Enron Corp. - University of California | Office of The President

Enron and Blockbuster plan to introduce the entertainment on-demand service
in multiple U.S. cities by year-end.... For the first time, customers will be able to
choose from a large library of movies through their TV screens and enjoy VHSquality
or better with VCR-like control (pause, rewind, stop).
* * *
"Entertainment on-demand is perhaps the most visible example of the
power of Enron's broadband applications. With Blockbuster's extensive customer
base and content, and Enron's network delivery application and the capabilities
of the distribution providers, we have put together the 'killer app' for the
entertainment industry," said Kenneth L. Lay, chairman and CEO of Enron Corp.
Under the agreement, Blockbuster will provide content for the
entertainment service .... Enron will encode and stream the entertainment over its
global broadband network infrastructure ... and provide an unparalleled quality
of service.
241. On 7/19/00, Lay appeared on CNNfn and was asked about "what this [Blockbuster]
announcement means?" He stated:
[I]t means that we're going to change the whole entertainment experience for the
average American over the next few years....
[T]he main thing about the agreement is it's a 20-year exclusive agreement between
Blockbuster and Enron, to provide entertainment on-demand.... [W]e bring in our
technology and our broadband system, worldwide.
242. On 7/19/00, JP Morgan issued a report on Enron. It rated Enron a "Buy," forecast 00
and 01 EPS of $1.41 and $1.69 for Enron and also stated:
Enron announced a major deal with Blockbuster ... that represents ... an
endorsement of its content delivery business .... We believe that content delivery
represents Enron's "killer app" in the broadband world, and in addition to
growing revenues, this deal and others like it will provide more visibility to its
broadband technology and capabilities.
* * *
Enron's Intelligent Network technology makes it one of the only providers capable
of providing mass-market content with speed, quality, scale and reliability. EBS
will encode and stream the entertainment over its broadband network ... and
deliver unparalleled quality of service. Thanks to its network architecture,
software intelligence, and network control technology, Enron Broadband Services
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