WAVO---For sure A.M. Gap 32Million traded NEWS: WavePhore Partners With Wave Systems to Enable Broadcast Pay-Per-Use Programming
Business Wire - December 01, 1998 10:58
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 1, 1998--
Agreement Extends WaveTop's Electronic Commerce Offerings and Capabilities WavePhore, Inc. (NASDAQ: WAVO), the leading new media content integrator and architect of digital delivery systems, today announced an agreement with Wave Systems Corporation (OTC BB: WAVX) to utilize Wave's Embassy E-Commerce content metering and payment system. This agreement will enable the broadcast of pay-per-view, subscription and rental content such as games, information services and video services to WaveTop subscribers.
"We can now offer our customers, content partners and electronic commerce vendors a secure payment system for a wide variety of digital content and programming," said Thom Kozik, Executive Vice President and General Manager of WaveTop. "This system also provides a framework for broadcasting a new class of pay-per-use interactive media within the WaveTop service to home PC consumers with TV tuner cards today, and to the burgeoning DTV set-top box market in the very near future."
WaveTop's unique electronic commerce and advertising-supported service also provides multi-media programming, including news, investment advice and information, children's programming, weather, consumer reports, free software downloads and much more, all supplied by the Web's leading content providers. Distributed nationally via the unused portion of television signals from 264 PBS member stations around the country, WaveTop
currently reaches more than 99 percent of U.S. households.
Consumers can make use today of the secure payment services by utilizing TV tuner cards incorporating the Wave Systems EMBASSY E-Commerce system, such as the popular WinTV card from Hauppauge Digital (NASDAQ: HAUP; hauppauge.com), the leading provider of TV and Data Broadcast receiver products for PCs.
Wave System's EMBASSY (EMBedded Application Security SYstem) E-Commerce System offers consumers the benefits of conveniently and securely purchasing pay-per-use or rent-to-own top entertainment,education and software titles directly from their PCs, as well as receive on-demand streaming audio and video. Moreover, EMBASSY is compatible with other content distribution channels, including the Internet,cable television, CD-ROM, or DVD, while also providing the needed end-user content and subscriber management system.
"We are excited by news of the WavePhore-Wave agreement. We believe it will accelerate the deployment of Wave's E-commerce system, enabling paid-for data and video services in both analog and digital television markets," said Ken Plotkin, Vice President of Marketing for Hauppauge Computer Works, Inc.
WavePhore is a leader in the industry bringing new programming and content to home viewers through the television medium. The company is a member of the IP Multicast Initiative (IPMI), an industry committee that drafts the specifications for IP Multicast, the data broadcasting standard adopted by the recently formed Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (ATVEF) for enhanced television programming. Enhanced television enables a variety of new information, entertainment and commerce opportunities using data broadcasting alone or in conjunction with video programming and set-top boxes.
HOW WAVETOP WORKS
WaveTop's PC data broadcast service works by embedding data streams into the unseen portion of existing broadcast television signals using the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI). WaveTop has partnered with PBS National Datacast to broadcast data over the television signals of its 264 PBS member stations. Using a simple browser interface and a broadcast ready PC (a standard PC with a built-in TV tuner or equipped with an add-on TV tuner card), users will interact with automatically downloaded information, entertainment and software. Computers equipped with TV tuners and WaveTop software transparently receive, decode and cache content without the bottleneck of the Internet or tying up a phone line. WaveTop is compatible with Microsoft Windows 95 and is part of the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system.
RICH CONTENT
WaveTop content providers are among the world's leading media companies, including Time Inc. New Media, which includes the on-line versions of People, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Money, Fortune and Sports Illustrated for Kids and ZDNet News, on-line versions of ComputerLife, Family PC and Yahoo Internet Life. Also providing content are USA TODAY, The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, CBS SportsLine, PBS ONLINE, Warner Bros. Online, Bloomberg L.P., The Weather Channel, N2K's Music Boulevard, BarnesandNoble.com,
Universal Press Syndicate Comics, Women's Wire and Prevention's
Healthy Ideas, ParentTime, Supermarkets Online, NECX, Astrology.Net, Dummies Daily and UltimateTV.
In addition, WaveTop offers a unique merchandising experience for consumers from vendors such, Barnes and Noble, Audio Book Club,CompUSA, Continental Airlines, eToys, Godiva Chocaltier, The Fragrance Counter, NextCard, Scudder Kemper Investments, Shop-at-Home,
VideoMaker magazine and the Wall Street Journal
ADVERTISER-SUPPORTED
WaveTop is supported by leading consumer-brand charter advertisers.They include companies such as Atlanta Bank, EMI Records,Hewlett-Packard Co., Intel Corp., Kellogg Co., Lincoln-Mercury Inc.,Mobil Corp., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Salomon Smith Barney Holdings and Spiegel Inc. WaveTop's ability to deliver high-bandwidth applications to the home without the download delays associated with modems allows advertisers to send more creative multimedia advertisements such as movie and video clips, games, software downloads and micro sites.
ABOUT WAVEPHORE
WavePhore, Inc. (NASDAQ: WAVO) is the leading new media content
integrator and architect of digital delivery systems. It partners with the
foremost providers of news, business data, Web-based content and
multimedia programming to deliver selective intelligence and quality content
to an information-dependent society. WavePhore (www.wavephore.com)
enables people and enterprises to more efficiently receive, manage and
productively use all types of urgent, insightful, or relevant information. The
company's technologies and services aggregate, filter, customize and
distribute digital content (text, graphics, music, and video) using a wide
range of reliable, low-cost broadcast (FM sideband, TV-VBI), satellite
and Web-based delivery systems. It has technology sourcing and strategic
alliances with Microsoft, Intel, Compaq, Sony, Gateway, STB, ADS and
PBS National Datacast, in addition to information service agreements with
some two hundred Fortune 1,000 companies worldwide. Additional
information on WavePhore is available via the Internet at
wavephore.com. Information on its business units can be found
at: wavetop.net, wavephore.net and
newscast.com.
ABOUT WAVE SYSTEMS
Founded in 1988, the mission of Wave Systems Corporation is to create the world's best technologies to secure and sell digital information. Wave's core EMBASSY technology is an inexpensive, proprietary hardware and software-based device that enables secure transaction processing and distributed information metering in users' PCs. Embedded in PC hardware and peripherals, set top boxes and other devices, EMBASSY is the foundation for client-based security applications and a new distribution and
purchasing model for content and services. This low-cost, secure "system within a system" will enable the personal computer to assume an important new role in the evolving digital economy. By moving secure transactions to the desktop, Wave provides intrinsic value to the electronic commerce process, benefiting PC users, application developers, and hardware
manufacturers. For more information, visit Wave's corporate web site at
wave.com.
Certain of the above statements regarding WavePhore constitute
forward-looking statements, which may involve risks and uncertainties.
Actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking statements
as a result of a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, technology
changes, competitive developments, industry and market acceptance of
new products and services, risk factors listed from time to time in
WavePhore's SEC filings.
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in
the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company
names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Neale-May & Partners
Bernadette Callahan, 650/328-5555 ext. 120
(WaveTop Media Contact)
callahan@nealemay.com
or
WavePhore Inc.
Jennifer Schreier, 602/952-5500 ext. 239
(WaveTop Investor Relations Contact)
jschreier@wavephore.com
or
Fleishman-Hillard
Aaron Feigin, 415/356-1033
(Wave Media)
feigina@fleishman.com
or
Wave Systems
Kent Kappen, 408/261-9510
(Wave Corporate Information)
kkappen@wavesys.com
or
Jaffoni & Collins
David Collins, 212/835-8500
(Wave Investor Relations)
WAVX@jcir.com
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