Telewest Lastest Cable Operator to Select SeaChange for Video-on-Demand / UK's Largest-Ever Video-on-Demand Deployment

Maynard, Mass. (PROTEXT) - SeaChange International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SEAC) will be supporting Telewest's delivery of video- on-demand services to more than 10,000 viewers, as part of the UK's biggest-ever trial of "VOD" television. The trial, by Telewest Communications, will let viewers choose what to watch from a vast, digital library of movies and other programs managed and stored on SeaChange's Interactive Television (ITV) System and delivered over Telewest's all-digital broadband links to the home. Participants in the trial will be able to choose from around 1,000 hours of top quality movies, including recent blockbuster releases and other programming. "SeaChange's elegant software solution was a key factor in selecting them for this compelling new service," said Peter Hall, managing director product development, Telewest. "Their expertise in digital video systems provides us with the capability and confidence to aggressively move forward in providing advanced television services. Telewest has been a SeaChange customer for over three years and our practical experience with their digital ad systems, together with our extensive evaluation of their ITV System, made them a natural choice for us." Viewers will simply use their TV remote control to pick what they want to watch, when they want to watch it. The service will also provide them with many of the features usually found on a video cassette player, including fast- forward, rewind and pause. Additionally, the SeaChange ITV System is designed to support a variety of other emerging television applications including shopping, e-commerce, education and entertainment services. "Telewest stands out worldwide as a leader in television services," said Yvette Gordon, vice president, interactive television systems, SeaChange International. "As we move quickly in support of interactive television applications around the world, we are confident in the strength of our technology and support skills in serving this exciting new application." In addition to Telewest, SeaChange is supporting numerous other VOD installations. Time Warner is currently using the SeaChange ITV System in Austin, Texas; 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. Telewest will launch its broadband digital TV service in November. The service will be available to over 50 per cent of the four million connectable homes in Telewest's regions by the end of this year, reaching 90 per cent availability during the first half of next year. The full video-on-demand trial in early 2000 will coincide with the initial launch of high-speed Internet access services on Telewest's broadband network. The SeaChange ITV System has been developed as a standard- based platform to ensure interoperability, competitive low prices and smooth integration. Easily scalable, it is a comprehensive VOD system based on the company's proven MediaCluster server architecture and master control center-based software suite, enabling highly automated ITV operation and end-to-end fault- tolerance. The server is scalable to support headend or cable hub installation, which reduces the network bandwidth required for delivering high-quality long-form digital video files. About Telewest Telewest Communications is a leading provider of cable television and residential and business cable telephony services in the UK, delivering multi- channel television, telephone and Internet services to more than 1.4 million UK households; and voice and data telecommunications services to over 40,000 business customers. More than four million UK homes can now connect to Telewest's broadband cable services. By 30 June 1999 Telewest was serving 1,003,365 cable television subscribers, 1,258,833 residential telephone customers and 44,178 business customers. Around 60 per cent of Telewest's residential customers subscribe to two or more of its services. Telewest shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange and on the US NASDAQ National Market System. About SeaChange International Serving approximately 23,000 television channels for broadcast and cable television companies worldwide, SeaChange International, Inc. (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. ots Original Text Service: SeaChange International, Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: John Coulbourn of SeaChange International, 1-978-897-1000, ext. 3098, johnc@schange.com, or Stephen Powers of Telewest, 011-44- 83-29-5281, stephen.powers@telewest.co.uk Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug "PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to be published under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial service providing distribution of press releases from clients, who are identified in the text of Protext reports and who bear full responsibility for their contents. PROTEXT