"SIMPLY MONEY" TO LAUNCH ON ASTRA

Invest TV, the company launching the "Simply Money" consumer finance channel, has signed a 10 year contract with satellite operator Société Européenne des Satellites (SES) to provide a 24 hour a day digital broadcast service on the ASTRA Satellite System at 28.2° East.

The deal means that in addition to broadcasting the Simply Money channel live each week day, Invest TV will also have the necessary spare transmission capacity from ASTRA to develop other channels and interactive services.

Simply Money will be the UK's first interactive digital consumer finance channel when it launches in January 2000. The new channel will initially be available on Sky Digital via ASTRA 2A transponder nbr. 22 (12.12900 GHz; V-Polarisation) and negotiations are well under way with a number of cable operators to carry the digital programme.

The channel will broadcast live from its studios at the Sound Republic in Leicester Square, London, initially from 7.00 to 10.00 each weekday morning. It will be covering topical consumer stories provided by the Simply Money newsroom as well as providing a broad range of information on anything from investments and pensions to saving money on cars and holidays. Viewers will also be able to access financial and product data.

Simply Money already has an interactive website, www.simplymoney.net, which contains all the news and feature material broadcast by the TV channel as well as providing users with a wealth of related information and links to other relevant websites.

Invest TV's managing director Ed Hall commented on the satellite deal: "This contract with SES gives us immediate access to more than two million homes in the UK and the ability to offer a range of programmes and interactive services. We look forward enormously to working with ASTRA to exploit the interactive capabilities of the digital satellite system."

Yves Elsen, Commercial & Marketing Director of SES/ASTRA, said: "We are delighted to welcome Invest TV on board ASTRA. They have some very exciting plans for the rapidly growing UK digital TV market. We are obviously pleased to be involved right at the beginning of something that promises to be very big indeed and which brings further enhancement to the rich line-up of digital services available from the ASTRA Satellite System for the UK market".

Note to the Editor:

Invest TV is backed by Pacific Investments - a venture capital company owned by John Beckwith CBE. The other main investor is post-production and transmission facilities group TSI plc.

ASTRA is Europe's leading direct-to-home satellite system, operated by Société Européenne des Satellites. It currently has 9 active satellites with four more planned or under construction. It transmits more than 700 different television and radio channels as well as multimedia and internet services to over 77 million homes in Europe.

SES securities are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (symbol: SES) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (symbol: SDSL).

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