ATLANTIS COMMUNICATIONS INC. Enters Interactive New-Media Business With Acquisition of Minority Stake in Digital Renaissance.TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 1998 ATLANTIS Joins Bell Canada Bell Canada Enterprises (TSX: BCE, NYSE: BCE), legally BCE Inc., is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Through its subsidiaries including Bell Canada, Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for in Strategic Investment to Build Premier Interactive Media Company Opportunity for ATLANTIS to Extend Life Network and HGTV HGTV Home and Garden Television Canada's Specialty Channel A specialty channel (or speciality channel) is a television channel which consists of programming focused on a single type or targeted at a specific demographic. Brands Michael MacMillan Michael I.M. MacMillan is the current executive Chairman of Alliance Atlantis. Winner of one Academy Award A graduate of Queen's University, it was announced on November 29, 2006, that he had been elected, as of January 1, 2007, as Chair of the Board of Governors of , Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of ATLANTIS COMMUNICATIONS INC inc - /ink/ increment, i.e. increase by one. Especially used by assembly programmers, as many assembly languages have an "inc" mnemonic. Antonym: dec. . (TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). :ATV (1) (Advanced TV) An early name for the digital TV standard proposed by the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service (ACATS). See ACATS. See also ATV Forum. (2) (Analog TV) Refers to the NTSC, PAL and SECAM analog TV standads. ) announced today that ATLANTIS has acquired a 10% stake in Digital Renaissance, a leading provider of interactive new media content and technologies. Under the terms of the agreement, ATLANTIS has the option of acquiring additional shares and plans to increase its ownership to at least 20% over the next 12 months. As part of today's agreement, there is a firm commitment by Digital Renaissance and Bell Emergis (a division of Bell Canada) to create a number of joint venture projects and opportunities specifically for Life Network and HGTV (Home & Garden Television) Canada. ATLANTIS intends to use these new media applications through the Internet to reach the same targeted "communities of interest", which are currently attracted to ATLANTIS' specialty broadcast channels. In addition to its existing channels, Life Network and HGTV Canada, ATLANTIS has applied to the CRTC CRTC Canadian Radio-Television & Telecommunications Commission CRTC Combat Readiness Training Center CRTC Cathode Ray Tube Controller CRTC China Railway Telecommunications Center CRTC Cold Region Test Center CRTC Continuously Regenerated Trap Column to launch five new channels; FIT TV CANADA, FOOD NETWORK CANADA, CANADA'S HEALTH NETWORK, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CHANNEL
The strategic alliance with Digital Renaissance and Bell Emergis presents ATLANTIS with the opportunity to jointly develop next generation programming across multiple media, establishing a leadership position for its new thematic channels and providing its viewers with greater access, service and program options. The linkage with Digital Renaissance also enables ATLANTIS to exploit the interactive media elements of its programming and specialty channel business on the Internet. With over 150 employees, Digital Renaissance is one of the fastest growing companies of leading-edge technologies and interactive media content. Revenues at Digital Renaissance have more than doubled in each of the past three years. Privately owned, Digital Renaissance is held by founder, President and CEO Keith Kocho, Bell Emergis, Arthurs-Jones Inc., ATLANTIS COMMUNICATIONS INC. and more than 50 Digital Renaissance employees. In addition to ATLANTIS COMMUNICATIONS INC.'s investment, Bell Emergis, Arthur-Jones and Digital Renaissance employees have bought additional shares in the company. "The acquisition of a minority stake in Digital Renaissance is complementary to our overall strategy of extending our specialty broadcasting business and enables us to establish a presence in interactive media production." says Michael MacMillan. "There is an increasing demand for more non-conventional programming extending well beyond the traditional business of broadcasting. Digital Renaissance's expertise and highly skilled professional and creative team provides us the capacity to produce interactive applications for some of the programs that will appear on ATLANTIS' specialty channels. We are delighted to be associated with Digital Renaissance, one of the most exciting, leading edge multi-media companies in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. ." "Success in rapidly converging markets is extremely dependent upon highly strategic partnerships", says Keith Kocho of Digital Renaissance." This partnership with ATLANTIS places Digital Renaissance in an ideal position to capitalize on the media markets of the future. We are very excited about what our organizations will be able to do together...stay tuned." ATLANTIS BROADCASTING (the broadcasting arm of ATLANTIS COMMUNICATIONS INC.), in partnership with Digital Renaissance, recently demonstrated its ability to deliver next generation programming for targeted "communities-of -interest" when it announced the fall premiere of Canada's first truly interactive cooking show, Dish it Out for Life Network. By visiting the www.dish-it-out.com viewers will have access to e-commerce enabled content and value added Value Added The enhancement a company gives its product or service before offering the product to customers. Notes: This can either increase the products price or value. information relating to the television show. "ATLANTIS brings a unique vision and commitment to the integration of television and the Internet," says Jim Tobin, President of Bell Emergis. "This adds an exciting new dimension to the partnership between Digital Renaissance and Bell Emergis and our aim to lead the world in fostering online multimedia communities of interest." As part of the strategic alliance, Bell Emergis will also partner with Digital Renaissance to extend next generation programming to Bell's Sympatico brand of consumer on-line services. As Bell Canada engages in the world's leading deployment of DSL-Lite technology in this autumn's Ottawa/Hull launch of Connected Capital Region, the market opportunity for these types of programming will expand considerably. Leland Verner, Chairman and CEO of Arthurs-Jones (TSE:AJ) says, "With this latest round of investment, our third since August 1 |
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