Columbia House Sells Its Audiobook Club.NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan. 4, 1999--The Columbia House Company (CHC) today announced the sale of the Columbia House Audiobook Club to Audio Book Club, Inc. of Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ("bōkə rə-tōn") is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida incorporated in May 1925. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,764; the 2006 population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 86,396. and Morristown, New Jersey Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 18,544. Its estimated population in 2004 was 18,842. It is the county seat of Morris CountyGR6. . The divestiture of CHC's Audiobook Club, the largest audiobook club in the world, is the direct result of Columbia House seeking to migrate its franchise as the world's largest direct marketer of home entertainment products to the Web and fully capitalize upon the success of its current development initiatives including "PLAY from Columbia House," the DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. Club, and Total E (www.totale.com). "Interactive media is revolutionizing our club business," commented Columbia House Chairman & 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. Richard Wolter. "Our club Web sites are among the most highly trafficked e-commerce sites, and our members' use of interactive media is increasing at phenomenal rates. The sale of our Audiobook Club will enable us to focus intensely on the boundless promise of these opportunities." Mr. Wolter further added that "With its dedicated focus on the audiobook market, the Audio Book Club, Inc. is well situated to provide our members with an unsurpassed selection of product and attentive customer service." No staff cuts are planned or anticipated as a result of the divestiture. Founded in 1955, The Columbia House Company, a partnership controlled by Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment is a major global record label controlled by the Sony Corporation. In 1988, Sony Corporation acquired CBS Records, Inc. for $2 billion. CBS Inc., now CBS Corporation, retained the rights to the CBS name, and Sony renamed the label Inc. and Time Warner's Warner Music Group Warner Music Group (WMG) is one of the four major record labels. Warner Music Group also has a publishing arm, Warner/Chappell Music, which dates back to 1929, when Jack Warner, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Inc. , is the world's largest direct marketer of home entertainment products. With 15 million club members in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the company operates some of the most popular entertainment Web sites, including Columbia House Online (www.columbiahouse.com) and the recently launched, and highly promising, online entertainment superstore Total E (www.totale.com). |
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