Bango Regulatory News (BGO)

6 Sep 2006 07:03

Bango PLC06 September 2006 Bango plc ("Bango" or the "Company") MTV Contract Win Bango "browse and buy" technology powers MTV WAP portal 6 September, 2006 - Bango, the mobile content enabler, is pleased to announce apartnership with MTV Networks UK & Ireland, a division of Viacom Inc. theworld's leading online music entertainment company, in which Bango will providebrowse and buy technology to power MTV's newly launched WAP site. The portal isdesigned to enhance mobile phone users' experience of the MTV brand - throughmusic, entertainment videos, news, competitions and downloads. MTV's WAP site engages directly with its viewers in order to promote and selldigital content to users across all the mobile networks. Built by Entriq, MTVWAP features Bango's browse and buy technology allowing users to pay for anddownload content in two easy steps. Bango technology will lead to a streamlinedand transparent user experience which has been proven to generate long-termrelationships with consumers. "It's very exciting to be able to deliver the MTV brand onto the mobile phonesof our viewers," said Angel Gambino, VP of Commercial, Strategy and DigitalMedia at MTV. "Bango has introduced the use of the mobile internet in contentsales to enrich our consumers' experience of MTV content." By building its service on a mobile internet model, MTV enjoys threefoldbenefits that arise from the internet's networking effect: first, usersexperience a great browse and buy shopping experience; second, they can alsodiscover the site by browsing in from a mobile search engine or clicking on amobile advertisement; and third, the viral element of the internet is alsoimportant as people can pass on recommendations and push links for theirfavourite sites to each other. Ray Anderson, CEO of Bango, commented, "Having created a strong presence on thePC internet, global brands are now looking to the mobile internet as anothersignificant means of interacting with their audiences. We're thrilled to beworking with companies such as MTV who have selected the Bango Service becauseof our transparent browse and buy technology, our unrivalled global coverage,our strong partnerships with other key industry players and our robust andproven market leading technology." For further information, please contact: Bango plc Tel: 01223 472 777Ray Anderson, CEO / Peter Saxton, CFO ICIS Tel: +44 207 651 8688Tom Moriarty / Caroline Evans-Jones Panmure Gordon & Co Tel: +44 207 459 3600Aubrey Powell / Stuart Gledhill About Bango Bango has developed and deployed a unique open, global infrastructure platformthat enables content providers to market, sell and deliver their products andservices directly to mobile phone users on all mobile networks using the mobileInternet. This direct-to-consumer approach operates alongside the operator'smobile content portals. Leading mobile operators including Cingular Wireless,Vodafone, Orange, Telefonica and O2 work with Bango to accelerate the growth oftheir direct-to-consumer business. The Bango platform has given phone subscribers around the world greater accessto third-party content. User in more than 130 countries and over 250 operatorspay for mobile content using Bango. Bango, based in New York and Cambridge (UK),is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (AIM: BGO). For further information, goto www.bango.com. Content providers sign up for the Bango Service by registering on-line atwww.bango.com. Bango provides global WAP billing and promotional tools thatallow consumers to easily pay for off-portal content without leaving theirmobile browser session. In addition to operator billing, consumers can pay usingPremium SMS, credit/debit card and PayPal - so content providers can selldirectly to consumers on any phone network world-wide. Businesses of all sizes are seizing the opportunity to engage directly withtheir consumers on the mobile internet. These include global brands such as NewsCorporation, Manchester United Football Club, EMI Music, Discovery Mobile,together with smaller, niche content providers. About MTV Networks UK & Ireland MTV Networks is the largest television network in the world and a leadingcreator of programming and content across all media platforms, with 111 channelsand 94 websites reaching more than 440 million households in 167 countriesworldwide. MTV Networks UK & Ireland operates 3 channel groups - Comedy, Kids and Music. MTV's 9 branded music channels comprise of MTV, VH1, MTV Hits, MTV Base, MTVDance, MTV2, VH2, VH1 Classic and TMF. They feature the best in music alongsidepopular shows such as Pimp My Ride, Newlyweds, Punk'd, Dirty Sanchez and Cribs.MTV Network's music channels are available on Sky, Cable (through ntl &Telewest) and Freeview, reaching larger audiences than at any time in UKhistory, with an average of over 17 million viewers each month according to BARBresearch. Paramount and Nickelodeon in the UK are part of the MTV Networks Internationalportfolio of channels through joint ventures with BSkyB. In addition, MTV Networks is a pioneer in the new and exciting world of digitalmedia, winning awards for its interactive and online services, as well as beingthe first media company to offer made-for-mobile 3G video content. Since 2005MTV Networks UK & Ireland has offered mobile distribution of four TV channels(MTV Snax, MTV Trax, Paramount and Nickelodeon). MTV Networks is a unit of Viacom. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange