Chart looks good for breakout for an old favorite VVTV. They also hold a position in NAVR's Net Radio IPO
From 9/15:
/FROM PR NEWSWIRE NEW YORK 800-776-8090/
TO BUSINESS EDITOR:
ValueVision International and Proposed NBC Internet Company Unveil SnapTV, a
Major Cable TV, Internet Shopping and E-Commerce Initiative
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 /PRNewswire/ -- 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.
SOURCE ValueVision International, XOOM.com, Snap.com, NBC
/CONTACT: Robert Silverman, 212-664-2756, robert.silverman@nbc.com, orFrances
Byrne, 415-875-7913, francesb@snap.com, both of Snap.com; Roger Maesof XOOM.com,
415-288-2568, roger@xoom.com; Haris Tajyar, 310-442-0599,htajyar@frb.bsmg.com,
or Marjorie Ornston, 310-442-0599,mornston@frb.bsmg.com, both of FRB for
ValueVision/
/Web site: nbc.com
/Web site: xoom.com
/Web site: snap.com
Sep-15-1999 08:13 GMT
Symbols:
US;VVTV US;XMCM US;CNET
Source PRN PR NewsWire
Categories:
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