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

To: Bob Biersack who wrote (3693)	5/17/1999 9:05:00 AM
From: Jim Mulis	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13157

Well, it looks like we may go across the pond. There's no reason to think that we won't be in TV Guide Interactive in Europe as well as here in the states. The Far East next? TV Guide, Inc. Acquires Majority Stake in Infomedia S.A. Alliance to Offer Complete Electronic Program Guide Solutions in Europe LONDON, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- TV Guide, Inc. (Nasdaq: TVGIA - news; TV Guide) has acquired a majority stake in Infomedia S.A., Luxembourg, the leading provider of TV listings content in Europe. The announcement was made on the opening day of the Cable and Satellite Mediacast '99 Exhibition taking place at Earl's Court, London, where Infomedia is exhibiting at Stand 635. Infomedia (www.infomedia.lu) is Europe's leading aggregator of TV program schedule listings, which it collects for more than 300 channels in 13 languages. The company, which established its online operations in 1991, has a rapidly growing client base of publishers and multi-channel television distributors in 29 countries, and particular expertise in delivering data to Electronic Program Guides (EPGs). TV Guide, Inc.'s print magazine and electronic program guide products are the most widely distributed products of their kind in the world, and are used in more than 100 million U.S. cable and satellite homes every week. TV Guide International markets its electronic guide products in more than 20 countries in North and South America. The transaction provides for a substantial majority investment by TV Guide, Inc. in Infomedia's operations. As part of the agreement, TV Guide, Inc. has the option to acquire 100 percent of the company at a later date. TV Guide also announced that Janet Greco, the company's founder and managing director, will remain in place as Infomedia's Chief Executive Officer. Joe Kiener, President of TV Guide, Inc., commented, ''This is a strategically important acquisition for TV Guide's rapidly growing international business. Content and technology drive our business, and the alliance with Infomedia puts in place a critical building block upon which TV Guide can apply its electronic program guide development along with its listings and data expertise to the pan-European market place.'' Janet Greco remarked, ''This transaction marks the start of a rapid and constructive process to bring Infomedia to the next level with a global partner who understands both the publishing and interactive TV guidance businesses. I am very pleased to have this affiliation with such an outstanding company as TV Guide and I very much look forward to the process of building an extended range of services for our customers throughout Europe.'' ''We look forward to working with European cable and satellite operators to design cost-effective products that will enable them to provide their customers with superior interactive program guides,'' said Rick Phillips, executive vice president, International, of TV Guide, Inc. ''This alliance with the only pan-European provider in the listings data business will enable TV Guide to immediately meet the needs of the growing number of operators who require turn-key solutions for interactive program guides. The combination of TV Guide's experience in the development and operation of interactive guides with highly-effective program promotion capabilities and Infomedia's comprehensive listings data services will deliver compelling and value added end-to-end solutions.'' TV Guide is a global diversified media and communications company that operates three primary business units: TV Guide Entertainment Group, TV Guide Magazine Group, and United Video Group. TV Guide markets and distributes products in the United States to over 100 million cable and satellite homes every week. TV Guide also markets its products internationally in 24 countries. TV Guide Magazine and TV Guide Channel are the largest print and electronic guidance products in the world. TV Guide has unparalleled consumer reach with such products and cable/satellite services as: -- TV Guide Magazine - 12 million subscribers -35 million weekly readers -- TV Guide Channel - 53 million subscribers -28 million weekly viewers -- TV Guide Interactive -36 million homes passed -2 million subscribers -- TV Guide Online - 40 million page views/month ->50,000 unique users per day -- The Cable Guide - 4 million subscribers -11 million weekly readers -- Sneak Prevue - 34 million subscribers -- WGN - 46 million subscribers -- KTLA - 3 million subscribers -- WPIX - 3 million subscribers -- Denver 6 Services - 5 million subscribers TV Guide operates several other business units including: - SpaceCom Systems - Television Games Network - SSDS - TV Guide Media Sales - TV Guide Affiliate Sales - TV Guide Enterprise Solutions - TV Guide International - MMDI - Superstar Netlink Group LLC For up to date information about TV Guide companies, please access the Company's Internet home page at www.tvguideinc.com. TV Guide trades on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol TVGIA. Infomedia S.A., Europe's leader in TV listings, was created in 1991 in response to the demand of European TV guide publishers to source all their TV program listings from one centralized electronic source. Since then, Infomedia has established itself as Europe's leading clearing-house, offering TV program schedules and related information for more than 300 channels. With an international staff of 25 headquartered in Luxembourg, Infomedia's editorial team works in 13 languages to support its growing client-base in 29 countries. Infomedia's clients include major broadcasters and publishing groups, TV magazines, press agencies, newspapers, cable operators, internet TV guides, teletext and several of the important new digital Electronic Program Guides. Infomedia has the most advanced content aggregation center and technical delivery system for meeting the format and delivery needs of the new interactive TV guides. At Cable and Satellite Mediacast '99 Infomedia will be exhibiting at Stand 635: -- EPG Data Services -- professional data streams for Electronic Program Guides -- Internet TV Guide -- turnkey solutions for creating interactive TV guides on the web -- Infomedia Professional -- marketing and data distribution solutions for broadcasters -- Infomedia Online -- automated delivery of TV listings data for print publishers; -- plus the Universal Genre Classification System©, the Infomedia TV Database and Infomedia TV Archive. SOURCE: TV Guide International