PREMIERE HD: Premiere to launch three HDTV channels in November 2005

• Top sports action, the best movies, series highlights and documentaries with outstanding picture and sound quality
• PREMIERE HD SPORT: soccer, ice hockey, basketball, American sports, 2006 soccer World Cup
• PREMIERE HD FILM: movies and series
• PREMIERE HD THEMA: Discovery documentaries
• HD subscriptions available as supplement to standard subscriptions
• All three HD subscriptions in one package for just 12 euro a month
• Reception requirements: HD receivers and screens with “HD-ready” seal
• Transmitted in Mpeg4/H.264 format, broadcast in 1080i format
• Initial launch via satellite; cable broadcasting planned for 2006 soccer World Cup
• Kofler: HDTV is the most important TV innovation since color television

Munich, August 31, 2005. On Saturday, November 19, 2005, Premiere will become the first channel in Germany and Austria to launch special programming in the high resolution HDTV format (High Definition Television). For its very first HD program, Premiere will be showing live the classic Bundesliga soccer game between 1. FC Köln and Schalke 04. Premiere will offer three HD subscriptions with the new PREMIERE HD brand: PREMIERE HD FILM (movies and series), PREMIERE HD SPORT (professional sports from home and abroad) and PREMIERE HD THEMA (documentaries by Discovery). Viewers can subscribe to HD as a supplement to their standard subscriptions. When combined in the PREMIERE KOMPLETT package, all three subscriptions can be purchased for only 12 euro a month. Premiere will offer the new HD subscriptions free of charge until mid-January 2006 as part of an introductory promotional offer. In order to receive the new channels, viewers will need a digital receiver suitable for PREMIERE HD and flat screens or projectors with an “HD ready” seal. Premiere will broadcast the HD programs in the new Mpeg4/H.264 compression format which enables an economic and broadly based transmission of HDTV channels for the first time. For optimum picture quality, Premiere will broadcast its new programs in 1080i format. Initially, PREMIERE HD will be broadcast via satellite. Premiere plans to begin broadcasting the channel via cable in time for the 2006 soccer World Cup.

Dr. Georg Kofler, CEO of Premiere AG: “HDTV is the most important innovation in television since the introduction of color TV. The quality of HDTV is vastly superior to that of traditional TV; the leap in quality is so great that viewers just can’t miss it – it’s a great product for the mass market which needs no further explanation. HD will do wonders for the advance of digital television in Germany. By launching PREMIERE HD, we’re strengthening our position as the leading innovator in German television. I’m certain that the transition to HDTV will be a lot quicker than the switch from black-and-white to color TV. HDTV is a hugely promising growth market for the whole television industry. We’re expecting some 500,000 HD subscribers by mid 2008.”

To ensure the smooth introduction of HDTV, Premiere is working closely with partners from the consumer electronics industry. Three manufacturers will supply HD receivers for Premiere: Humax, Pace and Philips. In addition, Premiere has been engaged in an extensive marketing collaboration with Philips since June 2005. In the words of Georg Kofler: “HDTV’s huge market potential can be developed much more quickly by working with partners. Our cooperation with Philips enables us to show many people the advantages of PREMIERE HD on high-tech flat screens in stores or at trade shows, which will speed up the launch process.” PREMIERE HD’s broadcast debut in November marks the expansion of the cooperation between the two partners.

The focus of the agreement is on the co-branding rights to Premiere’s sports channel. As a result, PREMIERE HD SPORT package will be called PREMIERE PHILIPS HD SPORT.

 “This name is proof of our determination to join Premiere in leading the way to the television of the future. The channel PREMIERE PHILIPS HD SPORT is a mark of our cooperation that goes beyond the IFA and hundreds of specialist stores, which will be communicated to viewers every time they enjoy sport on TV in fantastic HD quality,” says Ronald de Jong, Managing Director of Philips Deutschland GmbH.

PREMIERE HD: three premium channels with outstanding picture and sound quality

• PREMIERE PHILIPS HD SPORT: Top domestic and international sports / All 2006 soccer World Cup games live and in HDTV format
• PREMIERE HD FILM: top movies and award-winning series
• DISCOVERY HD: outstanding documentaries

With more thrills and excitement than ever before, Premiere will launch the world’s best sports TV channel in mid-November. PREMIERE PHILIPS HD SPORT will show round-the-clock highlights from Premiere sports coverage, both live and in replay. Programming will include soccer, ice hockey, basket ball and American sports. On each matchday, Premiere plans to broadcast a top soccer game from the German Bundesliga, the UEFA Champions League and the Austrian T-Mobile league. Ice hockey and basketball fans will enjoy watching their favorite players with unprecedented picture sharpness. Each week, Premiere will broadcast a live game from the German Ice Hockey League (DEL) and the National Hockey League (NHL), the German Basketball League (BBL) and National Basketball Association (NBA). The channel will also feature one game a week from two other major American sports leagues: NFL football and Major League Baseball. HD-quality reports and documentaries will complete the offering. The 2006 soccer World Cup is definitely one of the new sports channel’s highlights. Premiere will be the only channel to broadcast all 64 games of the FIFA soccer World Cup live and in HD format. “This is a fantastic alternative for any soccer fan who can’t get a ticket to the World Cup,” says Georg Kofler. “Before the 1974 World Cup, many people traded in their old black-and-white TV for a new color TV. We’re expecting a similar run on HDTV for next year’s World Cup.” Premiere also plans to fit over 1000 Premiere Sports Bars with the new HDTV equipment in time for the World Cup. “The live transmissions of the World Cup games are the best opportunity to win over sports enthusiasts to HDTV. HDTV will also be a real attraction for the Sports Bars, says Kofler.

Viewers will also have a brand new visual experience when they watch movies and series on Premiere. PREMIERE HD FILM offers picture and sound quality previously experienced only in the movie theater. The programming features movies and outstanding highlights from series broadcast simultaneously on PREMIERE film channels 1-4. Top highlights from TV premieres (American blockbusters and popular European cinema) are usually broadcast at the same time they debut on PREMIERE 1. Thanks to Premiere’s comprehensive repeat concept, subscribers can enjoy customized HD viewing and view their programs whenever they choose. Premiere broadcasts movies and series in their original widescreen format; usually in Dolby Digital 5.1. and in the original language.

The DISCOVERY HD channel shows top documentaries by Discovery with outstanding picture and sound quality. Stunningly sharp pictures and brilliant ripping, fascinating and entertaining TV programs on a range of interesting topics such as nature, travel, adventure, culture and lifestyle, technology and science.  BLUE PLANET takes viewers on a trip to paradise where they can experience the beauty of the Earth in fascinating images. On EXPEDITION, international research teams equipped with the latest technology explore the unsolved mysteries of history, and embark on adventures to hunt for answers in the past. FASZINATION TECHNIK shows brand new footage of modern feats of engineering. On WILDNIS-TRIP, seasoned wildlife experts from Discovery take viewers along on hair-raising expeditions. REISE & ABENTEUER, DISCOVERY HD takes viewers to the world’s most beautiful travel destinations, while LEBENSLUST gives us an insight into the extraordinary work of visionaries and trendsetters.

In the words of Patrick Hörl, Managing Director of Discovery Communications Deutschland GmbH: “Discovery’s leading position as a supplier of HDTV content will be further expanded with the launch of our first 24-hour HDTV channel in Germany and Austria. As one of Europe’s major providers of factual entertainment, the pictures we provide are bound to delight viewers. DISCOVERY HD will give our German-speaking audience the very best in HDTV.”

DISCOVERY HD is the first HDTV launched by Discovery in Europe. It is also the first HD documentary channel in the German-speaking region.   In addition to DISCOVERY CHANNEL, ANIMAL PLANET and DISCOVERY GESCHICHTE, DISCOVERY HD is now the fourth Discovery channel exclusively broadcast by Premiere in Germany and Austria.

Simple and fair subscription model:

• HD subscriptions available in combination with standard subscriptions
• All three HD subscriptions in one package for just 12 euro a month
• Free promotional offer for Premiere HD launch

As in the past, Premiere will offer a simple and fair subscription model for HD subscriptions. Subscriptions to PREMIERE HD SPORT, PREMIRE HD FILM and PREMIERE HD THEMA can be purchased as supplements to the standard Premiere subscriptions and combination packages.  For example, PREMIERE FILM subscribers can sign up for PREMIERE HD FILM. For example, subscribers to PREMIERE FILM and PREMIERE THEMA can subscribe to PREMIERE HD FILM and PREMIERE HD THEMA as one package (Note to editors: We are happy to send you a detailed overview of subscription offers). A single HD subscription costs 14.90 euro in addition to a standard subscription. A combination of two HD subscriptions also costs 14.90 euro. All three subscriptions can be purchased as a PREMIERE KOMPLETT package at a special low price of just 12 euro. Premiere will offer the new HD subscriptions free of charge until January 2006 as part of an introductory promotional offer. “Across-the-board marketing of PREMIERE HD will begin at the start of second half of the German soccer season,” says Georg Kofler. “By then, the new HD receivers will be available in larger numbers.”

PREMIERE HD: secure, economic technology
  
• Flexible, future-proof digital receivers suitable for PREMIERE HD
• Flat screens: “HD ready” seals serve to assure consumers 
• Economic transmission with Mpeg4/H.264 compression technology
• Optimum picture quality: PREMIERE HD in 1080i format

To tune in to the new channels, viewers will need a digital receiver suitable for PREMIERE HD and flat screens or projectors with an “HD ready” seal. Humax, Pace and Philips are set to introduce new digital receivers suitable for PREMIERE HD. The receivers are highly flexible and future-proof. They feature the new MPEG 4/H.264 compression standard and DVB-S2, the updated DVB-S standard for digital satellite reception. Furthermore, the HDTV receivers can display common 720p and 1080i formats in 50 Hz and 60 Hz respectively. Viewers can also use the new receivers to receive all other Premiere channels as well as free digital TV channels. The “HD ready” seal offers consumers added assurance when purchasing a new TV. Plasma and LCD TVs featuring the “HD ready” logo are future-proof and can display all HDTV signals.
 
The development of new Mpeg4/H.264 compression technology makes the transmission of HDTV channels economically viable for the first time. Compared to older mpeg2 compression technology, data transmitted with this new technology is reduced by about half with no loss in quality. Premiere is also using the latest DVB-S standard. The modulation of DVB-S2 optimizes the use of single transponders. As a result, three programs can be transmitted on one transmission channel with optimum HD picture quality. This not only reduces satellite transmission costs, but also significantly decreases transmission costs for programs such as live sports events.

Premiere will broadcast the three channels in 1080i format for optimum HDTV picture quality. Most programs on Premiere are transmitted in 1080i format. To avoid loss of quality, channels do not undergo processing, but are broadcast 1:1. 1080i offers the best resolution for HDTV with interlacing technology. The consumer electronics industry is also producing an increasing number of screens with 1080 line resolution. In the long run, as flat screen prices continue to drop, 1080-line models will dominate the market. 1080i HD programs can be displayed without problems on screens with at least 720 lines with no perceptible loss in quality.

Channel to start out via satellite; then switch to cable broadcasting in time for 2006 soccer World Cup Initially, Premiere HD will be broadcast via satellite. Premiere plans to start broadcasting its HDTV programs via cable in time for the 2006 soccer World Cup in Germany. By that time, receiver manufacturers will have developed and introduced their HD receivers for cable TV. Premiere is negotiating with several cable network operators to ensure that cable customers receive PREMIERE HD as soon as possible. Premiere has already made an agreement with the cable company Kabel Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany. Kabel BW will supply Premiere’s HD channels to the estimated 1,000,000 cable households to be converted to HDTV by the 2006 soccer World Cup.
 
The 2005 International Radio and Television Exhibition in Berlin: the premiere of Premiere HD

All those interested in getting a taste of PREMIERE HD can visit the International Radio and Television Exhibition (IFA) from September 2 - 7, 2005 in Berlin. Excerpts from the new Premiere channel can be viewed in hall 26, stand 203 as well at 15 cooperation partner stands.

Viewers can get a taste of Premiere HD by watching Premiere's HDTV trailer. It can be viewed via digital receiver on the ASTRA-HDTV promotional channel (frequency 12.4410 GHz; SR 27.500; FEC 3/4; transponder 102; vertical).