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Blockbuster Enters Strategic Alliance With Cable Operators Suddenlink Communications and Mediacom Communications

By: Blockbuster Video |  2 Shares     154 Reads

Companies team up to leverage Blockbuster's multi-channel offerings

ST. LOUIS, MIDDLETOWN, N.Y., and DALLAS, Sept. 21 // PRNewswire-FirstCall // -- Taking another step in its transformation as a multi-platform provider of media entertainment, Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI, BBI.B), a global leader in entertainment, today announced a strategic alliance with top-10 cable broadband Multi-System Operators (MSOs) Suddenlink Communications and Mediacom Communications Corporation to set the stage for Blockbuster to bring its multichannel offering to Suddenlink and Mediacom customers.

The alliance is scheduled to roll out in phases beginning in September in Suddenlink's Charleston, W. Va., and Mediacom's Des Moines, Ia., service areas. Initially, Blockbuster will team up with Suddenlink and Mediacom to broaden the appeal and recognition of each MSO's video on demand movie service, rebranding key aspects of their service under the BLOCKBUSTER brand.

Both cable companies will promote their suite of services to Blockbuster's customer base via in-store kiosks and in-store promotion. Suddenlink and Mediacom will further promote this cooperation with local broadcast advertising, direct mail and other marketing support.

In a later phase of cooperation, Blockbuster, Suddenlink and Mediacom, in conjunction with each cable company's VOD provider, Avail-TVN, intend to further enhance their respective video offering through the inclusion of Blockbuster's multichannel capabilities. This is likely to include cooperation with Blockbuster's by-mail, vending, in-store and digital channels so that consumers looking for a movie that may not be available on demand can instead search among Blockbuster's entire Blu-ray and DVD library.

"Our consumers are asking us to help them make access to their entertainment more convenient, and our relationship with Suddenlink and Mediacom is designed to do just that," said Kevin Lewis, SVP Digital Entertainment for Blockbuster. "This alliance highlights the power of the BLOCKBUSTER brand and further underscores our commitment to increase our multichannel presence through alliances that cross traditional boundaries."

"Many of our digital customers are not always familiar with the options they have with our new video on demand services. We think the well-known BLOCKBUSTER brand will help our customers get comfortable using our new VOD services," said Jerry Dow, chief marketing and sales officer for Suddenlink. "The BLOCKBUSTER brand should help them understand quickly that VOD offers them new entertainment options accessed easily and immediately with no new cost, equipment or hassles."

Following the initial stages, the companies intend to expand BLOCKBUSTER OnDemand and other related services into other Suddenlink and Mediacom markets.

"Avail-TVN is excited about this marketing alliance and seeing how the BLOCKBUSTER brand can enhance consumer awareness of video on demand and other platforms," said Doug Sylvester, chief strategy officer of Avail-TVN. "In cooperation with Blockbuster, we look forward to supporting this innovative approach with two of our most resourceful affiliates, Suddenlink and Mediacom, which is designed to enhance the consumer experience and to drive transactional revenue across multiple platforms."

About Blockbuster

Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI, BBI.B) is a leading global provider of in-home movie and game entertainment, with more than 7,100 stores throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.

About Suddenlink Communications

Suddenlink Communications (www.suddenlink.com) is among the 10 largest cable broadband companies in the United States, supporting the information, communication and entertainment demands of approximately 1.3 million residential customers and thousands of commercial customers in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, and elsewhere. Suddenlink simplifies its customers' lives through one call for support, one connection, and one bill for TV, Internet, phone, and other services.

About Mediacom

Mediacom Communications is the nation's eighth largest cable television company and one of the leading cable operators focused on serving the smaller cities and towns in the United States. Mediacom Communications offers a wide array of broadband products and services, including traditional video services, digital television, video-on-demand, digital video recorders, high-definition television, high-speed Internet access and phone service.

About Avail-TVN

Avail-TVN is the largest independent digital media services company in North America. Working with every major studio and television network, the company offers a full content line up of MPEG-4 encoded live programming as well as video on demand content in MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 to multichannel video providers throughout the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico. The Avail-TVN platform is an open, advanced technology, offering the most comprehensive, end-to-end solution for licensing, managing, distributing and marketing linear and on-demand content to virtually any platform today and is extensible to support the new services of tomorrow. For more information about TVN's and Avail's products and services, please visit www.avail-tvn.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements relate to, among other things, the future availability and timing of the BLOCKBUSTER On Demand service on Suddenlink Communications and Mediacom Communications cable set-top-boxes and the availability of services from Suddenlink Communications and Mediacom Communications in select BLOCKBUSTER stores. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as, "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "intend," "estimate," "continue," or similar expressions or the negative of those terms or expressions. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially include delays in development, competitive service offerings and lack of market acceptance, as well as the other potential factors described under "Risk Factors" in each company's public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The companies caution you not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect an analysis only and speak only as of the date hereof. Each company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Blockbuster Inc.; Suddenlink Communications; Mediacom Communications

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