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 theUK's biggest-ever trial of "VOD" television. The trial, by Telewest Communications, will let viewers choosewhat to watch from a vast, digital library of movies and otherprograms managed and stored on SeaChange's Interactive Television(ITV) System and delivered over Telewest's all-digital broadbandlinks to the home. Participants in the trial will be able tochoose from around 1,000 hours of top quality movies, includingrecent blockbuster releases and other programming. "SeaChange's elegant software solution was a key factor inselecting them for this compelling new service," said Peter Hall,managing director product development, Telewest. "Their expertisein digital video systems provides us with the capability andconfidence to aggressively move forward in providing advancedtelevision services. Telewest has been a SeaChange customer forover three years and our practical experience with their digitalad systems, together with our extensive evaluation of their ITVSystem, made them a natural choice for us." Viewers will simply use their TV remote control to pick whatthey want to watch, when they want to watch it. The service willalso provide them with many of the features usually found on avideo cassette player, including fast- forward, rewind and pause.Additionally, the SeaChange ITV System is designed to support avariety of other emerging television applications includingshopping, e-commerce, education and entertainment services. "Telewest stands out worldwide as a leader in televisionservices," said Yvette Gordon, vice president, interactivetelevision systems, SeaChange International. "As we move quicklyin support of interactive television applications around theworld, we are confident in the strength of our technology andsupport skills in serving this exciting new application." In addition to Telewest, SeaChange is supporting numerousother VOD installations. Time Warner is currently using theSeaChange ITV System in Austin, Texas; and Rogers Cable isdeploying it in Canada. Additionally, a number of other cableoperators have begun deployments or final preparations towardtrue VOD services, which are expected to be announced later. Telewest will launch its broadband digital TV service inNovember. The service will be available to over 50 per cent ofthe four million connectable homes in Telewest's regions by theend of this year, reaching 90 per cent availability during thefirst half of next year. The full video-on-demand trial in early2000 will coincide with the initial launch of high-speed Internetaccess services on Telewest's broadband network. The SeaChange ITV System has been developed as a standard-based platform to ensure interoperability, competitive low pricesand smooth integration. Easily scalable, it is a comprehensiveVOD system based on the company's proven MediaCluster serverarchitecture 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 hubinstallation, which reduces the network bandwidth required fordelivering high-quality long-form digital video files. About Telewest Telewest Communications is a leading provider of cabletelevision and residential and business cable telephony servicesin the UK, delivering multi- channel television, telephone andInternet services to more than 1.4 million UK households; andvoice and data telecommunications services to over 40,000business customers. More than four million UK homes can nowconnect to Telewest's broadband cable services. By 30 June 1999Telewest was serving 1,003,365 cable television subscribers,1,258,833 residential telephone customers and 44,178 businesscustomers. Around 60 per cent of Telewest's residential customerssubscribe to two or more of its services. Telewest shares aretraded on the London Stock Exchange and on the US NASDAQ NationalMarket System. About SeaChange International Serving approximately 23,000 television channels for broadcastand cable television companies worldwide, SeaChangeInternational, Inc. (www.schange.com) is the leading provider ofMPEG-2 digital video systems. SeaChange's products, incorporatingthe company's patented software and hardware technologies,automate the management and distribution of video streamsincluding advertisements, movies, news updates and otherbroadcast- quality video programming requiring precise execution.Founded in 1993, SeaChange is headquartered in Maynard,Massachusetts. ots Original Text Service: SeaChangeInternational, 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

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