HITS and ARRIS Announce Latest VOD In A Box Affiliates

DENVER and SUWANEE, Ga., March 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- HITS®, a business unit of the Comcast Media Center (CMC) that provides content management and distribution solutions for MSOs, and ARRIS (Nasdaq: ARRS) announced today that Cass Cable TV, Mediastream (formerly Waycross Cable Company), MTC (Margaretville Telephone Company) and Plantation Cable have selected  VOD In a Box™, to deliver Video On Demand (VOD) to their subscribers.  Jointly offered by HITS and ARRIS, VOD In a Box is a turnkey solution for cable operators to launch VOD quickly and cost effectively with a single product integrated by two trusted providers of hardware, software, management and thousands of hours of HD and SD programming.

"VOD In a Box is a cost effective solution in terms of both capital and management expenses," said Mike Jury, Executive Vice President for Mediastream.  "The lower entry costs made it possible for us to offer our digital customers a service they can't get from satellite or another provider.  Within two months post-deployment, our VOD revenue exceeded our pay-per-view revenue without a correlating decrease in pay-per-view.  We were able to add this often labor-intensive line of service while maintaining current staffing levels due to the back-office support provided by HITS.  In addition, we were able to lower our content management costs by bundling VOD In a Box with the linear channels we receive via HITS Quantum."

This bundled offering from HITS allows cable systems receiving linear programming from HITS's 280-channel lineup of HITS Quantum HD, SD and Classic offerings to add the managed VOD service at a reduced rate, thereby lowering the expense of launching VOD.

"We welcome the opportunity to support our new VOD In a Box affiliates in providing a deeper content library to their digital video customers," said Gary Traver, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Comcast Media Center.  "With the addition of more SD and HD channels, and VOD, HITS makes it more affordable for cable operators to go digital and launch advanced video services that can help to retain customers and generate additional revenue."

VOD In a Box allows cable systems to accept programming from multiple sources via the CMC's VOD services platform without managing content or equipment at their local headends. VOD In a Box includes centralized services to acquire and manage content, create and validate metadata, and pitch VOD content to the ARRIS servers located at the head-end.

"Video On Demand is a growing service that customers expect from their cable provider," Joe Matarese, ARRIS VP & GM, Media & Communications Systems (MCS), said. "The complexities of designing a system, acquiring the programming and managing the VOD service can be overwhelming. The relationship with HITS is an ideal arrangement bringing a hassle-free reliable VOD service to operators of any size. We are thrilled with the solution, the relationship and the market momentum."

According to market analysis conducted by HITS, VOD In a Box can reduce capital expense on average by 25 percent and up to 50 percent and operating expense on average by 30 percent to 50 percent, when compared to a typical VOD system.  The potential for increased revenues and lower costs can reduce the payback time for the initial investment by VOD In a Box affiliates to 13 to 18 months of operation, as compared to the 30 to 40 months typically required for launching a locally managed VOD system.

About HITS

HITS provides centralized content management and distribution solutions for cable systems, video content providers and advertisers.  HITS is operated by Denver-based Comcast Media Center (CMC), a subsidiary of Comcast Cable.  More information about HITS and the CMC is available at http://www.comcastmediacenter.com.

About ARRIS

ARRIS is a global communications technology company specializing in the design, engineering and supply of technology supporting quad-play broadband services for residential and business customers around the world. The company supplies broadband operators with the tools and platforms they need to deliver carrier-grade telephony, network video processing, whole home video, demand driven video, next-generation advertising, network and workforce management solutions, access and transport architectures and ultra high-speed data services. Headquartered in Suwanee, Georgia, USA, ARRIS has R&D centers in Suwanee; Beaverton, OR; Chicago, IL; Kirkland, WA; State College, PA; Wallingford, CT; Waltham, MA; Cork, Ireland; and Shenzhen, China, and operates support and sales offices throughout the world. Information about ARRIS products and services can be found at www.arrisi.com.

HITS and other marks used are trademarks or registered trademarks of Comcast. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE ARRIS