On Command and USA TODAY to Offer Interactive Television Product
DENVER/Washington, D.C., July 18, 2001 – On Command Corporation (Nasdaq: ONCO) and USA TODAY announced that this fall they will begin offering USA TODAY’s newly developed USA TODAY News Center, an interactive television news service to hotel guests. On Command currently has over 185,000 interactive rooms; and to date, projects that the USA TODAY News Center is one of the largest worldwide deployments of interactive television programming.
“On Command estimates annually that USA TODAY News Center will reach more than 70 million viewers by delivering real-time USA TODAY content directly to guest room televisions. Thus, expanding the traveler’s news media from the customary printed version of USA TODAY that is delivered to their doorsteps each morning,” said Chris Sophinos, president of On Command. “Our partnership with USA TODAY clearly strengthens both companies’ product offerings and reflects our abilities to create new revenue streams by enhancing the hotel guest experience and is yet another example of how On Command provides its hoteliers with superior guest services.”
USA TODAY News Center enables hotel guests to view the latest national news, weather, and local information via a high-speed Internet connection. Much like the Internet, guests can select the information they would like to see, when they want to see it.
“USA TODAY News Center meets the demand of hotels and their guests to provide the most up-to-date and relevant news to business and leisure travelers. Our partnership with On Command provides another platform for USA TODAY to deliver news and information 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Tom Curley, president and publisher of USA TODAY.
About On Command
On Command Corporation (www.oncommand.com) annually serves more than 250 million guests through 950,000 rooms in approximately 3,450 hotel properties. These hotel properties include more than 100 of the most prestigious hotel chains and operators in the lodging industry: Adam’s Mark Hotels & Resorts, Bass Hotels & Resorts (Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn), Fairmont, Four Seasons, Hyatt, Loews, Marriott (Courtyard, Renaissance, Fairfield Inn and Residence Inn), Radisson, Ramada, Starwood Hotels & Resorts (Westin, Sheraton, W Hotels and Four Points), and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. On Command is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol ONCO, and its warrants are traded under the symbols ONCOW and ONCOZ.
About USA TODAY:
USA TODAY is the nation’s top-selling newspaper. It is published via satellite at 36 locations in the USA and at five sites abroad. With a total average daily circulation of 2.3 million, USA TODAY is available worldwide. The newspaper is published by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI)
USATODAY.com is an award-winning news and information Web site. More than 25 million monthly visitors experience comprehensive, convenient USA TODAY news and information through interactive features, information graphics and multimedia functions including audio, video and live Webcasts. USATODAY.com has more than 200,000 pages of breaking stories in News, Money, Sports, Life, Technology and Weather – updated 24 hours a day, seven days a week. USATODAY.com is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. For more information, please visit www.usatoday.com.
Certain of the above statements, other than statements relating to the historical performance of On Command, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of On Command, or industry results, to differ materially from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others: general economic and business conditions and industry trends; the regulatory and competitive environment of the industry in which On Command operates; uncertainties inherent in new business strategies; new product launches and development plans, including the future profitability of such added services and the large capital expenditures involved; rapid technological changes; the acquisition, development and/or financing of telecommunications networks and services; the development and provision of new services, including the customer acceptance and use rates; future financial performance, including availability, terms and deployment of capital; the ability of vendors to deliver required equipment, software and services; availability of qualified personnel; changes in the nature of key strategic relationships with hotel chains and their franchises, including the renewal of existing agreements on favorable terms; and competitor responses to On Command’s products and services, and the overall market acceptance of such products and services. These factors are also discussed in On Command’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent filings on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. These forward-looking statements (and such risks, uncertainties and other factors) speak only as of the date hereof, and On Command expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein, to reflect any change in On Command’s expectations with regard thereto, or any other changes in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Contact:
Connie Beeby
On Command Public Relations
(720) 873-3305
cbeeby@ocv.com
Heidi Henderson
Manager, Media Relations
USA TODAY
(703) 276-5304
hhenderson@usatoday.com