CANAL+ TECHNOLOGIES Announces Strategic Partnerships with SONY and THOMSON multimedia.Business and Technology Editors The Western Show 2000 PARIS Paris, in Greek mythology Paris or Alexander, in Greek mythology, son of Priam and Hecuba and brother of Hector. Because it was prophesied that he would cause the destruction of Troy, Paris was abandoned on Mt. & LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 29, 2000 Consumer Electronics Leaders to take equity investment and expand the global retail digital TV market with CANAL+ TECHNOLOGIES' software CANAL+ TECHNOLOGIES, an international provider of digital and interactive TV software solutions, today announced strategic partnerships with Sony Europe and THOMSON multimedia. As part of the agreements, Sony Europe and THOMSON multimedia will each make an investment of approximately 3% of CANAL+ TECHNOLOGIES' equity by purchasing newly issued ordinary shares for an undisclosed amount. "We believe this marks one of the largest investments made into a privately held interactive television middleware company in the broadband industry to date," said Francois Carayol, 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 CANAL+ TECHNOLOGIES. "These investments by two leaders of the consumer electronics industry are part of a strategic partnership that we believe will accelerate the growth of the worldwide interactive television retail market." In addition, Sony Europe and THOMSON multimedia will be charter licensees of a new interactive middleware for digital TV appliances. This new middleware, based on the core MEDIAHIGHWAY(TM) technology, is designed to allow consumer electronics manufacturers to customize and differentiate their products in the emerging mass market of open standards-based digital TV devices. The new product (MEDIAHIGHWAY Consumer Electronics), expected to be launched in 2001, is initially targeted at integrated TV sets sold in retail markets and digital set-top boxes for free-to-air operators. This new middleware is designed to first meet the requirements of the European market through compliance with the DVB-MHP (Digital Video Broadcast-Multimedia Home Platform) A Java-based platform for interactive TV over the Digital Video Broadcast (DVB) system. specifications. The middleware may comply with other standards in the future. "We welcome Sony and THOMSON multimedia as strategic partners in the global digital television market," Carayol added. "We believe their partnerships are endorsements of the strength and flexibility of our technology, and our leadership position in international open standards Specifications for hardware and software that are developed by a standards organization or a consortium involved in supporting a standard. Available to the public for developing compliant products, open standards imply "open systems;" that an existing component in a system can be replaced ." About Sony Sony manufactures audio, video, communications and information technology products for the global consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, game and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to become a leading broadband network company in the 21st century. In Europe, Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of close to EUR EUR In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Euro. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. 14.42 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000. Sony Europe, headquartered at the Sony Center The Sony Center is a building complex located at the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany. The centre was designed by Helmut Jahn and construction was completed in 2000 at a total cost of US$800M. am Potsdamer Platz Potsdamer Platz, sometimes known in English as Potsdam Square,[1] is an important town square and traffic intersection in the centre of Berlin, Germany, lying about one kilometre south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and in Berlin, is responsible for the company's European electronics business and registered consolidated sales of close to EUR 8.50 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000. Sony Europe's homepage can be found at http://www.sony-europe.com About THOMSON Multimedia With sales of 6.7 billion Euros (U.S. $ 6.5 billion) in 1999 and 55,000 employees in more than 30 countries, Thomson Multimedia (Paris Sicovam: 18453) (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : TMS TMS Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (alternative medicine for depression) TMS Test Match Special (sports - cricket) TMS Texas Motor Speedway TMS Transportation Management System TMS Toyota Motor Sales ), provides a wide range of technologies, systems, finished products and services to consumers and professionals of the entertainment and media industries. To advance and enable the digital media transition, Thomson Multimedia has five principal activities: Digital Media Solutions, Displays and Components, Consumer Products, New Media Services, and Patents and Licensing. The company distributes its products under the popular THOMSON and RCA See RCA connector and video/TV history. brand names. For more information: www.thomson-multimedia.com. About CANAL+ TECHNOLOGIES CANAL+ TECHNOLOGIES is an international provider of digital and interactive TV software solutions. Over 20 digital operators and broadcasters have already deployed the interactive TV middleware MEDIAHIGHWAY(TM) and the conditional access system A conditional access system (CAS) is a system by which electronic transmission of digital media, especially satellite television signals through cable, is limited to subscribed clients. This is called conditional access. MEDIAGUARD(TM), including CANALSATELLITE in France, ONdigital in the United Kingdom, AT&T Broadband in the United States, Measat and ZeeTV in Asia. Its software runs in 7.5 million digital set-top boxes in digital cable, satellite and terrestrial environments. For more information: http://www.canalplus-technologies.com. |
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