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INTERTAINER LAUNCHES FIRST WIDELY AVAILABLE VIDEO-ON-DEMAND
SERVICE WITH THOUSANDS OF HIT MOVIES , TV SHOWS, MUSIC VIDEOS AND
MORE Powered by Windows Media Technologies, Intertainer Service to Be Available in the Nation's Top 35 Broadband Markets and Featured on MSN CULVER CITY, Calif. and REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 17, 2001 - Intertainer Inc., the entertainment-on-demand broadband service, and Microsoft Corp. today announced the immediate availability of Intertainer's video-on-demand (VOD) subscription service in the nation's top 35 broadband markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington D.C. With a catalog that includes thousands of top-tier Hollywood films, TV shows, music videos and concerts, Intertainer is the first company to offer a widely available VOD service for broadband-connected PCs featuring premium content delivered with better-than-VHS quality. The Intertainer service officially launches today at www.intertainer.tv. Later this month, Intertainer will be promoted through co-branded Web pages on the MSN® network of Internet services, the most popular portal destination on the World Wide Web. The broad launch of Intertainer's service represents a milestone in the delivery of VOD to home viewers. Building on the experience of industry leaders Intertainer and Microsoft, the service brings together for the first time the critical components required for VOD to succeed - a vast library of top-tier content and hit movies, the highest quality audio and video and massive reach to millions of broadband-enabled households. Any time of the day or night, without leaving the comfort of their homes, subscribers can choose from a huge selection of movies like "The Mexican" with Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts - with no driving, no titles ever out of stock, no worn-out tape copies and never any late fees. "Video-on-demand is the future of personal entertainment, offering viewers unprecedented convenience, choice and control," said Jonathan Taplin, Intertainer CEO. "With the industry-leading quality of Windows Media™ and MSN's unparalleled reach, Intertainer is bringing America into that future with a pervasive, fun and easy-to-use entertainment service." "Intertainer has put all the pieces together to make video on demand work at last for home viewers," said Will Poole, vice president of the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft. "Intertainer's outstanding library offers the kind of top-tier entertainment people have been waiting for, and the technology is here today to deliver a great viewing experience." Vast Library of Top Content Content available now on the Intertainer service includes:
Windows Media Audio and Video Ensures Highest Quality and Security Intertainer's service is delivered using Microsoft's high-quality Windows Media for the best viewing experience, and content is protected with Windows Media Digital Rights Management to give customers seamless access to their video selections while protecting the rights of content owners. All video content available through the Intertainer service is encoded at 500 Kbps using Windows Media Video 8 to deliver a full-screen video experience. Intertainer content plays in an embedded Windows Media Player that offers full VCR functionality, allowing viewers to pause, rewind and fast-forward their video selections. Massive Reach with MSN and Broadwing Beginning Oct. 25, Intertainer will be prominently featured on
MSN Entertainment, ensuring great visibility for the service. Visitors
to MSN will be able to easily access Intertainer's content through
a co-branded Video on Demand page, located within the Movies section.
Prominently featuring Intertainer, the co-branded page will provide
MSN users the opportunity to view Intertainer content showcases
as well as information on how to subscribe. Microsoft will also
feature promotional Intertainer content on WindowsMedia.com, the
Internet's most popular guide to audio and video content. Intertainer is working with network service providers such as Broadwing to provide users the highest quality of service. Broadwing's intelligent, all-optical switched network, provides the capacity and performance essential to handling high-quality streaming media. Pricing and Availability Intertainer's subscription service begins with FirstPass™, which gives subscribers unlimited access to a select library of premium television, lifestyle and children's programs, for only $7.99 per month. Programming is updated every week, giving viewers a constant flow of new selections. Once users sign up for FirstPass, full-length feature films can be purchased on a pay-per-view basis. New-release titles are $3.99, library titles are $2.99 and music videos are free. Internet subscribers with broadband connection speeds of at least 580 Kbps who reside in the country's top 35 broadband markets will be able to choose from the largest selection of premium on-demand entertainment programming and watch it instantly. Viewers can watch directly on a PC or on a television linked to a PC with an S-video cable or a wireless connection. Intertainer will be available in the following cities: Atlanta;
Baltimore; Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Cincinnati; Cleveland;
Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Denver; Detroit; Hartford, Conn.; Houston;
Indianapolis; Kansas City, Mo.; Los Angeles; Miami; Milwaukee; Minneapolis;
Nashville, Tenn.; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Philadelphia; Phoenix;
Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; Raleigh, N.C.; Sacramento, Calif.; Salt
Lake City; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; St. Louis; Tampa,
Fla. and Washington D.C. About Intertainer About Windows Media About Microsoft About MSN Microsoft, MSN and Windows Media are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. For more information, press only:
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