WebTV Networks and Microsoft are Joining Forces

Yes, it's true! WebTV Networks and Microsoft Corporation, the largest software company in the world, will be working together to make WebTV Networks even more exciting! To get the entire story on this new direction at WebTV Networks, be sure to read Steve Perlman's letter to all Club WebTV members in this month's Founders' Forum.

E! Online Named Premier Entertainment News and Information Provider for WebTV Networks

E! Online, Entertainment's Home Page, and WebTV Networks Inc. are partnering to provide subscribers with an enhanced interactive television experience by integrating E! Online's content throughout the entertainment area of the WebTV Network service, as announced by Jeremy Verba, E! Online President, and Steve Perlman, WebTV Networks Co-Founder, President and CEO.

"By partnering with E! Online, we are furthering our commitment to providing consumers with a new dimension to their television viewing experience," said Perlman. "The strength of the E! brand and E! Online's rich content, coupled with the WebTV platform, is a natural fit for our customers."

The agreement includes development of customized E! Online content that will serve as the anchor for the entertainment-oriented channel on the WebTV Network service. Currently, WebTV Network subscribers can select television channels or World Wide Web sites using the same remote control. Through the partnership, the companies will enhance this experience by delivering interactive entertainment programming.

"Since its entry into the market, we have seen WebTV come from nowhere to become one of E! Online's top five domains served out of 500," said Verba. "Working with WebTV allows us to extend E! Online and the popular entertainment category even further into the mass market."

For more information, see the entire press release on our corporate web site.

Seagate and WebTV Networks Enter into Strategic Partnership

Seagate Technology, Inc. and WebTV Networks, Inc. recently announced a strategic partnership between the two companies with the goal of enhancing the interactive capabilities for WebTV Networks' future products and services for accessing the World Wide Web. WebTV Networks is the first company to provide Internet access to individuals in an affordable, easy format via the television. WebTV Internet terminals are unique in their ability to enable television viewers to interactively "surf" the Internet, using only a television remote control, without sacrificing the rich content or capabilities available to conventional Internet enthusiasts. As part of this strategic relationship, Seagate has invested in WebTV Networks.

"Seagate and WebTV Networks are investing in a mutual vision of the future," said Steve Perlman, co-founder, president and CEO of WebTV Networks. "As a leading supplier of information storage and access technology, Seagate is well suited to enable WebTV Networks to expand its goal in giving consumers from all walks of life unprecedented access to a virtually unlimited sphere of information, entertainment and personal enrichment from their own living room with the touch of a button ."

"Working with WebTV Networks is a major step in fulfilling our promise of simple, affordable Internet access for the mass market," said Al Shugart, Seagate chairman, president and CEO. "WebTV Networks' vision has driven the creation of a new product category that seeks to make the Internet experience as accessible and compelling for consumers as broadcast television. We believe Seagate will complement and strengthen that vision, and we look forward to working with WebTV Networks in bringing expanded storage capabilities to the television."

With its low-cost, consumer product approach to the Internet, WebTV Networks and its industry-leading consumer electronics partners are helping to bridge the gap between information "haves" and "have-nots." The potential marketplace for this product within the US is currently the ninety-seven million households with a television, two-thirds of whom do not own a personal computer. Worldwide, the home penetration for PCs is much lower, but interest in the Internet is just as strong as in the US.

According to industry analysts, the types of information cited by households as most important to access from home include educational information, general news, entertainment information, finance, banking, and weather, among many others. WebTV Networks furnishes all these functions to users in a format that is clear and easy to understand. Seagate views this investment opportunity as one that is core to its mission to deliver the best information and storage management products in the world.

For more information, see the entire press release on our corporate web site.

HP and WebTV Networks Collaborate on the First Internet Printing Capability for Television

Hewlett-Packard Company and WebTV Networks Inc., have announced that the two companies will offer a printing solution for subscribers to the WebTV Network on-line service. Respective leaders in home printing and television Internet access, each will contribute their innovative technologies toward providing a high-quality printing solution later this spring. HP is the first printer manufacturer to announce support for the WebTV Network service.

With the addition of this printing capability to the WebTV Internet terminal, subscribers will be able to surf the Internet, gain access to the information they need, and then print out a high-quality document with a simple click of the remote control.

"HP wants to help its customers unleash the full potential of the Internet, and, of course, so does WebTV," said Bob Weis, general manager for HP's home printer division. "The WebTV open-system architecture and new HP image-enhancement technology optimize printing from the Internet on a new printer platform, the television. Without leaving their living rooms, WebTV subscribers will be able to get high-quality output on their home DeskJet printer from anywhere on the Internet."

"Printing is the most popular request from our WebTV subscribers," said Phil Goldman, co-founder and senior vice president of engineering for WebTV Networks, Inc. "Now our customers will be able to capture and print high-quality text and images, from email to graphics that they find on the Web. HP is the leading brand in home printers, and HP has a reputation for quality, innovation and first-class customer service -- exactly what our subscribers demand from us."

HP is the world's leading supplier of hard-copy products that set the standard for technology, performance and reliability. HP's market-leading products include LaserJet^TM and DeskJet^TM printers, DesignJet^TM large-format printers, ScanJet^TM scanners and OfficeJet^TM all-in-one products.

Hewlett-Packard Company is a leading global manufacturer of computing, communications and measurement products and services recognized for excellence in quality and support. HP has 112,800 employees and had revenue of $38.4 billion in its 1996 fiscal year.

Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.

For more information, see the entire press release on our corporate web site.