Transmission to commence in early summer
Milan, 26 April 2001 - e.Biscom S.p.A. (Milan's Nuovo Mercato: EBI), Italy's leading provider of broadband telecommunication and advanced Internet services as well as on-line media, today announced a long-term agreement with Discovery Networks Europe (DNE), one of Europe's top factual broadcasters, for content delivery via Video-on-Demand.
The agreement - the first of its kind to be announced by DNE - will allow subscribers of FastWeb S.p.A., e.Biscom's broadband telecommunications unit, to order Italian-dubbed programmes on-demand from DNE's core offering which includes documentaries on nature, science & technology, history and current affairs.
The branded content will be provided from Discovery Channel's extensive catalogue of quality documentary programming, and will feature some of the channel's most popular programmes which have achieved critical acclaim and high ratings. For the first time FastWeb subscribers will be able to watch via Video-on-Demand Discovery Channel favourites such as: "CIA: America's Secret", "Mystery of Tutankhamun", "Loch Ness Discovered" and "Catastrophic Past".
Transmission will commence in early summer. "This is the first time Discovery Channel's highly-regarded documentaries have been delivered to TV viewers via Video-on-Demand," said Barbara Poggiali, e.Biscom and e.BisMedia General Manager. "Today's agreement with one of the industry's top producers further enhances our offer of top-quality programming and will enable viewers to create their own programme schedules with content of their choice."
"There is an increasing demand for both the quality and choice of programming that Discovery Channel has to offer and, as a leading broadcaster in factual entertainment, we are continually looking at ways to broaden our methods of delivery to viewers," said Mary Lau, Business Development Director for DNE "Today's agreement with e.Biscom is a significant move towards achieving these goals."
e.Biscom is the world's first telecommunications, Internet and online media specialist to deliver Video-on-Demand over a fibre optic IP network. With Video-on-Demand, the familiar television set also becomes a computer, allowing viewers to link up to the network and, on request, access a rich and constantly-expanding archive of films, information, news, sport, theatre, cartoons and music videos with the highest quality digital sound and images.
The agreement announced today will enable e.BisMedia S.p.A. - e.Biscom's wholly-owned multimedia publisher - to further enhance its content bouquet. The Discovery Networks Europe documentaries join the hundreds of titles already available, including the Rai Click, joint venture between e.BisMedia (40%) and the Rai broadcasting authority (60%), the Stream offer and, beginning this summer, a broad selection of Universal Studios titles.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
e.BisMedia, the e.Biscom group's multimedia publisher, intends to become a key player in broadband multimedia communication, with a full range of information and entertainment offers. With the launch in October 2000 of ilNuovo.it, a major multimedia newspaper designed for the Internet, with top-quality video footage and interactive content continuously updated in real time, the company's bouquet of theme-specific channels for both broadband and narrow-band access now comprises: www.gameon.it, a broadband videogames site with a multiplayer area (www.gib.it); www.yesmilano.it, the portal for Milan as Italy's business capital; a virtual dinosaur park (www.dinopark.it); an on-line videostore, developed together with Mikado (www.emik.it); a channel for young people (www.oltretutto.it). Following the success of a commercial pilot, e.BisMedia has also launched a new medium, accessible via a dedicated platform, combining the best of the Internet, commercial and pay television, and traditional publishing, where the choice of content is unrestricted by broadcasters' programming schedules or film rental and return conditions. This is the first integrated Internet Video service, for on-demand access via the TV set to films, information, TV news, entertainment and educational programmes.
Discovery Networks Europe (DNE) currently operates nine brands on ten channels; Discovery Channel Europe, Discovery Home and Leisure, Animal Planet, Discovery Travel and Adventure, Discovery Civilisation, Discovery Sci-Trek, Discovery Kids, Discovery Wings, Discovery Health and Discovery + 1, a timeshifted version of Discovery Channel. Since launching in 1989, DNE's European subscriber base has risen to over 22 million subscribers. Its channels are now available in 49 territories across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, customised into 19 languages, via 20 feeds. Please see www.discoveryeurope.com for more information.