THOMSON And WISH-TV Collaborate To Demonstrate Remarkable Flexibility Of America's Digital Television System
College basketball will offer the first practical application for digital television multicasting beginning today as THOMSON multimedia (SICOVAM: 18453, NYSE: TMS) and WISH-TV, in collaboration with CBS Corporation, jointly offer Indianapolis, Indiana sports fans a taste of what's possible with the nation's new over-the-air digital TV system. CBS-affiliate WISH-TV will broadcast all of the NCAA basketball tournament games on its digital TV channel in Indianapolis. Thomson is providing several RCA digital TV receivers and monitors at public venues in order to expose more fans to the new medium. The live regional games are being played throughout the country and will be multicast simultaneously on the digital channel operated by WISH-TV. The Indianapolis digital multicasts continue this week and next, with the final games to be broadcast throughout the country in HDTV during the first weekend of April 2000. ""Basketball fans are going to go crazy when they see this,"" said Mike O'Hara, Senior Vice President of THOMSON multimedia, manufacturer and marketer of RCA entertainment products. ""One of the great untapped advantages of America's new digital television system is its ability to handle multiple standard-definition broadcasts. We're pleased to support local broadcaster WISH-TV in their effort to demonstrate the amazing flexibility of digital TV as we lead up to the big game at the RCA Dome in early April. And viewers won't believe their eyes when they see the college basketball championship games in HDTV on CBS, presented by RCA,"" O'Hara said. In addition to four local h.h.Gregg electronics stores that will have special displays, three public venues will showcase RCA DTC100 digital TV receivers and the RCA MM36100 Hi-Resolution Monitors that will be tuned to easily receive the over-the-air transmission of regional college basketball contests. The full capabilities of the RCA P61300 61-inch High Definition Television Receiver will also be demonstrated at the same public locations when the final games are nationally telecast in HDTV on April 1 and April 3. Thomson's RCA brand is underwriting the costs associated with producing high definition coverage of the semi-final and final games of the annual college tournament that will be played in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. Hoops-happy Indiana is already the hotbed of basketball, with six of the state's men's college teams qualifying for the first-round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championships. Beginning March 16, Indianapolis fans gathered at the Adam's Mark Hotel, the downtown BW3 restaurant, and Joe's Grille in Castleton will be able to cheer on Indiana State University as they battle Texas on WISH-TV (analog Channel 8), while simultaneously watching Kentucky play St. Bonaventure (digital Channel 8.1), Auburn take on Creighton (digital Channel 8.3), and Oklahoma State versus Winthrop (digital Channel 8.4). Similarly, fans following Purdue, Valparaiso, and Ball State on March 16 will be able to watch games underway in Arizona, Cleveland, Minneapolis, and Utah. Indiana and Butler University play their first-round games on March 17, when viewers will be able to tune in to see games in North Carolina, Tennessee, New York, North Carolina, and Alabama that will be sent over-the-air through the digital transmission facilities of WISH-TV. Consumers interested in purchasing new digital TV products will want to take advantage of the ""RCA Slam Dunk of Savings."" Through April 23, consumers can purchase the RCA MM36100 36-inch High-Resolution Monitor and the RCA DTC100 set-top digital TV receiver for $2,499 (a savings of $449) and also will receive a free DIRECTV Plus satellite dish antenna with free DIRECTV installation for qualified customers. The specially-priced combination of the digital TV set-top receiver and Hi-Res Monitor is now available nationwide at RCA electronics dealers (prices may vary by dealer). The ""RCA Slam Dunk of Savings"" offer is also available online, with information and program highlights available at www.rca.com. About THOMSON multimedia The world's fourth largest producer of consumer electronics with sales of Euro 6.7 billion ($6.4 billion US) in 1999 and 55,000 salaried employees in more than 30 countries, THOMSON multimedia has four principal activities: displays and components, consumer products, new media services, and patents and licensing. The group engineers, manufacturers, and markets display components and consumer products such as televisions, VCRs, camcorders, digital decoders, DVD-Video players, audio and communications products, as well as professional video equipment. THOMSON multimedia is listed on the Paris stock exchange (SICOVAM: 18453) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: TMS). THOMSON multimedia is the parent company of the US-based Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc. Visit THOMSON multimedia on the Web at http://www.thomson-multimedia.com.