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BSkyB and OpenTV Extend Partnership
October 26, 2009 -- SAN FRANCISCO, BUSINESS WIRE --
OpenTV Corp. (NASDAQ:OPTV), a leading software and technology provider of advanced digital television solutions, and British Sky Broadcasting Ltd (Sky), a leading pay-TV operator in the UK and Ireland and current OpenTV customer, have extended their relationship. Sky has licensed OpenTV's patents and other intellectual property rights to support ongoing development of the company's digital television platform. Additionally both companies will now work on a proof of concept which if successful could lead to the deployment of OpenTV Core 3 on some of Sky's set-top boxes.
OpenTV Core3 is OpenTV's recently announced next generation middleware that combines a top-to-bottom open architecture with a unique design that simplifies the integration and deployment of everything from complex consumer user interfaces to interactive services and application widgets.
Founded in the early 1990s, OpenTV is one of the pioneers in the development of advanced digital television services and solutions and maintains an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio with more than 700 patents issued worldwide and many others pending. The company has been a technology provider to Sky since the initial launch of its digital TV service in 1998, and this latest agreement between OpenTV and Sky further recognizes OpenTV's investment and leading role in the global digital TV space.
'OpenTV and Sky have built a strong relationship over the last ten years,' said Ben Bennett, OpenTV's Chief Executive Officer. 'We are pleased to have the opportunity to enhance our relationship by combining IP licensing with technology provision. Sky continues to be at the forefront of digital TV innovation, and we are pleased to continue to fully support this important customer.'
'At Sky, we're continuously striving to bring our customers the best service possible by investing in high-quality content and cutting-edge product innovation. This new agreement with OpenTV underpins our strategy of continuous product innovation. OpenTV continues to be one of our key partners and we look forward to exploring how we might develop our relationship further,' said Roger Lambert, Sky's Director of Customer Technology.
About OpenTV
OpenTV is one of the world's leading providers of advanced digital television solutions dedicated to creating and delivering compelling viewing experiences to consumers of digital content worldwide. The company's software has been integrated in more than 133 million devices around the world and enables advanced program guides, video-on-demand, personal video recording, interactive and addressable advertising and a variety of enhanced television applications. For more information, please visit www.opentv.com.
About Sky
Sky operates the most comprehensive multichannel, multi-platform television service in the UK and Ireland. Over 9.4 million homes enjoy an unprecedented choice of movies, news, entertainment and sports channels. Sky continues to break new ground with its own portfolio of channels: Sky1 combines its commitment to UK production with the best of the US; Sky Arts continues to embrace new audiences as the UK's only dedicated arts channel brand; Sky Sports is still raising the bar in sports broadcasting; and Sky News remains a pioneer in multiplatform television news.
Over 5 million Sky homes now enjoy the control and flexibility of Sky+ and 1.3 million homes have already joined Sky+HD, which provides access to 34 dedicated HD channels. Sky is also the UK's fastest growing broadband and fixed-telephony provider.
Cautionary Language Regarding Forward-Looking Information
The foregoing information contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory factors. In particular, factors that could cause our actual results to differ include risks related to: market acceptance of interactive television services and applications such as ours; delays in the development or introduction of new applications and versions of our service; technical difficulties with networks or operating systems; our ability to manage our resources effectively; changes in technologies that affect the television industry; and the protection of our proprietary information. These and other risks are more fully described in our periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and can be obtained online at the Commission's web site at http://www.sec.gov. Readers should consider the information contained in this release together with other publicly available information about our company for a more informed overview of our company. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.