Radio Times and Gemstar-TV Guide Announce Unique EPG Partnership

    Business Editors/TV/Cable Writers

    LONDON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2005--Radio Times (RT) has scored a first in the TV listings market by partnering with Gemstar-TV Guide International's (NASDAQ: GMST) European division to offer a RT-branded version of the GUIDE Plus+(R) 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+(R) 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 premiere television publications across Europe.

    Notes for editors:

    About Radio Times

    Radio Times is the UK's most profitable magazine. Launched in 1923, it now enjoys a circulation of over 1.1 million copies a week.

    About Gemstar-TV Guide:

    Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. (the "Company"), is a leading media and technology company that develops, licenses, markets and distributes technologies, products and services targeted at the television guidance and home entertainment needs of consumers worldwide. The Company's businesses include: television media and publishing properties; interactive program guide services and products; and technology and intellectual property licensing. Additional information about the Company can be found at www.gemstartvguide.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements:

    Except for historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks and uncertainties related to declines in our magazine business; timely availability and market acceptance of products and services incorporating the Company's technologies and content; our initiatives aimed at increasing advertising revenues at TV Guide Channel; our investment in new and existing businesses, including our new magazine and our on-demand network; limitations on our ability to control certain joint venture or partnership businesses; the impact of competitive products and pricing; ongoing and potential future litigation; and the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including the most recent reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, each as it may be amended from time to time. The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
    Gemstar, TV Guide, Guide Plus+ and VIDEO Plus+ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. and/or its affiliates. The names of other companies and products used herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

    For further information or an interview with Rebecca Woodward or Simon Adams, please contact Catriona Dean, Radio Times Press Officer, on 020 8433 2184 or mailto: catriona.dean@bbc.co.uk

--30--BS/ny*

CONTACT: Gemstar-TV Guide Linda Lloyd Da Silva (Europe), +352 45 33 88 284 Linda.LloyddaSilva@europe.tvguide.com or Marisa Grimes (Corporate, New York), 212-852-7571 marisa.grimes@tvguide.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA NEW YORK UNITED KINGDOM INTERNATIONAL EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TELEVISION/RADIO CABLE PRODUCT MARKETING AGREEMENTS SOURCE: Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2005