HandHeld Entertainment(TM) (NASDAQ:ZVUE)(NASDAQ:ZVUEW) a global
digital-media-to-go company, today formally unveiled its strategy for
becoming one of the largest providers of online videos and other media
in Europe.
"There are two aspects to our European strategy," said Jeff
Oscodar, president and chief executive officer of HandHeld
Entertainment. "First, by acquiring Putfile.com(TM),
YourDailyMedia.com(TM) and UnOriginal.co.uk(TM), we immediately put
our company into a leadership position to deliver online videos and
digital content to our customers in both the United Kingdom and
Europe. Second, because Putfile.com is structured as a utility, rather
than an editorial site, it can be easily replicated into other
languages. This will allow us to create local language versions of
Putfile across Europe. We believe that local language implementations
will accelerate our traffic acquisition throughout Europe and thereby
provide an even stronger platform upon which advertisers can reach
their customers."
HandHeld Entertainment announced last month that it had acquired
UnOrginal.co.uk, the third consecutive Web property HandHeld has
acquired since mid-December 2006 that is based in Europe and the
second site that is based in the U.K. These sites give the company
significant European traffic, particularly in the U.K.
In addition, the company will use Putfile.com - an England-based
Web site that has been described by Arash Amel of Screen Digest (one
of the top analysts in Europe) as one of the top two providers of
user-generated online video in the U.K. - as a foundation for creating
content upload sites for languages other than English.
"When we announced the Putfile acquisition, we believed that
Putfile.com would not only provide a large amount of traffic and a
large library of videos, but that the site would become a platform for
our European strategy," Oscodar said. "We are now announcing that
strategy. Our European acquisitions have positioned us to take a
leadership position in the European market for online video, both
because we have acquired great sites and because we can use Putfile to
expand into languages other than English. We believe that there are
significant growth opportunities for us in the European market, and we
are putting ourselves in a position to exploit them."
HandHeld's Acquisitions Place Company in a Significant Position in
Europe, Analyst Says
Arash Amel, senior analyst and head of Broadband Digital Media
research at Screen Digest, a market research firm based in England,
has commented on HandHeld Entertainment's acquisition strategy.
"By acquiring companies like Putfile, HandHeld Entertainment has
put itself into a significant and unique position in the European
user-generated video market," Amel said. "Creating localised Web sites
in multiple languages is a positive step and can only help generate
traffic from local users. Additionally, the fact that HandHeld has its
own line of personal media players further sets the company apart from
the rest of the pack, and I think they have developed quite a singular
European strategy."
In January 2007, Amel authored "User-generated online video:
Competitive review and market outlook," a Screen Digest report that
examines the current state of the online video marketplace, identifies
selected leaders in the industry (at the time of the report), and
projects future growth and revenue prospects for the industry. (See
http://www.screendigest.com/reports/06usergeneratedvideo/readmore/view
.html for more information on this report.)
HandHeld Entertainment has also acquired two other Web properties
since mid-November 2006 (FunMansion.com(TM) and Dorks.com(TM)), and
each Web site by HandHeld (so far) is focused on delivering
user-generated videos and other media to consumers around the world.
The more than 500,000 videos on the HandHeld network of Web sites are
available for online viewing, with many also available for use on a
personal video player, such as HandHeld Entertainment's ZVUE(TM) brand
personal media player (PMP), as well as other brands of PMPs.
The premium and free content available on HandHeld Entertainment's
network of Web properties include music videos, anime features,
television shows, movies, cartoons, independent films, documentaries,
and news, entertainment and sports programs from companies ranging
from Sony BMG, Showtime and IMG Media to Canadian Broadcast Corp.,
Egami Media and Fun Little Movies, as well as free user-generated and
user-submitted video selections and other forms of media. Customers
can also select from millions of songs that can be played on a PMP
through HandHeld Entertainment's relationships with eMusic and
Rhapsody (see http://www.zvue.com/html/music.php).
About HandHeld Entertainment, Inc.
HandHeld Entertainment (NASDAQ:ZVUE) is a global
digital-media-to-go company. Its network of Web sites (Putfile.com,
YourDailyMedia.com, FunMansion.com, Dorks.com, UnOriginal.co.uk and
ZVUE.com(TM)) now house more than 500,000 user-generated and premium
videos in total - videos available for purchase or free viewing. Its
ZVUE personal media players are mass-market priced and available for
purchase online and currently in more than 2,200 Wal-Mart stores
throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.hheld.com.
HandHeld Entertainment, Putfile.com, YourDailyMedia.com,
UnOriginal.co.uk, Dorks.com, FunMansion.com, ZVUE and ZVUE.com are
trademarks of HandHeld Entertainment. All other trademarks are
property of their respective owners.
"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results could
differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking
statements as a result of various factors including the ability of the
company to successfully commercialize its new technologies as well as
risk factors set forth from time to time in HandHeld Entertainment's
filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission,
including Annual Reports on Form 10-KSB, Quarterly Reports on Form
10-QSB and Current Reports on Form 8-K and other reports filed by the
company with the SEC. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly
release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking
statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after
the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
As a result, investors should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements.