Radio Times and Gemstar-TV Guide Announce Unique Partnership

April 19, 2005-- Radio Times (RT) has scored a first in the TV listings market by partnering with Gemstar-TV Guide International's European division to offer a RT-branded version of the GUIDE Plus+® Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) in the United Kingdom.

In a first-of-its-kind-deal for the UK's TV listings market, RT will provide listings content, previews and reviews to the subscription-free, seven-day GUIDE Plus+ EPG. The GUIDE Plus+ system is built directly into consumer electronics products and allows consumers to quickly and easily navigate, sort, select, and schedule television programming for viewing or recording, simply by pressing a button. Under the agreement, RT will also sell all advertising on GUIDE Plus+ and will promote the guide through its magazine and other media platforms to maximize awareness of the EPG.

The GUIDE Plus+ system is designed for the new generation of digital products such as DVD-Recorders, Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) and integrated digital televisions, and, in the UK, is already a feature of the digital recording products of major consumer electronics manufacturers such as Philips and Pioneer. A leader in television guidance, Gemstar-TV Guide is best known in the UK as the inventor and provider of the VIDEO Plus+® recording technology.

Radio Times is uniquely placed to build on its brand heritage, with a number of complementary services enhancing readers' enjoyment of the magazine. Its award-winning website radiotimes.com attracts nearly 600,000 unique users per month, and readers can also access listings by text message and via their PDA. The move to the EPG format is a logical extension of these advances and is timed perfectly to coincide with the increasing number of households embracing digital television in the run-up to the 2012 analogue switch off.

Rebecca Woodward, Head of New Media at Radio Times, said: "I'm delighted to announce the new partnership, which is the result of a search to find the best possible partner to fit the upmarket, quality positioning of the Radio Times brand. Our website, which has been nominated for the PPA interactive Consumer Magazine of the Year has been a great success, and we are confident that GUIDE Plus+ will bring the Radio Times brand and values to an even wider audience."

Gill Hudson, editor of Radio Times, said: "For 80 years, RT has been providing UK consumers with the most widely-used and recognized TV listings. There is now no format not covered by Radio Times - you can access RT via mobile phone (including a text messaging service), your PDA, online, and now the GUIDE Plus+ EPG. This latest breakthrough is a perfect match of RT's premium quality content with the technological expertise and experience of Gemstar-TV Guide."

Simon Adams, Deputy Managing Director of Gemstar-TV Guide's European division said: "Working with an industry leader like Radio Times will allow us to enhance the significant value of the content in the GUIDE Plus+ EPG with editorial contributions from the UK's premier TV information source. This agreement with Radio Times underlines the strength and depth of our commitment to further our position as a leader in television guidance by providing users with a quick, easy, and free way to intelligently navigate what is an increasingly complex entertainment environment."

This agreement reflects Gemstar-TV Guide's strategy to extend the reach of its interactive program guide products for the European consumer electronics market by aligning its world-class technology and intellectual property with the content, branding and ad support of premier television publications across Europe.