In a new and progressive milestone in the worldwide emergence of video-on-demand, Guandong Cable Television (GDCATV) has chosen SeaChange International (Nasdaq: SEAC) to support a new educational service to approximately 400,000 Chinese television viewers by the end of next year. China is the world's most populous nation with 1.2 billion people and, with a color television in 96% of China's urban households, interactive television is seen as an effective way to support the government's efforts to enhance education. GDCATV estimates its video-on-demand platform to be the world's largest and has already installed SeaChange's ITV System for the first phase of its service. GDCATV intends to provide a vast library of educational programming that its viewers can select on-demand, at any time, with the functionality of a VCR- like fast-forward, pause and rewind. The Guandong province stands out as a center of technological progress in China and its capital, Guangzhou with a population of 6.7 million, ranks third in economic growth in China. "SeaChange's unparalleled expertise in advanced video server applications made them the logical choice for our ambitious service," said Wendy Ye, General Manager, GDCATV data service center. "We quickly learned that SeaChange has the critical understanding of cable operations that will ensure our success with the capability to increase capacity as we extend our service to more homes." China's third-largest cable operator, GDCATV selected SeaChange after extensive evaluation. In support of government ministries' directives to broaden educational opportunities, GDCATV has invested in its operation with highly sophisticated equipment, such as SeaChange's ITV System, which is a scalable, comprehensive video server platform for interactive television applications. Additionally, GDCATV is employing an extensive fiber network and ATM switches. Global Net Broadband Industry Inc. (GNI), of Guangzhou, China, the system integrator, has developed specialized set-top boxes for the Chinese market that work in conjunction with the SeaChange system. GNI has developed Headend and Application servers to support the return path. "Guandong Cable is one of the world's most sophisticated operators and has a clear vision of how interactive television will provide greater educational benefits for their viewers," said Yvette Gordon, vice president, interactive television systems, SeaChange International. "This is not a test, but a very progressive and creative implementation that SeaChange is highly qualified and honored to be part of." SeaChange's VOD Leadership In addition to GDCATV, SeaChange is supporting numerous other VOD installations. Time Warner is currently using the SeaChange ITV System in Austin, Texas; Telewest has deployed it in its London franchise; and Rogers Cable is deploying it in Canada. Additionally, a number of other cable operators have begun deployments or final preparations toward true VOD services, which are expected to be announced later. The SeaChange ITV System is a standards-based platform from which cable television operators can deploy various revenue- generating interactive services including video-on-demand, interactive advertising, shopping, banking and more. Comprising SeaChange's patented MediaCluster video server architecture and control software, the ITV System automates the entire headend operation and scales easily to ensure uninterrupted delivery of interactive services to cable subscribers. For turnkey support of the interactive television opportunity, SeaChange's licensing experts provide movies and other video content through the company's relationships with production studios. Additionally, SeaChange's creative development team designs subscriber interfaces for easy navigation across services. About the companies GNI is a recognized distributor and manufacturer of technology products throughout the Chinese cable market. With very close contacts in the ministries as well as the Cable Television market, and cooperation with over ten big cable TV stations in cable data service, GNI knows what is needed to meet the demands for ITV in the Chinese cable television market. GNI has recognized the potential for ITV in China and they have designed, manufactured and demonstrated the set top box that will be required for volume shipment throughout China at a price point required in this marketplace. This set top box can support VOD and Internet browsers. GNI has multiple offices in China with their headquarters in Guangzhou and Beijing(www.gni.com.cn). Serving approximately 23,000 television channels for broadcast and cable television companies worldwide, SeaChange International, Inc. ( http://www.schange.com ) is the leading provider of MPEG-2 digital video systems. SeaChange's products, incorporating the Company's patented software and hardware technologies, automate the management and distribution of video streams including advertisements, movies, news updates and other broadcast- quality video programming requiring precise execution. Founded in 1993, SeaChange is headquartered in Maynard, Massachusetts. MediaCluster is a registered trademark of SeaChange International, Inc. All rights reserved. ots Original Text Service: SeaChange International Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: John Coulbourn of SeaChange International (USA) 978-897-0100, ext. 3098, johnc@schange.com Web site: http://www.gni.com.cn