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BLOCKBUSTER AND ENRON TO USE nCUBE VIDEO STREAMING PLATFORM FOR ENTERTAINMENT ON-DEMAND SERVICE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, September 6, 2000
HOUSTON -- Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI), a publicly traded subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), and Enron Broadband Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Enron Corp. (NYSE: ENE), announced today nCUBE, Corp. as the video streaming platform for the recently announced Blockbuster entertainment on-demand service.
Enron has entered into an agreement with nCUBE to provide video streaming media appliances, software applications, including the nABLE management system, technology consulting and design for the on-demand service. This technology will be incorporated into the Enron Intelligent Network™ to store, stream and manage all digital content for the entertainment offering. This agreement will enable Enron to leverage nCUBE’s world class technology as a new and important building block in its network infrastructure.
Video streaming for the Blockbuster on-demand service will be performed by nCUBE’s MediaCUBE 4 streaming media system. The MediaCUBE 4’s unique scalability ensures total availability for all titles, at all times, for all subscribers. nCUBE’s streaming technology platform also gives consumers full VCR functionality when viewing movies and other interactive programs. A pioneer in the streaming market and the preeminent global supplier of broadband media streaming infrastructure, nCUBE supports an installed base of more than 1,000 streaming media appliances worldwide to customers in the cable television, television and Internet industries.
“We’re proud to be part of the Enron and Blockbuster team that is enabling the expansion of on-demand video,” said Larry Ellison, chairman and CEO of nCUBE. “nCUBE’s vision, years of streaming expertise and real world experience are integral to the success of this major video on-demand initiative.”
“nCUBE is the leader in video streaming systems and provides a hypercube-based architecture which is unique in its scalability, allowing Enron and Blockbuster to respond to demand quickly and economically, ” said Kenneth D. Rice, CEO of Enron Broadband Services. “nCUBE has been in the video on-demand business for over seven years and brings unparalleled expertise to this venture.”
“At Blockbuster, it is our goal to provide our customers the best home entertainment on-demand experience. nCUBE is a world-class company which will ensure that Enron’s streaming platform and software solution enable the best content delivery to our customers,” said John Antioco, chairman and CEO of Blockbuster.
Under the agreement between Blockbuster and Enron announced in July, Blockbuster will provide content for the entertainment service and market the service to its customer base of 65 million households worldwide. Enron will deliver the entertainment over its global broadband network to provide an unparalleled quality of service. The Enron Intelligent Network is designed to allow the scalability necessary to deliver secure, high-bandwidth content to a large population of simultaneous users. Enron’s broadband delivery platform includes a distributed server architecture, software intelligence, and network monitoring and control.
nCUBE is the preeminent global supplier of broadband media streaming infrastructure. Broadband operators worldwide count on nCUBE for streaming media solutions that include broadband Video-on-Demand, IP Streaming Media, and Advertising Insertion. The company’s core product line, the MediaCUBE, scales from 100 megabits per second to 128 gigabits per second of streaming media from a single system. NCUBE’s primary investor is Larry Ellison, CEO and chairman of Oracle Corporation. The company is based in Foster City, Calif., with sales and customer support offices worldwide. More information about nCUBE is available at www.ncube.com.
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 7,300 stores throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. The company may be accessed internationally at blockbuster.com. Viacom is the No. 1 vehicle 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, Viacom is a leader in the creation, promotion and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and music.
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 on demand 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 $30 billion for the first six months of 2000, produces electricity and natural gas, develops, constructs and operates energy facilities worldwide, 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.” In addition, Enron ranks in the top quarter of Fortune's "Best 100 Companies to Work For in America.” Enron’s Internet address is www.enron.com. The stock is traded under the ticker symbol “ENE.”
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For additional information please contact:
Shelly Mansfield
Enron Broadband Services
713-853-4589
Randy Hargrove
Blockbuster Inc.
214-854-3721
Louise Mooney
nCUBE, Corp.
206-381-3600
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