Milan, Oct. 7, 2002 - e.Biscom SpA (Milan's Nuovo Mercato: EBI), Italy's leader in broadband telecommunications and media-related services, and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, one of the world's top suppliers of filmed entertainment, have sealed an important Video-on-Demand licensing agreement, making Twentieth Century Fox the most recent major U.S. film producer to provide content over e.Biscom's fiber-optic broadband network.
Under the terms of the agreement, e.Bismedia SpA, e.Biscom's fully-controlled content provider, will offer its clients a wide selection of filmed entertainment from Twentieth Century Fox through its Video-on-Demand service. The new agreement covers box office hits such as the Academy Award winning MOULIN ROUGE, PLANET OF THE APES (2001), starring Mark Wahlberg; FROM HELL, starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham; the hysterical family comedy DR. DOLITTLE 2, starring Eddie Murphy; and SHALLOW HAL, starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black. Clients of e.Bismedia will also have VOD rights to select titles in the Twentieth Century Fox film library.
"We are thrilled to be able to offer this top-quality level of content to our customers and are currently the only company in the world which can provide such a technologically-advanced and convenient service to its clients," said Ugo Rietmann, e.Biscom Partner in charge of VOD. "e.BisMedia's range of entertainment at this point is second to none. It is the first company ever that can offer Hollywood blockbuster hits, classic Italian movies and a wide selection of children's entertainment all on demand, all with just a click."
"Video on Demand offers great benefits for consumers, and we are pleased to work with eBismedia in developing this exciting new medium," commented Peter Levinsohn, Executive Vice President Worldwide Pay Television and Pay-Per-View, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
Twentieth Century Fox's titles will greatly enrich e.BisMedia's current offering of movies, documentaries, children's shows, concerts and sports (with hundreds of titles already available), as well as e.Biscom's joint venture with Italy's state television company RAI. The joint venture, called RaiClick, allows e.BisMedia clients to access over 10,000 hours of the Rome-based television company's programming.
During the course of last year, e.BisMedia also closed landmark agreements with both Universal Studios and Dreamworks to provide their content to customers on an on-demand basis over e.Biscom's closed network.
e.Biscom
e.Biscom is the leading Italian operator of broadband telecommunications networks, advanced Internet and Video services. The company was founded in September 1999 by a partnership of Italian managers with successful careers in developing high-potential telecommunications initiatives and outstanding expertise in start-ups, in and outside of Italy. Leveraging its unique competencies in the management of integrated IP networks and the development and marketing of broadband and Internet video services, e.Biscom has established itself as a key player at the forefront of the broadband revolution in Italy and Europe. e.Biscom has been listed on Milan's Nuovo Mercato since March 30, 2000 (with an Initial Public Offering that raised proceeds totaling 1.6 billion Euro).
Twentieth Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox is a subsidiary of News Corporation. News Corporation's diversified global operations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Latin America and the Pacific Basin include the production and distribution of motion pictures and television programming; television, satellite and cable broadcasting, the publication of newspapers, magazines and books; the production and distribution of promotional and advertising products and services; the development of digital broadcasting; and the development of conditional access and subscriber management systems.