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Technology Stocks : IATV-ACTV Digital Convergence Software-HyperTV -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Atheist who wrote (2244)	4/19/1999 9:12:00 AM
From: ed doell	Respond to of 13157

Did anyone notice the "and radio" part of the announcement? "Interactive Television (IATV:Nasdaq) will announce Monday that it has acquired a patent covering a way to link television and radio with Web sites."

To: The Atheist who wrote (2244)	4/19/1999 10:15:00 AM
From: Skip Jack	Respond to of 13157

Found this on Broadcasting and Cable ***************************** Date Posted: 4/16/1999 Wolzien's own Although comfortable with the intellectual satisfaction of owning a patent, media analyst Tom Wolzien now has something more: Financial satisfaction. ACTV Inc. is expected to disclose next week that it has acquired an interactive TV patent from the Sanford Bernstein & Co. analyst to incorporate into its own service. Four years ago Wolzien hit on the idea for embedding a Web address in TV programming, allowing viewers to click on an on-screen button to retrieve specific data from the Internet. Combining TV and the Internet didn't seem like much at the time, but that idea is now a key element of many cable and programmers' plans for interactive television. "The Wolzien Process" will now be included in ACTV's HyperTV software for content producers. An aside: ACTV is giving anyone developing special programming aimed at helping disabled people get a big price break, a nod toward Wolzien's son, Trevor, who was paralyzed in a car accident three years ago.

To: The Atheist who wrote (2244)	4/19/1999 10:28:00 AM
From: Skip Jack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13157

Don't know if this article from Multichannel has been posted yet, so here it is. *********************** Liberty Adds to ACTV Stake By R. THOMAS UMSTEAD April 19, 1999 Two weeks after selling its share of sports-heavy Fox/Liberty Networks, Liberty Media Group invested $9 million in interactive sports service ACTV Inc. last week. The investment -- a combination of Liberty exercising previously existing options and purchasing additional common stock -- helps to solidify the value of the interactive service, while providing Liberty with a platform with which to expand its digital interactive offerings, company executives said. Along with its $9 million investment, Liberty has the ability to purchase additional options in ACTV totaling more than $100 million. The investment would give Liberty a 25 percent interest in the company, up from 10 percent now. The Liberty connection has already triggered a big boost in ACTV's market capitalization. ACTV's stock price closed at $8.50 March 30 and at $19.50 April 13 -- a difference of about $365 million in market cap over that time. The ACTV stake is expected to be part of the interactive assets that comprise Liberty Digital. Liberty said last week that it would contribute its Internet and interactive-programming assets -- including stakes in Priceline.com Inc., iVillage Inc., SportsLine USA Inc. and Drugstore.com Inc. -- to Liberty-controlled TCI Music Inc. in exchange for 128.8 million newly issued TCI Music shares, giving Liberty Digital some stock to use as deal currency. David Reese, president and chief operating officer of ACTV, said the deal further enhances the value of ACTV's technology as a major component in the development and deployment of digital technology. "The fact that they moved so quickly to increase their investment [in ACTV], combined with the fact that we've opened a West Coast business office with them, shows that they recognize the value of the technology," Reese said. "We will do everything that we can to take advantage of the synergies created between the companies." Lee Masters, president and CEO of Liberty Digital, said in a prepared statement that ACTV has "continued to develop a suite of innovative applications that fit very well with Liberty Digital's strategy of bringing new digital and interactive applications to the marketplace." Liberty, which first invested $5 million in ACTV last September, has already begun exploring other applications of ACTV's interactive technologies beyond its sports service. Liberty tested the ACTV technology in Ventura County, Calif., on children's shows, news and game shows. Liberty also worked with ACTV to implement its "individualized television" programming with several regional sports networks. ACTV's technology allows viewers to choose between as many as 60 different options while watching live games. ACTV's technology, however, goes beyond traditional cable-programming content: The company last month announced the launch of its software-based application, dubbed "HyperTV," into the commercial entertainment-programming market, after two years of development as a private-network platform for education systems, "e-School Online." HyperTV delivers streamed Internet video, Web addresses, advertising and other data or links to viewers' personal computers, in synchronization with broadcast or cable programming on their television sets. 204.243.31.23