In my VoIP + Content = Revenue Generating Possibilities blog entry from four days ago, I discussed the Viseon VoIP phone, which has a 10.4" LCD display and the revenue generating possibilities for service providers by providing content to LCD displays. Well, Viseon has now signed up two major content providers, the popular Fox News Channel and Discovery Networks, which includes Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery Kids, and Discovery Times Channel. As stated in my VoIP + Content = Revenue Generating Possibilities blog entry, providing content to VoIP phones could be the differentiating factor when the lowest price is no longer the key differentiator.
Here's the release:
Fox News Channel and Discovery Networks sign up for VisiFone Pilot
VisiFone to Provide News, Information, and Entertainment Content
San Francisco, CA - April 4, 2005 - ViseonMedia, a subsidiary of Viseon, Inc. (OTCBB:VSNI) and exclusive provider of TV-quality content to VisiFone Multimedia digital home telephone users worldwide, today announced that Fox News Channel and Discovery Networks, have agreed to providecontent from their networks for use as part of a U.S. VisiFone consumer pilot slated for late 2005. The new VisiFone Multimedia digital telephone for VoIP is capable of displaying fully interactive video and digital audio without the complexities of a personal computer, in addition to being a digital telephone/ videophone. Fox News Channel and Discovery Networks will deliver selected programming from their respective sources to ViseonMedia, who will in turn format and distribute the content to VisiFone homes throughout the United States.
"The VisiFone is a unique content delivery platform for these terrific cable programmers. We believe that ViseonMedia provides cable operators and other VoIP providers with a tremendous competitive advantage," said ViseonMedia President and CEO J.D. De Haseth. "These partnerships show consumers what the true capabilities of VoIP really are as compared to their traditional antiquated landline telephones."
ViseonMedia will deliver news, information, and entertainment programming to VisiFone users around the globe. Content providers will ultimately include cable channels, local and national broadcast networks, web portals and print media. Consumers can choose to view personally customized news, sports, weather, and entertainment as well as control the features of their VoIP services on the screen of their VisiFone. ViseonMedia interactive programming on the VisiFone is not designed to replace the television or the web portal experience. Instead, it is a dedicated third screen within the home on which consumers can automatically view personalized information on their schedule.
ViseonMedia plans to pilot its programming in late 2005, with a full roll-out on a carrier by carrier basis in 2006. It is expected that carriers will share in revenues generated by ViseonMedia marketers and sponsors based upon their overall purchases and penetration rates of VisiFones within their VoIP subscriber base. The basic ViseonMedia service is expected to be included in the consumer's monthly VoIP subscription. Premium content may be available at the subscriber's option for a small fee.
Viseon has already filed for a number of patents relating to the ViseonMedia concepts, functionality, and features. It expects to offer services to carriers and consumers both in the U.S. and abroad. For further information, please see the company websites at www.viseon.com and www.viseonmedia.com, or visit Viseon's booth # 5287 at NCTA, April 3-5 in the San Francisco, CA Moscone Center.
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (DCI) is the leading global real-world media and entertainment company.DCI's ownership consists of four shareholders: Liberty Media Corporation (NYSE: L), Cox Communications, Inc. (NYSE: COX), Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, the Company's Founder and Chairman.
FOX NEWS CHANNEL (FNC) is a 24-hour general news service covering breaking news as well as political, entertainment and business news.For more than three years, FNC has been the most watched cable news channel in the nation and currently presents eleven out of the top twelve programs in cable news. Owned by News Corp. (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A), FNC is available in more than 85 million homes.
About ViseonMedia, www.viseonmedia.com
ViseonMedia, a subsidiary of Viseon, Inc., focuses on providing information, entertainment and other relevant content to emerging, new digital home platforms, including the VisiFone, the world's first digital home telephone. ViseonMedia's mission is to efficiently deliver rich media content and targeted advertising directly to consumers through its network of broadband-enabled, interactive consumer videophones. ViseonMedia's target market of broadband videophone users is expected to make up a growing segment of the 18 million new U.S. VoIP subscribers by the end of 2008. ViseonMedia's offices are located in 777 E. Atlantic Ave, #226, Delray Beach, FL 33483. For more information, contact ViseonMedia's Sales and Business Development team at 561.279.9088 or email to [email protected].
About Viseon, Inc.
Founded in 1993 with headquarters in Dallas, TX Viseon, Inc. (OTCBB: VSNI) is a leading developer and manufacturer of patented personal broadband communications solutions. Viseon products have been sold under various brand names around the world including Philips, VTEL, and Gentner. Viseon's mission is to work with carriers to enhance the consumer telephone experience by positioning VoIP as a premium service versus Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), and ultimately replacing the analog telephone by bringing digital telephony quality to the broader public. The target market for Viseon's VisiFone are the 150 million global consumers which are projected to switch to VoIP in the next five years. Other markets for the VisiFone include corporations, universities, and government agencies. Viseon holds broadband communication related patents in the U.S. and 18 European and Asian countries and has additional patents pending. For more information on the Company, including investor presentation, please visit the Company's Website, http://www.viseon.com.
