Tribune Media Services and Virgin Media Sign Entertainment Data Agreement

CHICAGO and AMSTERDAM, Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Tribune Media Services (TMS) announced today that TMS entertainment metadata will help power the next-generation entertainment platform from Virgin Media, the United Kingdom's leading entertainment and communications company.  

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Virgin Media selected TMS as it launches Virgin Media TV to customers across the U.K.  Virgin Media TV powered by TiVo features an advanced user interface enabling viewers to combine the live TV schedule with catch-up TV, a huge library of on-demand programming and popular web-based applications alongside a market-leading personal video recorder.  

TMS will provide Virgin Media with rich, deep and robust entertainment content including linear TV schedules, program and video-on-demand metadata, celebrity metadata and images.  The agreement also includes TMS TV Showcards which offer show synopses, logos, cast ensemble and cast-in-character photos plus award histories.  TMS Unique IDs serve as the data taxonomy which ties all the information together allowing easy search and discovery of related content across all programming sources and consumer devices.

"We are very excited to support the launch of the innovative user experience to be offered by Virgin Media," said Ken Carter, TMS Vice President and Managing Director, International. "They appreciate that to provide the ultimate entertainment search and discovery experience, quality entertainment metadata and images are essential. This is an important validation of TMS' continued expansion into international markets."  

Ian Mecklenburgh, director of consumer platforms, at Virgin Media added, "For the first time, UK viewers are enjoying a truly personalised viewing experience and getting the most out of great online, on demand  and live TV content, all in one place.  We're really excited to bring our customers what is just the first of successive generations of transformational digital entertainment services and our agreement with TMS will help them find exactly what they want and discover even more."

TMS metadata powers the leading television and movie guide products which reach millions of consumers in 40 countries through clients including Microsoft, Google, TiVo, Comcast, Multichoice, IMDb and Zon Multimedia.

About Tribune Media Services

Tribune Media Services' Entertainment Products division is an international leader in entertainment navigation.  TMS provides industry-leading databases of TV, movie and celebrity information; guides in print, online and on-screen formats; and advertising and marketing services to build audiences.  The company also produces Zap2it.com, the web site that connects engaged entertainment fanatics to popular TV shows, celebrities, movies, events and other fans.  For more information about TMS Entertainment Products visit TribuneMediaServices.com.

About Virgin Media

Virgin Media is the first provider of all four broadband, TV, mobile phone and home phone services in the UK.

The company delivers ultrafast broadband connections to over half of all UK homes, with speeds of up to 100Mb, and is expanding this cable network – the result of a multi-billion pound investment – to reach thousands more people across the country.

Virgin Media has developed the most advanced interactive television service, bringing together broadcast TV, thousands of hours of on demand programming and the best of the web in a single set-top box powered by TiVo. The company was the first to offer HD TV and 3D on demand to millions of UK households.

Virgin Media also operates the most popular virtual mobile network in the UK which, when launched, was the world's first such mobile phone service. It is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the country.

Virgin Media Inc. is listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market and the London Stock Exchange (VMED).

For more information, go to www.virginmedia.com.

SOURCE Tribune Media Services