News from Philips also can be found on the U.S. Web site www.news.philips.com. For more information contact: Marty Gordon, Philips Consumer Electronics 408 617 4608, marty.gordon@philips.com; Julia Rivera, Versatile Media One, Inc. 626 296 6369, jri
Philips Bundles Up For The New Year With Innovative DVD-Video Promotion
New Bundling Deal to Offer Consumers Customized ëInsideDVD"" Software With Purchase of Phillips DVD-Video Players
Philips Electronics has announced its plans to bundle the worldís first DVD-based electronic entertainment news magazine, InsideDVD, with selected DVD-Video players in the U.S. this year. InsideDVD combines DVD-Video content such as movies, trailers and celebrity interviews with special Philips promotions and product information on a single, double-sided DVD-Video disc. Under an agreement with publisher Versatile Media One, Inc., Philips has exclusive bundling rights for a series of quarterly, customized issues of InsideDVD. Each disc will combine a DVD-Video movie title with entertaining and informative updates regarding DVD-video software, information on Philips products, special promotions and an online link to the Philips Web site. The first disc, available during the first quarter, will feature one full-length movie, ""Telling Lies In America,"" starring Kevin Bacon and Calista Flockhart, together with an exclusive interview with Kirsten Dunst, classic Saturday Night Live clips featuring Dana Carvey, and more than a dozen movie trailers for recent and upcoming films. Philips Added Value ""Weíre offering Philipsí customers a clear added value,"" said Emiel Petrone, Executive Vice President of the Philips Entertainment Group. ""The launch of the DVD-Video format has been a tremendous success, with more than 5,000 titles available in the U.S. alone. Now that software is widely available, we expect as an industry to see less emphasis on the bundling of specific titles and more on general promotions for a format hat has become increasingly well-established. Our agreement to bundle Inside DVD with selected Philips DVD-Video players therefore offers consumers the best of both worlds: A free movie combined with the latest information and special promotions regarding the DVD-Video format."" InsideDVD is compatible with both DVD-Video and DVD-ROM players. Each disc will include special Philipsí movie player software for DVD-ROM users. Philips will initially bundle InsideDVD with a broad range of DVD-Video players. ""Inside DVD is a perfect value-add for Philips DVD-Video players because itís a great introduction to DVD-Video for consumers,"" said Giovanni DíAndrea, President of Versatile Media One, Inc. ""Not only is its interface engaging and easy-to-use, itís packed with the type of features that people love about DVD-Video ñ special behind-the-scenes footage, celebrity interviews, movie trailers, music videos and more."" About Versatile Media One Versatile Media One (VM1), the publisher of InsideDVD, was established in early 1997 as a new media production company specializing in the production of DVD content. Today, the company is a full-service, international DVD production and marketing company. In addition to its agreement with Philips, VM1 offers a variety of services for consumers and businesses through its InsideDVD Web site, including a wealth of information on DVD products and services, broadband access for companies interested in web broadcasting, and a live entertainment program. The company also offers full service DVD production and recently created easy-to-use DVD authoring software, which is also included on the InsideDVD disc. For more information, consumers can visit the Web site at: www.insidedvd.com. About Philips Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the worldís biggest electronics companies and Europeís largest, with sales of US $33.9 billion in 1998. It is a global leader in color television sets, lighting, electric shavers, color picture tubes for televisions and monitors, and one-chip TV products. Its 230,700 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of lighting, consumer electronics, domestic appliances, components, semiconductors, medical systems, business electronics, and IT services (Origin). Philips is quoted on the NYSE, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges.