ROXY.Com And ValueVision Launch First TV-Internet Home Electronics Show

Weekly Series To Air Live On SnapTV Network, ROXY.com And vvtv.com

14-Apr-00

ROXY.com, the fastest growing online consumer electronics retailer, and ValueVision International, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVTV), a leading national shopping network, announced the April 25, 2000 premiere of ""Electronics Without The Static,"" the nation's first show merging live TV network and Internet channels to provide consumer electronics information, entertainment and shopping. The ROXY.com series will air from 9pm to 10pm (EDT) each Tuesday, beginning April 25, on ValueVision's SnapTV, reaching 33 million households. Marking a first in interactive consumer electronics sales, the live series will be Webcast simultaneously on ROXY's www.roxy.com and ValueVision's www.vvtv.com sites. The show will feature ROXY's trademark presentation of ""Electronics Without The Static,"" an entertaining mix of information about the latest in consumer electronics and expert help in meeting personal lifestyle needs. ROXY's home entertainment and personal communications products will be sold on the show. ""Everyone is doing a lot of talking about the convergence of old and new media - television and the Internet - but ROXY.com's `Electronics Without The Static"" represents the first real commercial venture by an online consumer electronics distributor harnessing the combined reach and interactive sales power of TV and the `Net,"" said Mike Jeans, ROXY.com President and CEO. ""We see television as an integral piece of ROXY.com's unique multi-channel distribution strategy, which also encompasses our own Web sites, the one-to-one sales resources of our customer call center, two widely distributed catalogs, strong marketing partnerships with leading online content and gateway sites, and several face-to-face, direct sales ventures with off-line partners,"" Jeans said. Stuart Goldfarb, ValueVision's Vice Chairman, said, ""Until now, combining the brand building and selling power of television with the purely digital world of e-commerce has proved elusive. But because we possess the right mix of technology and grasp the unique television home shopping environment with Internet shopping dynamics, we're able to credibly integrate ValueVision's TV Internet channels for our partners like ROXY.com."" Cary Deacon, ValueVision's President of Marketing, said, ""It's important to distinguish that as an online retailer, ROXY.com doesn't just sell products, but a lifestyle. By leveraging ROXY.com's reputation and knowledge about home electronics with ValueVision's state-of-art technologies, we have created a truly exciting show. Mixing information about the latest in consumer electronics with expert help in meeting personal lifestyle needs should translate into product sales. And ValueVision's SnapTV will become the visual link in a day when airtime on cable channels remains very constrained."" To promote the TV show, drive viewers directly to its Web site, and make its Internet visitors regular viewers of ""Electronics Without The Static,"" ROXY.com is planning an interactive contest in which viewers will register and solve TV clues online for chances to win electronics products each week and grand prizes including an on-air digital shopping spree and a trip complete with mobile electronics package. The contest will be built around a tongue-in-cheek, cloak-and-dagger story line involving Niedermeyer, ROXY's technology guru persona. In addition, ValueVision is heavily promoting the show on its TV and Internet channels, as well as through advertising on major cable TV networks and NBC TV-affiliated channels. ROXY and ValueVision also will employ e-mail and direct mail promotions. Each edition of the ""Electronics Without Static"" show will feature in-depth information on one hot new electronics technology, including visits from expert guests (on the April 25 premiere, Joe Miller from TiVo, on personal video recorders); an ""Ask The Tech"" segment in which ROXY technology maven Ed Clougherty answers viewers' questions and provides hands-on demonstrations; and opportunities to learn about and buy cutting-edge home entertainment and communications products, from DVD players, recordable CDs, home theater and DIRECTVÆ home satellite systems, to digital camcorders, the latest multi-function wireless phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants) and an array of handy accessories and electronics gadgets. About ValueVision International ValueVision International, Inc., owns and operates the third largest and fastest growing home shopping network and a companion Internet shopping Web site. Both are being rebranded as SnapTV and snaptv.com, respectively, as part of a wide-ranging direct e-commerce strategy the company is pursuing with NBC Internet, Inc. (NBCi). The moves are expected to position SnapTV and NBCi as the leaders in the ongoing convergence of television with the purely digital world of e-commerce. ValueVision, which is approximately 36 percent owned by GE Equity and NBC, offers live programming 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. As of January 31, 2000, approximately 33 million homes are able to receive the company's programming on either a full- or part-time basis. Additionally, the programming appears live on the company's Web site via Webcasting. ValueVision holds a 12.5 percent stake in Ralph Lauren Media, a new and separate company that will bring the Polo Ralph Lauren American lifestyle experience to consumers. ValueVision Interactive is a wholly owned e-commerce subsidiary of ValueVision. Created in mid-1999, the subsidiary's purpose is to manage and develop the company's Internet e-commerce initiatives using the snaptv.com brand, as well as manage the company's e-commerce investment strategies and portfolio. About ROXY.com Privately held ROXY.com, founded in April 1996, is the Internet's fastest growing online direct marketer of home entertainment electronics and personal communications products and services. The company is ranked 107 on Inter@ctive Weekmagazine's ""Internet 500"" list of the top e-commerce companies. During the 1999 holiday season, ROXY's sales increased by 900 percent over the previous year, and it recorded an all-time monthly Web traffic record of more than 1 million unique visitors. ROXY.com also was voted ""Satellite Retailer Of The Year"" for two years running. ROXY.com's marketing messages reach more than half of all visitors to the Web through its own two Web sites - www.roxy.com and www.everythingwireless.com - as well as more than one dozen channels of its online marketing partners. Major ROXY.com investors include Federated Department Stores (NYSE: FD), through its wholly owned subsidiary Fingerhut Companies, NBC Internet Inc. (NASDAQ: NBCi) and ValueVision International, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVTV).

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http://www.roxy.com
http://www.everythingwireless.com