with the Internet.
The new companion SnapTV.com Internet shopping service will feature online purchasing opportunities of SnapTV merchandise, streaming video of SnapTV's cable channel, short form video representations of products, and auctions, together with online e-commerce opportunities offered by SnapTV's merchant partners. The SnapTV.com online store will be owned and operated by ValueVision in coordination with NBCi, and will be featured prominently within the shopping area of NBCi's Snap.com Internet portal. NBCi will become the exclusive direct e-commerce partner for SnapTV, relying on core competencies and e-commerce management systems developed by XOOM.com, a key component of the proposed NBCi merger.
Gene McCaffery, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of ValueVision International, Inc. said: ``These groundbreaking agreements will insure ValueVision's leadership in the development of cable television and internet commerce convergence, creating new revenue streams and enhancing shareholder value. We are pleased to be aligned with such high energy, successful and forward-thinking companies as Snap.com, XOOM.com and NBC, to be a part of the dramatic branding opportunity this represents, and to be able to play a role in significantly changing the way electronic commerce is conducted and viewed.'
``These SnapTV agreements will further XOOM.com's strategy of a purely digital electronic commerce model, with ValueVision handling the bricks-and-mortar side of the business as well as creating its own digital store, and XOOM.com overseeing direct e-commerce services,' said Chris Kitze, Chairman, XOOM.com. Kitze, who is slated to become NBCi's Chief Executive Officer, following approval of the NBCi transaction, added: ``We are pleased to be working with such forward-thinking partners as Snap.com and ValueVision International, who both are well-positioned for 21st Century shopping opportunities.'
``This announcement strategically integrates NBC's cable and Internet assets by placing SnapTV in the position of being the first cable home shopping channel to be branded with the name of an Internet portal,' said Tom Rogers, President, NBC Cable and Executive Vice President, NBC. ``It also places SnapTV in a strong position to take full advantage of the next evolution of home shopping via high speed cable modems that combine the speed of the Internet with the video-richness of cable, which over time will yield an entirely new and more robust shopping experience.'
The new SnapTV service is expected to be spotlighted in select NBCi Snap.com on-air promotions on the NBC Television Network, designed to promote both the SnapTV brand and the soon-to-be-launched SnapTV.com Internet shopping service. Additionally, NBCi's Snap.com Internet portal is expected to be promoted on-air on the SnapTV television home shopping service.
NBCi's XOOM.com component, whose consumer Internet services will be branded Snap.com following the projected closing of the NBCi merger, will become the exclusive direct electronic commerce partner for SnapTV, overseeing database management, email marketing and sales, and other direct e-commerce endeavors. Direct online shopping offers will include SnapTV merchandise, as well as XOOM.com products and services. ValueVision and XOOM.com will share revenues from all such initiatives. As part of the agreements, ValueVision and XOOM.com also have exchanged warrants to acquire minority interests in their respective companies. These rights and obligations of XOOM.com will be assigned to and assumed by NBCi following approval of the proposed merger.
Following shareholder approval and closing of the proposed NBCi merger, all SnapTV.com Internet traffic will be counted toward the NBCi venture and NBCi will sell SnapTV.com online advertising and sponsorship opportunities. Additionally, NBCi's Snap.com Internet search applications will be integrated into the SnapTV.com Internet shopping service.
NBCi will be one of the first publicly traded Internet companies integrated with a major broadcaster. NBCi will use Snap.com as its umbrella consumer brand, integrating broadcast, portal, and e-commerce services.
``These agreements with ValueVision and XOOM.com will strengthen Snap.com's electronic commerce capabilities and will better enable us to bring our users the best shopping opportunities and other great deals in our one-stop shopping area,' said Edmond Sanctis, Chief Operating Officer, Snap.com.
``The combined strengths of Snap.com and XOOM.com, which together rank as the seventh most visited site on the Internet on a pro forma basis, will afford ValueVision's SnapTV with incredible promotional and transactional capabilities that cut across broadcast television, cable television and the Internet,' said Stuart Goldfarb, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Business Development, NBC, who will be joining ValueVision International Inc. as Vice Chairman, in the fourth quarter of 1999.
In addition, Snap.com will work to incorporate streaming SnapTV video and audio product demonstrations and other multimedia material into Snap.com For Higher Speed Users (http://speed.snap.com), a rich media portal service designed for broadband users and other higher-speed Internet users.
About XOOM.com, Inc.:
XOOM.com, Inc. (http://www.xoom.com) offers consumers high-quality, free services over the Web, including homepage building, chat rooms, message boards, HTML email, online greeting cards, a Web page counter, clip art and downloadable software. XOOM.com has pioneered direct e-commerce on the Internet by targeting its members with product and service offers relevant to their needs and interests. To date, the company has attracted more than 10 million members. XOOM.com, which was founded in September 1996, is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in New York City, Los Angeles and Paris, France.
About Snap.com:
Snap.com, the Internet portal service company from NBC and CNET (Nasdaq:CNET), operates the Snap.com flagship portal service (http://www.snap.com) and the newly launched Snap.com For Higher Speed Users (http://speed.snap.com), the first-ever service of its kind. Snap.com's Internet portal services offer users powerful ways to organize and find anything on the Internet. Snap.com's Internet portal services feature content from over 100 leading Web publishers, and are distributed by more than 50 leading Internet Service Providers, telephone and communications companies, PC manufacturers and third-party marketers. At the heart of Snap.com's portal services is a directory of Web sites and over 500 resource centers, built by a team of editors and reviewers to ensure quality, freshness and usefulness. Users may either search the Snap directory by using keywords, or browse through the directory's 16 topic categories.
About ValueVision International Inc.:
ValueVision International, Inc. is an integrated electronic and print media direct marketing company, and operates a television home shopping network and multi-book catalog operation. The Company offers live programming 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. As of September 14, 1999, approximately 32 million cable homes are able to receive ValueVision's programming. In addition, the Company operates several direct mail operations and an Internet shopping Web site (www.vvtv.com). The Company's shares are traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol VVTV. For additional information on ValueVision please visit the Company's web site at vvtv.com or by fax, at no cost, dial 1-800-PRO-INFO, and enter code VVTV.
``XOOM,' ``XOOM.com' and the ``X-in-circle' logo are trademarks of XOOM.com, which may be registered in certain jurisdictions.
This press release contains statements that are forward looking. These statements are based on the Companies' expectations of future results as of the date of this press release. Actual results may differ materially from those projected because of a number of risks and uncertainties, including those listed from time to time in ValueVision's and XOOM.com's SEC reports, including but not limited to the Companies' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31, 1999 and December 31, 1998, respectively; the Companies' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended July 31, 1999 and June 30, 1999, respectively; and the registration statement on form S-4 filed by NBC Internet, Inc. Important factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those in any such forward-looking statements include: consumer spending and debt levels; interest rates; competitive pressure on sales and pricing; the maintenance of distribution of ValueVision's programming; the possibility that ValueVision's revenues and cable distribution will not continually increase; that e-commerce will not be successful; that other strategic alliances (including the GE Equity and NBC alliance) may not result succeed; XOOM.com's limited operating history; unpredictability of its quarter-to-quarter results; its unproven business model and dependence on members; risks associated with its international operations; its reliance on a network infrastructure; its dependence on vendors and suppliers; management of its growth and expansion; risks associated with brand development; its reliance on advertising revenue; intense competition with other Web communities and businesses; the risks of infringement of intellectual property rights; risks associated with acquisitions; and reliance on strategic relationships.
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