REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 29, 2002 — Microsoft Corp. today announced it has named Tim Fritzley as vice president of sales and services for the Microsoft®
TV Division. In his new role, Fritzley will oversee all sales, business development and customer support activities for the division, working closely with network operators and their industry partners to deploy digital and interactive television services around the globe.
Fritzley will demonstrate for network operators how Microsoft TV solutions can help them add value to their existing infrastructures with products such as the Microsoft TV Interactive Program Guide (IPG). He also will ensure that Microsoft TV solutions support the overall Microsoft TV product strategy of providing the right solutions with the best value propositions for network operators. In turn, these solutions will enhance the digital TV experience for millions of viewers worldwide through feature-rich applications such as Microsoft TV IPG and support for services such as video on demand and enhanced digital video recording. Fritzley joins Alan Yates, general manager of marketing, Frank Halasz, general manager of engineering, and Peter Barrett, chief technology officer, to round out the senior management leadership under Moshe Lichtman, corporate vice president of the Microsoft TV Division.
“Tim brings vast experience in the broadband industry to the Microsoft TV team, having worked closely with important multiple service operators such as AT & T and Comcast to deliver voice, video and data services,”
Lichtman said.
“We’re confident Tim’s leadership, experience and expertise will help him successfully lead the ongoing efforts of Microsoft TV to be a terrific partner for network operators and our industry partners, enabling them to best derive value from digital TV today and in the future.”
“I believe Microsoft is better positioned than any company in the world to help network operators and the vendors they rely on to realize their digital TV aspirations,”
Fritzley said.
“Microsoft TV has tailored its software to work with today’s infrastructure, and I’m excited to demonstrate the value Microsoft TV solutions bring to network operators, beginning with Microsoft TV IPG and leading into the future products we currently have in development.”
Fritzley has more than 25 years of communications, cable, satellite and wireless experience, covering all aspects of creating, marketing, selling and delivering complex solutions to large global operators of broadband networks and services. Most recently, Fritzley served as president and CEO of CEON Corp., a leader in developing order and service management and delivery for broadband interactive voice, video and data services. While at CEON, he was responsible for restructuring the company and helping to create a platform-based suite of products for the broadband industry. Today, the CEON product line is deployed with several large multiple service operators and smaller operators.
Fritzley also held senior management positions at Tellabs Inc. and GTE Corp. (now part of Verizon). Before that, he served the U.S. Army as a decorated specialist in electronics and intelligence analysis.
About the Microsoft TV Platform
Microsoft TV is a family of standards-based client and server software products that enables the delivery of enhanced digital services through cable, terrestrial and satellite networks across a variety of TV devices, including the full range of set-top boxes. The Microsoft TV platform provides value to network operators by enabling new revenue-generating services, including VOD, interactive program guides, digital video recording, enhanced programming, e-mail and more. More than 1,500 leading providers of services, programming, hardware and software for digital television have chosen to work with Microsoft TV. A leader in the digital TV industry, Microsoft is deployed or in trial today with network operators around the world. More information about Microsoft TV can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/tv/.
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.
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