LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29, 2000 — Today at the 2000 Western Cable Show, Microsoft Corp. and New York-based Chyron Corp. announced the signing of a joint development and cooperation agreement to integrate Chyron’s interactive television production and streaming media products and services with Microsoft’s TV platform and Windows Media™
Technologies.
This agreement is intended to enable the large installed base of Chyron character generators and graphics systems, as well as new Chyron products, to be used for the production of interactive TV programming. Chyron’s products are widely used by the television industry. Because it takes advantage of production tools already in use, interactive TV programming is expected to have minimal impact on the television production workflow. The agreement also includes a plan for the co-marketing and promotion of jointly developed interactive TV products and services. In addition to the joint development and cooperation agreement, Microsoft, as part of this expanded relationship, has agreed to make a $6 million minority equity investment in Chyron.
Chyron is an industry leader in the development and delivery of products and services in the mediacasting market, which includes standard television broadcasting, high-definition TV, interactive TV and any form of broadband delivery. The Microsoft® TV platform is a comprehensive, standards-based, client and server software solution that enables network operators to deliver the enhanced TV experience and services to viewers and subscribers. This development agreement will help both companies accelerate the deployment of enhanced TV services to consumers worldwide.
As part of the agreement announced today, Chyron will do the following:
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Optimize its Lyric creation and playback graphics package for interactive TV content on the Microsoft TV platform
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Develop broadcast gateway tools for the real-time and automated insertion of interactive TV data into the broadcast stream
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Develop previewing tools for use with Microsoft TV to allow content creators to accurately preview interactive TV content before that content is recorded, aired or distributed
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Optimize its streaming technologies and services for Windows Media Technologies
In addition, Microsoft and Chyron will work together to help shape the design of new-generation TV software and services for the Microsoft .NET initiative and will help coordinate Microsoft’s work with television-standards bodies worldwide. Microsoft .NET is an initiative that allows the creation of truly distributed Web services that integrate and collaborate with a range of complementary services for consumers and businesses, making information available any time, any place and on any device.
“Chyron shares Microsoft’s vision of the ultimate success of interactive TV and the vast opportunities for media distribution over the Internet,”
said Roger Henderson, chief executive officer of Chyron.
“The broadcast industry is undergoing a revolution driven by interactive TV and the delivery of streamed content over the Internet, and we are committed to developing products and providing services for this new mediacasting world. Already, Chyron has launched an Interactive Division and a Streaming Services Division, enabling us to span the technology continuum from the Internet to broadcast. Nowhere do those two technologies converge more completely than in the world of interactive TV. We have formed a close working relationship with Microsoft over the past two years in the process of developing prototype products, and we look forward to continuing to work together on bringing interactive TV products to market.”
“By teaming with such an established and successful member of the television industry, we believe we can speed the availability of enhanced TV services and ensure that network operators and content developers get the right tools to quickly, efficiently and effectively bring enhanced TV to their viewers,”
said Alan Yates, vice president of sales and marketing for Microsoft TV.
“Chyron has fantastic penetration in the TV market, and it is a name people in the industry know and trust. Adding the Chyron team’s expertise and reputation to the Microsoft TV platform only strengthens our ability to provide great services to our partners and the entire industry.”
About the Microsoft TV Platform
The Microsoft TV platform is a comprehensive, standards-based, client and server software solution that enables network operators to enhance the TV experience for their viewers and subscribers. The software platform creates significant new economic opportunities for network operators and the suppliers of programming, hardware and software in the TV industry worldwide. Microsoft TV is backed by the technical expertise, support and broad third-party developer community that Microsoft is known for. The platform makes it cost-effective for network operators to deploy new enhanced TV services on first-generation digital set-top boxes as well as the new generation of advanced set-top boxes and entertainment appliances now emerging.
Microsoft TV products include Microsoft TV Basic Digital and Microsoft TV Advanced software for set-top boxes and Microsoft TV Server and Microsoft TV Access Channel Server for providing enhanced TV services through the network operators’ head end. As an extension of the Microsoft TV platform, Microsoft TV Technologies will provide broadcast-rich services and functions within future generations of the Microsoft Windows® operating system, paving the way for enhanced TV services on personal computers and other computing devices.
Microsoft TV has been designed to support worldwide digital TV broadcast standards, including Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) and ARIB. It also supports commonly used Internet standards such as HTML, JavaScript and Dynamic HTML, as well as all interactive content authored according to the Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (ATVEF) specification. More information about Microsoft TV and Microsoft TV Technologies can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/tv/ .
About Chyron
Chyron Corp. (NYSE
“CHY”
) is the world leader in the development and delivery of products and services in the mediacasting market — an area which delivers media to consumers that includes high-definition TV, standard-definition TV, interactive TV or any form of broadband. The company provides broadcast graphics, high-bandwidth and multimedia signals, streaming media technology, and content management. Chyron is the only global company with more than 30 years of expertise and technology to provide the services and solutions for streaming media, interactive television and enabling the highest-quality experience to be delivered to consumers.
Chyron’s existing customer base comprises nearly all TV stations and TV networks throughout Europe and North America. With offices in the United Kingdom, France, Hong Kong and the United States, and an enviable client list that includes the world’s leading broadcasters,
Chyron has been providing the owners of content with value-added products and services for more than 30 years.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft, Windows Media and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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