27 November 2006

• Digital Music Download commercial service to go live in London in Q1 2007, with full national launch in May 2007
• Agreement in principal reached to launch with key radio groups in all major radio markets
• Deals agreed with major record companies, Universal Music Group, Warner Music and EMI
• Terms being finalized with Virgin Mobile as customer service and billing partner

UBC media is pleased to announce that it has reached agreements with radio companies, record companies and mobile operators which mean that it can today announce the launch timetable for its ground breaking technology which allows real-time downloads of tracks from radio stations as the listener hears them. The music files are delivered both to the digital receiver and the user’s home internet account.

The technology, known as Digital Music Downloading (DMD), was first unveiled by UBC last year. In August, the company announced the successful completion of consumer trials in Birmingham with Chrysalis-owned radio station Heart 100.7.

UBC can now confirm that the commercial service will commence in Q1 2007 with a soft launch in London and will go live nationally in May 2007 with at least four radio stations in each major radio market being enabled to offer the service to their listeners. UBC is pleased to announce that it has reached in principal agreement with the major UK radio groups and now expects, subject to contracts, the following services to be DMD enabled by May 2007:

Heart and one other music service yet to be determined from Chrysalis Radio;
Smash Hits and The Hits from EMAP;
Smooth from Guardian Media Group;
Classic Gold Digital, which UBC jointly owns with GCap.

The initial station line-up is limited by the current availability of data capacity to carry the music files on digital radio multiplexes. However, today, UBC is also announcing a development to the software that will make the service available on more radio stations than was originally envisaged. This new version of the application will allow exactly the same impulse purchase of songs as they are played but with the music file only being delivered to the user’s home internet account rather than also to the radio itself. This requires minimal digital radio data capacity and it is therefore possible for it to be enabled on a far wider number of stations. The technology also operates in tandem with 3G telecom networks to allow users to choose this method of delivery for the files to mobile devices.

UBC expects to announce further radio stations that will enable DMD in the coming weeks.

The agreement of the record industry is crucial to successful commercial launch. UBC has also now finalized commercial terms with Universal Music Group, Warner Music and EMI on copyright payments for music recordings that will be sold in the UK by radio stations using DMD technology as well as reaching agreement with MCPS who represent the music publishers.

Since the announcement of UBC’s successful trial in September, discussions have commenced with a number of manufacturers about digital radio devices that will be capable of operating the service. UBC believes a range of these will be available during 2007.

The ‘Lobster 700 TV’, launched in October by Virgin Mobile is the first such device and UBC is finalizing commercial terms with Virgin for billing and customer service. The software, developed for UBC by TTP, which will operate the service on the Lobster mobile, will be released in January 2007. UBC will be demonstrating the service on the Lobster phone at its analyst meeting at the London Stock Exchange this morning.

Simon Cole, Chief Executive officer of UBC Media commented:

“We are now in a position where the pieces of the DMD jigsaw are in place. We know there is a demand for DMD, our trial this summer demonstrated this, the logistics of delivery are almost finalized, and I am delighted that we have now got every key player in the radio and music industry on board to ensure the successful launch of the service next year. This is digital radio’s killer application.”

Notes to editors:

About DMD

UBC's technology division, Unique Interactive, has developed the DMD technology to allow listeners to purchase tracks instantly, as they are broadcast by digital radio stations, and to download them to mobile devices, such as digital radio enabled mobile phones that will begin to appear later this year.

DMD broadcasts encoded and encrypted music files, alongside a radio station's audio stream. These are loaded into cache memory in the mobile device and can be bought and played immediately. In addition, the track would also be simultaneously downloaded to a web-based music library compatible with popular
music player applications.

Consumers will register to receive the service and top-up the amount of credit they have for music downloads in the same way as they would top-up a pre-pay mobile. Customers will not need to keep a separate pre-pay account for music downloads - purchases can come straight off their mobile pre-pay account or added to their contract bill. They can then download tracks as they hear them with the cost directly debited from their account. The download cost is expected to be in the region of £1.25 per track.

The DMD project has brought together a group of companies at the leading edge of technology - Unique Interactive, 7 Digital, Arqiva, Chrysalis, Mi-Pay, MXR, Switchdigital (London), TTP and Virgin Mobile. DMD is also supported by all four major record companies, the PPL and the MCPS.

About UBC Media Group plc

UBC is quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM market. The Group is the market leader in the supply of audio content and broadcast data software to the radio industry in the UK. In addition to the entertainment, traffic & travel and national news services provided to commercial radio, the Group is the largest independent producer of radio programming for the BBC and the UK's leading supplier of digital radio scrolling text and EPG software. The Group also has significant digital radio broadcasting interests including Classic Gold Digital, the nationally distributed classic hits format. It is also part of the MXR
Regional Multiplex consortium.

2006-11-27 13:52:58

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