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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWLY FORMED CINEMA ENTERTAINMENT GROUP ASSEMBLES MANAGEMENT TEAM TO LEAD MEDIA COMPANY'S NEW CHANNEL VENTURE LOS ANGELES, SEPT. 13, 2000 - In anticipation of what the company is referring to as a burgeoning "Televolution," Cinema Entertainment Group (CEG) introduces itself as a new entertainment media company whose initial plans include launching a new interactive digital television channel. CEG has assembled its key management team with Co-founder James J. Meyers at the helm as the company's chief executive officer (CEO). Televolution, a phrase coined by CEG, refers to the past, present and future evolution of the television industry. This "Televolution" is shaping the creation of new television technologies and viewing habits, including those influencing the area which most concerns CEG’s new venture, interactive TV. "Currently, many content providers are trying to fit the Internet on the television," commented Meyers. "Sophisticated viewers want television that is enhanced and programming with which they can interact. It is this belief that has inspired the formation of CEG and our plans to provide a channel that meets these viewer expectations." A former DIRECTV and Hughes Electronics Corporation (NYSE: GMH) executive, Meyers has nearly two decades of experience in launching and operating telecommunications and pay-television businesses in the United States and various international markets. Meyers played pivotal roles in the development, launch and operations for DIRECTV U.S., DIRECTV Latin America and DIRECTV Japan. Meyers holds a masters degree in engineering from the University of Illinois and completed graduate work in executive business at the University of Southern California. Additional principals of CEG are Co-founders Sunder S. Aaron and Scott A. Anderson. Throughout his eight-year tenure in the entertainment industry, Aaron's experience includes executive roles in business development, which included structuring partnership deals, conceiving and authoring plans for new businesses and launching their operations. Aaron has worked for such companies as Encore International, Asian Television and Communications, LLC (a division of Liberty Media), Gotham Entertainment and J. Walter Thompson. Aaron holds a masters degree from the University of Michigan. Anderson is currently the programming and acquisitions executive for the Odyssey Network, a division of Crown Media (NASDAQ: CRWN). His experience includes launch of and program development for premium and family-oriented networks with companies, including Hallmark Networks, Encore International and Liberty Media Group. CEG's new service, which will honor film and celebrate cinema, is unparalleled in the industry. The new channel is a "preferred" network, one with the quality of a premium channel but carried on basic digital tiers. CEG's new channel capitalizes on new and advanced technologies and is designed to be one of the first to change the traditional model for subscription television networks. Inspired by an anticipation of the future of television and television viewing, the channel will fit easily into the ever-evolving T-commerce, Internet TV and personal television functions that digital system operators will offer. CONTACT: Patricia Firth |
