New Communications Platforms Provide Opportunity to 'Break the Mold' of TV Programming Starz CEO Clasen Tells Phone Companies

New Communications Platforms Provide Opportunity to 'Break the Mold' of TV Programming Starz CEO Clasen Tells Phone Companies

Calls On Demand a 'New Medium' as Different From Linear TV as Television is From Radio

Predicts End to Era of Half-Hour and Hour Shows, Limited Choices

LAS VEGAS and ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Content providers are prepared to "break the mold" and reinvent video programming as new distribution systems are rolled out combining digital television, on demand, telephony, high-speed internet access and wireless technology, Starz Entertainment Group LLC (SEG) President and CEO Robert B. Clasen said today.

"The video experience in the new on demand era will be as different from traditional linear TV as broadcast television is from radio," he said.

Speaking to a group of telephone company executives at the US Telecom Association's TELECOM '05 convention in Las Vegas, Clasen said the advent of the new technologies means content providers such as SEG will no longer be bound by the traditional half-hour and hour programming formats, and that networks will be able to offer a much wider range of programming choices instead of being limited to one show per channel at any given time.

SEG, he said, was particularly well suited to take advantage of this new trend in programming. As a movie provider, Starz programming has never been forced to fit into half hour and hour time slots. Starz channels do not carry commercials or depend on ratings for revenue. SEG therefore does not suffer when subscribers fast forward through advertising, and the on demand viewing is not reflected in ratings. Additionally, SEG does not have a DVD sales business to defend. As a result, he said, SEG is able to provide all its best programming in the on demand format and aggressively promote its subscription on demand services on cable, satellite and the Internet.

Clasen added, "To speed the transition from linear to on demand television, SEG has developed new navigation tools for on demand and new forms of programming tailored for the on demand experience. This includes special introductions to on demand movies pointing out special scenes to watch, and includes original short subjects that can be viewed before the on demand movie or on a stand alone basis.

Clasen said that every new form of electronic communication -- broadcast television, cable, direct broadcast satellite -- did not fully realize its potential until it developed programming designed to fit its particular capabilities.

The key to the new platforms that package digital, on demand, high speed internet, telephony and wireless, he said, is to develop programming that works across all platforms "ensuring that for the consumer the whole is more valuable than the sum of its parts."

As an example he showed one of the parodies of famous movies starring animated bunnies, now running on the SEG services. The 30-second versions of such films as "Titanic" and "Star Wars" can work as interstitial programming on the linear channels, as bonus material in the on demand environment and as standalone programming in the IP and cellular worlds. "This little bunny hops easily from one platform to the other," he added.

Clasen pointed out that in the last six months the bunny shorts have been the most popular downloads on Starz on Demand and Starz Ticket, logging nearly two million requests to view.

Clasen said that in the competition between telephone companies, cable companies, DBS providers and internet and computer companies the winners will be those who best utilize the particular strengths of their platforms to deliver compelling new content and give their customers as many ways as possible to enjoy it. It will not be enough to compete based on lower price, better service or a more convenient package, he said. "Your goal should be to create an entirely new form of communication. Only then will you be able to generate the 'WOW' factor that will make consumers sit up and take notice, talk about you at the water cooler, and feel that your new service is something they MUST have."

Starz Entertainment Group LLC (SEG) is the largest provider of premium movie services in the United States with approximately 179 million pay units. SEG offerings include the Starz Encore Movie Pack with 13 digital movie channels and more than 750 movies per month, Starz HDTV, Starz On Demand, and Starz Ticket, an on-demand premium Internet movie subscription service available on the broadband platform. Starz Entertainment Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, www.starz.com.

Contact: Tom Southwick
Starz Entertainment Group
(720) 852-5821
tom.southwick@starz.com

Source: Starz Entertainment Group LLC

CONTACT: Tom Southwick of Starz Entertainment Group, +1-720-852-5821,
tom.southwick@starz.com

Web site: http://www.starz.com/

-------
Profile: intent