NDS Delivers Interactivity for MTV Europe Music Awards on Sky Digital and Telewest

Business Wire, Oct 30, 2002

Business Editors/Entertainment Editors

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 2002

Pioneering multi-platform NDS application will allow digital satellite and cable viewers to interact with the biggest global music event in Europe - the MTV Europe Music Awards

Highlights:

-- NDS interactive application enables MTV viewers to vote for their favourite stars before and during the MTV Europe Music Awards

-- Voting, quizzes and news ensures viewers a new level of interactive entertainment

NDS, (NASDAQ/NASDAQ Europe: NNDS) a News Corporation company and leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay TV, today announced plans for the pioneering interactive TV (iTV) service developed for MTV UK & Ireland, owned by Viacom International Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), for the MTV Europe Music Awards 2002.

Following on from the success of last year's award winning service which was available on Sky digital, the enhanced TV service is due to launch on Friday November 1st on the Telewest and Sky digital platforms reaching a total of 7million homes across the UK. This will be the first time a music TV channel has presented an enhanced TV application on the Telewest cable platform.

The iTV service enables viewers to interact directly with MTV, allowing them to cast their vote for award nominees in each category whilst simultaneously being entered into a prize draw to win a trip to New York. The service also features alternative voting categories and commentaries for the awards, a daily quiz to win merchandise, and access to event information news and gossip.

Launched for the MTV Europe Music Awards 2001, the iTV service saw over 1 million votes cast on the Sky digital platform alone, establishing new revenue streams as well as adding a new dimension to the MTV viewer experience.

Last year the service increased MTV's ratings and viewing session lengths, securing the awards their highest ever ratings in the UK.

The MTV Europe Music Awards 2002, hosted by Sean 'P Diddy' Combs, will be held in Barcelona on 14th November, with performances from Robbie Williams, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, Coldplay and Moby, among others. The awards will be broadcast live across MTV Networks Europe at 9pm on Thursday 14 November and in total will air to a potential audience of over 1 billion viewers worldwide.

Chris Sice, VP & General Manager Digital Channels & Interactive commented, "The unprecedented success of the iTV service across the MTV channels in the UK over the past year is further reflected by securing carriage on Telewest as well as Sky digital for our awards iTV service. Our continued commitment to developing this service is integral to our UK strategy in 2003".

The iTV service is designed in-house by MTVi, the interactive division of MTV Networks UK, and developed by NDS, the leading suppliers of open conditional access software and interactive systems for the secure delivery of entertainment and information to television set-top boxes. Rahul Chakkara, Director Interactive, NDS, said: "MTV's interactive TV service has been a great opportunity for NDS to show its technical leadership at crafting award winning and consumer preferred content. With the start of MTVi on cable, we are using our established multi-platform skills to bring this experience to new consumers. In 2003, NDS will stretch the technical boundaries further to realize MTVi's business and creative goals."

The launch of the iTV service for the MTV Europe Music Awards follows an incredible year of awards' success for MTV Networks UK and NDS:

-- MTV Ad Break Tennis won the Interactive Television Award at

the BAFTA's earlier this month.

-- MTV Hits won the Best Use of iTV Award at the British Media

Association Awards

-- MTV Hits won Special Award for Innovation for the 24/7 iTV

service at the New Media Age Awards

-- MTV won Best Use of Interactive TV Service at the Revolution

Awards

Note to Editors on the Service:

Vote and Win:

Viewers will be able to vote for their favorite artists across 12 award categories with 5 nominees per category at a cost of 50p. Voters will be automatically entered into a prize draw to win a trip to the MTV TRL studios in New York.

Alternative Voting / Commentaries:

Post awards, the voting area becomes the alternative voting area, where viewers can vote for the Best Speech, Worst Haircut and Best Arse, amongst others. The service will also offer alternative celebrity commentaries for the repeat showings of the awards on MTV UK from Monday November 18th - 22nd.

Latest News:

Viewers will be able to access the latest news and gossip on the award in the run up to the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Event:

The latest news on presenters and performers at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2002 will be available, along with information on the event itself.

Daily Quiz

Viewers will be able to win MTV Europe Music Awards 2002 merchandise from Dolce & Gabbana in a daily multiple-choice quiz. The quiz will run from November 1st - 23rd and will cost 50p per entry.

About NDS

NDS Group plc (NASDAQ/NASDAQ Europe: NNDS) is a leading supplier of open end-to-end digital pay TV solutions for the secure delivery of entertainment and information to television set-top boxes and personal computers. See http://www.nds.com/ for more information about NDS.