NDS Showcases Enhanced TV Applications On The Microsoft TV Client Versions Using Pace Set-top Boxes

Business Wire, May 8, 2000

Business & Technology Editors

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 2000

NCTA Sees NDS and Pace Supporting Cable

Operators Future Business Models

NCTA - Cable 2K

NDS Booth no: 1077

Pace Booth no: 4119

Microsoft Booth no: 3501

NDS Group plc (NASDAQ: NNDS), a News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) company, and a leader in providing business solutions to content owners and TV channels through sophisticated enhanced TV technology, and Pace Micro Technology Plc (LSE: PIC), are showcasing enhanced TV applications on the Microsoft TV Platform. The interactive applications run on Microsoft TV Basic Digital and Microsoft TV Advanced using the same cable head-end infrastructure.

"Visitors to the Pace, NDS, and Microsoft stands will see set-top boxes running interactive TV applications on both the basic and the advanced Microsoft clients," says Andrew Wallace, senior VP marketing, Pace Micro Technology plc. "This shows that by working together, NDS, Pace and Microsoft can provide operators with exciting new revenue generating services and with a viable up-grade path from Microsoft TV Basic Digital to Microsoft TV Advanced."

"By providing applications that are compatible with the complete range of Microsoft TV Platform products, Pace and NDS are sending a message to cable operators that these platforms provide a stable environment for next generation TV services," says Jas Saini, VP Consumer Devices of NDS Group plc. "All cable operators have advanced TV applications in their business plans. For operators who choose the Microsoft TV Platform the collaboration between NDS and Pace can deliver these applications today and will support the operator's future business models."

About Pace Micro Technology

Pace Micro Technology plc is the world's largest dedicated developer of digital set-top box technology. The company is a pioneer of digital technology for the home and has played a key role establishing the international market for pay television services. This expertise is now being used to create the networked home of the 21st century. In this home the set-top box is a gateway for interactive communication, enabling consumer devices and services to interact with each other and the outside world.

Since its establishment in 1982, Pace analogue and digital technology has been installed in over ten million homes worldwide. Pace is now actively involved in all digital platforms - satellite, terrestrial, cable, wireless and xDSL - through alliances with broadcasters, network operators and technology partners in the UK and around the world. Pace has 1,000 employees, over a third of whom are research and development engineers dedicated to the development of digital technology for the home.

Pace's head office is in Shipley West Yorkshire and the company's shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (PIC). For further information, please visit Pace's web site at www.pace.co.uk.

About NDS

NDS Group plc (Nasdaq/Easdaq: NNDS) is a leading supplier of open conditional access software and interactive systems for the secure delivery of entertainment and information to digital TVs, set-top boxes, personal computers and mobile devices. The company also develops e-security solutions for broadband Internet multicasting applications.

NDS systems enable broadcasters, content providers and enterprises on the leading edge of the convergence of TV and the Internet to profit from digital TV and interactive services, including integrating and delivering Internet and TV content, data broadcasting and e-commerce transactions. A portfolio of services including consulting, systems design and integration, support and maintenance complements NDS' systems and technologies.

NDS customers provide services to over 50 percent of the world's digital satellite subscriber base, and 16.8 million viewers of pay television currently use NDS technologies. NDS, headquartered in the United Kingdom, has offices worldwide, employs over 1,000 people, and continues to make a major commitment to R&D with over 400 employees at research centers in Israel and the United Kingdom. More information can be found at http://www.nds.com. NDS' largest shareholder is News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NSW.A), a global media and entertainment company.

Note to editors:

On March 7, 2000 NDS and Microsoft issued a joint press release "NDS and Microsoft Announce Strategic Alliance To Extend Availability of Enhanced TV." As part of this relationship, Microsoft announced a new component of the Microsoft TV Platform targeted at the current generation of digital set-top boxes, which enables Microsoft to offer the most comprehensive enhanced TV platform solution available. By licensing, integrating and jointly extending software from NDS to create a new member of the Microsoft TV product family, Microsoft will now offer a broad solution set for network operators delivering cable, satellite, terrestrial and multichannel multipoint distribution service (MMDS) solutions. NDS' middleware is a proven, cost-effective, digital video broadcasting (DVB)-enhanced television solution already operating in over 1.5 million digital set-top boxes manufactured by several major consumer-electronics manufacturers. Under this agreement, Microsoft and NDS will jointly market digital solutions for network operators and will have an ongoing engineering relationship to evolve the joint solution and develop enhanced TV applications and services.