KDG Joins Rovi's EPG Patent Licensing Program Under NDS Agreement

SANTA CLARA, Calif. and LONDON, Aug. 10, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rovi Corporation (Nasdaq:ROVI), formerly Macrovision Solutions Corporation, and NDS Group Ltd, the leading provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, today announced that Kabel Deutschland (KDG) has signed an agreement for licenses to Rovi's electronic program guide (EPG) patent portfolio.
KDG, Germany's largest cable network operator, is licensing Rovi's EPG patents under the agreement between Rovi and NDS that was announced in April 2009.
"We are pleased to announce KDG as another NDS customer to benefit from our new patent license agreement with Rovi," said Gorm Nielsen, senior vice president, business development, NDS. "We believe that operators will benefit from the option to license Rovi's EPG patents alongside NDS' own leading technology and service offerings, part of our ongoing effort to help operators and providers bring a richer viewing experience to their audiences."
"We continue to gain momentum in expanding our patent program worldwide with leading operators," said Samir Armaly, senior vice president of licensing, Rovi. "We are pleased to welcome KDG, the leading cable network operator in Germany, to our licensing program. KDG joins our European licensees that include CANAL+, BSkyB, Portugal Telecom, SKY Italia and UPC Broadband."
About KDG
Kabel Deutschland (KDG), Germany's largest cable operator, offers its customers analog and digital TV, broadband Internet and fixed line phone services via cable as well mobile services in cooperation with an industry partner. The company operates the cable networks in 13 German federal states and supplies its services to approximately 9.1 million connected households in Germany. KDG offers an open digital TV platform for all program providers. In fiscal year 2008/2009 (12 months ended March 31, 2009), Kabel Deutschland reported revenues of EUR 1,370 million and Adjusted EBITDA of EUR 571 million. As per fiscal year end 2008/2009, KDG had 2,800 employees in Germany.
About NDS
NDS Group Ltd. creates the technologies and applications that enable pay-TV operators to securely deliver digital content to TV STBs (set-top boxes), DVRs (digital video recorders), PCs, mobiles and other multimedia devices. Over 70 of the world's leading pay-TV platforms rely on NDS solutions to protect and enhance their businesses. VideoGuard(r) is the world's market-leading conditional access (CA) and digital rights management (DRM) technology, currently deployed on 107 million active devices, and safeguarding pay-TV service revenues exceeding $40 billion. NDS middleware, including MediaHighway(r) which enables a host of advanced services for subscribers, has been deployed on 123 million devices. NDS DVR technology, centred around XTV(tm), leads the global industry with 21 million units deployed. (Deployment figures as of 30th June 2009).
Headquartered in the UK, NDS remains committed to investing in R&D with over 75% of its employees dedicated to pioneering work at development centres in China, Denmark, France, India, Israel, Korea, UK and US. NDS has also implemented a host of initiatives aimed at reducing its carbon footprint and helping digital TV subscribers reduce energy consumption.
NDS Group Ltd. is a private company owned by the Permira Funds and News Corporation. See