SHOWTIME Brings Customer Self-Provisioning to Cable

SHOWTIME Brings Customer Self-Provisioning to Cable

On display at the 2006 NCTA Show April 9-11 in Atlanta

NEW YORK, April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A new self-provisioning application making subscribing to SHOWTIME as easy as clicking a button will be demonstrated at next week's NCTA conference in Atlanta. The SHOWTIME upgrade application was developed with DigiSoft.tv and will be running on Samsung's OCAP(TM)-enabled interactive high definition television set in the CableNET(R) pavilion.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060131/SHOWTIMELOGO )

"This application drives revenue by enabling impulse purchases during Free Previews like the one SHOWTIME just offered to a record 45 million households," said Judith Pless, Senior Vice President, SHOWTIME Digital Media Group. "Viewers can subscribe to SHOWTIME with a click of their remote. This application allows them to upgrade instantly and eliminates costly calls to the operator's call center. We're focused on developing innovative ways to deliver new SHOWTIME subscribers to our distributors more easily and efficiently, similar to our Emmy(R) award winning virtual channel which has already successfully added over 100,000 subscribers since it was introduced," Pless concluded.

The self-provisioning OCAP(TM) application, written by DigiSoft.tv, is viewable only by non-SHOWTIME subscribers and allows them to access packaging, pricing and additional information as well as incentives to upgrade. "SHOWTIME is capitalizing on OCAP's(TM) capabilities to make the upgrade process quick and easy," added Randy Westrick, SVP of North American Sales for DigiSoft.tv.

Samsung, the first consumer electronics manufacturer to build a 2-way integrated HDTV with OCAP(TM) will showcase the SHOWTIME self-provisioning application at The National Show next week. "Samsung is committed to the OpenCable project and the deployment of OCAP(TM) by the cable operators," said Stephen Goldstein, Senior Manager of Business Development for Samsung Consumer Electronics Division. "Applications like this that increase revenue without increasing operational costs truly deliver on the promise of OCAP(TM); SHOWTIME and DigiSoft are innovators in this area."

About SHOWTIME

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL(TM) and FLIX(R), as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME(R) TOO(TM), SHOWTIME(R) SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME(R), SHOWTIME BEYOND(R), SHOWTIME NEXT(R), SHOWTIME WOMEN(R), SHOWTIME FAMILYZONE(R) and TMC XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD(R), THE MOVIE CHANNEL HD(TM), SHOWTIME ON DEMAND(TM) and THE MOVIE CHANNEL ON DEMAND(TM). SNI is also an owner and manager of SUNDANCE CHANNEL, a venture of NBC Universal, Robert Redford and SNI. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME(R) PPV. Additionally, the advertiser-supported television network SHOWTIME is available in Turkey through a joint venture with UK-based Zone Vision.

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.

Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., markets a broad range of award-winning, advanced digital consumer electronics, information systems and home appliance products. The SEA organization oversees the North American operations of Samsung including Samsung Telecommunications America, LP, Samsung Electronics Canada, Inc. and Samsung Electronics Mexico, Inc. Please visit http://www.samsung.com/ for more information.

About Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2005 parent company sales of US$56.7 billion and net income of US$7.5 billion. Employing approximately 128,000 people in over 90 offices in 51 countries, the company consists of five main business units: Digital Appliance Business, Digital Media Business, LCD Business, Semiconductor Business and Telecommunication Network Business. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones, and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit http://www.samsung.com/

About DigiSoft.tv Limited

DigiSoft.tv provides customers the platform to develop, deploy and manage interactive applications for digital television. The company is also a global supplier of differentiating and revenue generating interactive applications. DigiSoft's application management platform, DigiHost, is an accumulation of over 50 man-years in development and delivery of interactive applications. It is an open architecture platform providing the foundation for successful deployment of interactive services. DigiHost key features are Interactive Asset Provisioning, Transactional & Integration Management, and Monitoring & Analysis. For more information please visit http://www.digisoft.tv/.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060131/SHOWTIMELOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: SHOWTIME

CONTACT: Stuart Zakim of Showtime Networks, +1-212-708-1590,
stuart.zakim@showtime.net; or Randy Westrick of DigiSoft.tv, +1-303-926-4921,
rwestrick@digisoft.tv

Web site: http://www.sho.com/
http://www.digisoft.tv/
http://www.samsung.com/

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