ACTV and RANDOM/ORDER to Work Together to Develop iTV Solutions for Advertisers
LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 25, 2000--
Partnership Will Assist Advertising Agencies and Network Operators
In The Migration From Traditional To Interactive Television
RANDOM/ORDER, a pioneer provider of interactive television (iTV) solutions, today announced an agreement with ACTV, Inc. (Nasdaq: IATV) to jointly assist advertising agencies and network operators in the development of applications for, and the implementation of, ACTV's industry-leading products and services for interactive TV, addressable and interactive advertising, and Enhanced TV.
ACTV's One To One TV(TM), SpotOn(TM), and HyperTV(R) products and services will be available to advertisers and content creators at RANDOM/ORDER'S iTVLab, a facility that enables programmers and advertisers to produce and refine interactive content, as it will appear on a wide variety of iTV platforms. ACTV's software is integrated into the digital set-top boxes of the leading manufacturers including Motorola, Scientific-Atlanta and Pioneer Digital Technologies. ACTV also has software integration agreements and strategic relationships with OpenTV, Liberate Technologies, and ICTV, the industry's foremost iTV platform providers.
"ACTV is a leading innovator of iTV applications. We look forward to working closely with ACTV's unique and robust technology to create value for advertisers and viewers," said Stuart Gross, RANDOM/ORDER CEO. "ACTV shares our goal of empowering advertisers and network operators with the ability to fully exploit the opportunities of iTV."
"We've had a consistent vision of interactive TV and advertising for many years, and that vision is now becoming a reality thanks in part to companies like RANDOM/ORDER," said William C. Samuels, Chairman and CEO of ACTV, Inc. "RANDOM/ORDER's strong relationships and their experience in developing iTV strategies and enabling advertising agencies and their clients, make them a great ally as we work to create a paradigm shift in the effectiveness and creativity of TV advertising."
ACTV's One To One TV(TM) enables viewers to instantly and seamlessly customize their viewing experiences. Using a standard digital set-top box and remote control, a viewer can switch between the regular network programming feed and a multitude of personal options and features. ACTV's software remembers viewer commands and responses to on-screen prompts, enabling an unlimited number of viewers to individually-tailor the program they are watching.
SpotOn(TM), the advertising application of One To One TV(TM), is the only comprehensive, software-based and TV-centric system that enables the delivery and accounting of highly targeted and interactive advertising via digital cable, digital satellite, and digital broadcast television. SpotOn(TM) allows viewers to choose and interact with commercials; it empowers advertisers to deliver commercials to households most likely to respond to them (based on demographic or household-specific profiles); and it allows TV network operators to generate new TV commerce revenues.
ACTV's HyperTV(R) software enables TV networks, programmers and advertisers to automatically deliver compelling interactive Web content, Web-based advertising, e-commerce, and community chat features that are synchronized to live or pre-recorded TV programming (or any other video or audio-based content). HyperTV(R) currently targets the "two box, two screen" audience of viewers who are creating their own interactive television experiences. The only requirement to experience a HyperTV(R) event today is to have an Internet-connected computer and a TV set located in the same room.
HyperTV(R) with Livewire, a joint venture between ACTV and Liberty Livewire Corporation (Nasdaq: LWIRA), provides turnkey convergence services, including application hosting, web authoring services, data management, e-commerce and other value-added services for advertisers, television programmers, studios and networks.
About RANDOM/ORDER's iTVLab:
RANDOM/ORDER's iTVLab(SM) is located at the company's Culver City campus and represents a benchmark in the evolution of iTV development. There, advertisers, content producers and network operators are able to view their iTV applications, as they appear side-by-side on almost all of the leading iTV platforms.
Currently, RANDOM/ORDER's iTV Lab hosts ACTV, Canal+ US Technologies, Intertainer, Liberate, Microsoft TV, Mixed Signals, OpenTV, RespondTV, WebTV Networks, and WorldGate. The cross-platform tools available in the iTVLab facilitate experimentation, authoring, prototyping, testing, and technology development and support, and represent the broadest assemblage of working iTV approaches.
ABOUT ACTV, INC.: ACTV, Inc. (Nasdaq: IATV), with headquarters in New York City, pioneered Enhanced TV programming with its patented HyperTV(R) software solution. The company also created interactive one-to-one digital television with its proprietary One To One TV(TM)software and programming capabilities. ACTV has relationships with many of the dominant players in the Internet, television and digital technology fields, including key strategic relationships with Liberty Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: LDIG), Motorola's (NYSE: MOT) Broadband Communications Sector, Liberty Livewire Corporation (Nasdaq: LWIRA), and OpenTV (Nasdaq and AEX: OPTV). For more information, visit ACTV's Web site at actv.com or hypertv.com.
ABOUT RANDOM/ORDER:
Founded in the spring of 1999, RANDOM/ORDER is a leading provider of creative and technical services for content creators, service providers and technology companies. RANDOM/ORDER provides expertise and solutions including design, prototyping, production and integration services that empower its partners with the ability to deliver targeted, engaging and response-capable programming. With TV commercial veterans Stuart Gross, Bob Abel, Tory Hazard and Lee Pearson at the helm, members of the RANDOM/ORDER team have been recipients of every significant television advertising award, as well as Emmy and Oscar awards.
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.
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CONTACT:
ACTV, Inc.
Bill Roll, 212/217-1600
or
Bratskeir & Company (ACTV Media Relations)
Mike Rosen/Gregory Trieste, 212/679-2233
or
The Lippin Group (RANDOM/ORDER)
Fonda Berosini/Kelly Smith, 323/965-1990 |
