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ENRON AND BLOCKBUSTER LAUNCH ENTERTAINMENT
ON-DEMAND SERVICE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, December 18, 2000
HOUSTON -- Enron Broadband Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Enron Corp. (NYSE: ENE), and Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) announced today they have begun delivering movies via the Blockbuster Entertainment On-Demand service over Enron’s broadband network in Seattle, Portland, Ore. and Salt Lake City. The initial launch fulfills the goal set forth by the companies to deliver the entertainment on-demand service to consumers’ televisions by the end of this year.
The initial broadband distribution companies providing “last mile” high-speed connectivity to consumers’ homes are ReFlex Communications (Seattle and Portland) and SwitchPoint Networks (Salt Lake City). In addition, Blockbuster, Enron and Verizon are currently conducting technical trials in New York City. Aside from previously announced distribution providers, Blockbuster and Enron have signed an agreement with FiberRide to deliver the entertainment service in select California markets in the future.
“As this market launch demonstrates, we have the infrastructure in place through our alliance with Enron and our other partners to deliver a quality entertainment on-demand service,” said Mark Gilman, president of Blockbuster New Media. “Combine this alliance with the Blockbuster brand, our marketing ability and our millions of existing, entertainment-hungry customers, and we believe that we are clearly positioned to accelerate the roll out of this service as content providers release more films for broadband use.”
Enron is delivering Blockbuster entertainment over its global broadband network, providing bandwidth on demand, managing content and storage, and providing an unparalleled quality of service. Consumers are able to start, stop, pause, rewind and view movies on demand with television quality.
“Much has been achieved as we launch this service -- the successful development and execution of a solid technical and commercial foundation for delivering entertainment on-demand,” said Ken Rice, chairman and CEO of Enron Broadband Services. “Customers have been extremely receptive to our offering, and the solution we have created will serve as the basis for delivering a wide range of valuable content globally.”
Entertainment options such as sports, education and family entertainment programming, in addition to movies, are being explored for the future.
About Enron
Enron Broadband Services is a leading provider of high quality, high bandwidth delivery and application services. The company’s business model combines the power of the Enron Intelligent Network™, Enron’s Broadband Operating System, bandwidth trading and intermediation services, and high-bandwidth applications to fundamentally improve the experience and functionality of the Internet. Enron’s Broadband Operating System allows application developers to dynamically provision bandwidth for the quality of service necessary to deliver broadband content. Enron is also creating a market for bandwidth that will allow network providers to scale to meet the demands required by increasingly complex applications. Enron Broadband Services can be found on the Web at www.enron.net.
Enron is one of the world’s leading electricity, natural gas and communications companies. The company, with revenues of $40 billion in 1999 and $60 billion for the first nine months of 2000, markets electricity and natural gas, delivers physical commodities and financial and risk management services to customers around the world, and is developing an intelligent network platform to facilitate online business. Fortune magazine has named Enron “America’s Most Innovative Company” for five consecutive years, the top company for “Quality of Management” and the second best company for “Employee Talent.” Enron’s Internet address is www.enron.com. The stock is traded under the ticker symbol “ENE.”
About Blockbuster
Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) is a publicly traded subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) and is the world’s leading renter of videos, DVDs, and video games with approximately 7,500 stores throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company may be accessed internationally at blockbuster.com. Viacom is the No. 1 platform in the world for advertisers, with preeminent positions in broadcast and cable television, radio, outdoor advertising, and online. With programming that appeals to audiences in every demographic category across virtually all media, the company is a leader in the creation, promotion, and distribution of entertainment, news, sports, and music. Viacom’s well-known brands include CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, Paramount Pictures, Infinity Broadcasting, UPN, TNN, CMT, Showtime, and Simon & Schuster. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com.
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Click here to download this press release in Microsoft Word format.
For additional information please contact:
Shelly Mansfield
Enron
713-853-4589
Randy Hargrove
Blockbuster Inc.
214-854-3190
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