Company Profile

YooMedia plc is one of the fastest growing interactive entertainment companies in the UK.
Since 1997 we have been developing and launching leading B2C consumer brands in the gaming and community sectors. We also work in a B2B capacity with leading brand owners, agencies, content developers and broadcasters to design and develop their interactive content strategies.

Led by Executive Chairman Dr. Michael Sinclair and Group Managing Director Neil MacDonald, YooMedia has assembled a highly experienced management team that possesses a unique blend of skills and experience in the areas of Digital TV, Internet and mobile phone services and technology.

With main office locations in London, Exeter and Maidstone, YooMedia manages core assets including:

Over 30 office locations throughout the UK alone

State-of-the-art studio, production and post-production facilities at our Wapping location.

UK broadcast return path & bandwidth owner

Fully fledged UK Bookmaker License

Database with over 350K UK singles

SMS Engine access with international reach

Fully staffed 50 seat Customer Contact Centre in Maidstone, Kent

YooMedia Dating & Chat - Our dating subsidiary company manages the oldest and largest UK-owned dating brands including Dateline, Club Sirius and Avenues. YooMedia Dating has over 20 office locations throughout the UK and also manages YooChat, our world-leading interactive chat service found on UK digital cable on the Telewest platform (platform extensions planned for 2005).

YooMedia Gambling & Games - Combining the brands of Avago and Channel 425 (in partnership with William Hill) YooMedia is on the leading-edge of interactive fixed odds, casino and poker gambling services for digital TV, the web and 3G mobile phones. Our gaming business also manages YooPlay, the only interactive just for fun games channel found on all four Digital TV platforms in the United Kingdom.

YooMedia Enhanced Solutions (YES) - YES works with brand owners, agencies, content owners and broadcasters to clarify the options, define the strategies and deliver the interactive content that enhances consumer and audience experiences. YES customers include the BBC, Nestle, Celador, William Hill, Channel 4, ZipTV, The Cartoon Network and HR Owen.

My letter published in Shares today under title 'Directors Dealings'. Although without comment, I feel it adds to the cause. YOO shares, meanwhile, have settled down - I wouldn't expect any more action until the EGM and consequent publicity. I am hoping that most of the placing buyers are institutions coming in as an investment. Given that we know that Evolution will be making a statement on prospects, the price could move ahead. I would guess that the maximum for the cap. would be 150K at this stage which corresponds to a diluted price of 33p. Could be on the cards (or 'in the cards' for us gamblers?)

Eric

http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?class=countries&subclass=193&id=512


ITV 'plans interactive gaming channel'


ITV is said to be planning an interactive quiz and gaming channel as it looks for additional sources of revenue to top up its advertising income.

The digital channel would offer betting interactivity on top of quiz and gaming shows, and could launch next year, according to Broadcast magazine. The channel could be called ITV4 or ITV Gaming.

The broadcaster is said to be planning to test run the concept first on late-night ITV1. ITV recently appointed Debbie Mason, founder of the interactive betting channel Avago, its interactive commissioner.

Either very good news or bad news.

Are Yoomedia in the mix?

Well we already have strong links with ITV, due to the dating agreement, announced in October. Yoomobile also work with ITV, for the text game on 'Millionaire'

Debbie Mason, a key employee of AVAGO, left for ITV recently. The new channel will need partners, content producers and it is possible the technology, products of TGG and DITG will be used, needed. Was Debbie Mason's departure designed with a view towards launching the new channel for ITV and winning new business for the enlarged Yoomedia group.

Yoomobile will be the perfect complement for the new quiz channel ITV4.

Mr Dcherty has recenty stated "We want to push out into all sorts of areas--but particularly in the mobile space" "it will be a large part of our business, at by the end of 2005" "So we're now very focused on this issue of how you use a mobile phone to interact with live TV shows."

Are Yoomedia involved? Quite possibly!

We had better hope they are, although considering the relationships already in place with ITV and the Debbie Mason connection, the odds favour Yoomedia's participation, more than not.

Will the directors tell us either way, will they hell!

MOST IMPORTANTLY.

TriggerTV/Whoosh can provide ITV with a 'live' return path for viewers watching in analogue and Freeview. I sincerely hope ITV and Yoomedia are working together on this project. Might explain why 25m was raised so quickly!

Return Path

The return path division of DITG provides the only third party commercial
alternative to Sky for activating the return path from a set top box. By
providing this service it is able to handle financial transactions, voting and
other responses made by a consumer on behalf of certain broadcasters, including
the BBC.

We know ITV and SKY are at loggerheads at the moment.

http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?class=search&subclass=ITV&id=461

ITV may choose Yoomedia, for it's return path requirements for both business and working relationship reasons.

Debbie Mason's job is already made easier, as she has an alternative return path in mind, if ITV decide to dump SKY. Knowing where Debbie Mason has gone, surely the DITG directors (soon to be Yoomedia directors) are working closely with Debbie Mason and ITV. The amount of potential business up for grabs is huge!

ITV4 will be the brand, that's all. Behind the scenes, someone must provide the return path technology and content. Will they choose Yoomedia? I consider there is a very good chance of significant business for our mobile and gaming divsions, at the very least.

Perhaps most importantly, will ITV chose Yoomedia to provide the return path, dumping SKY in the process? If so, it will open the floodgates for other independant broadcsters, program content producers to follow, breaking SKY's stranglehold.

IF a deal can be made with ITV, then the whole merger takes on a different complexion entirely. Is it in the pipeline? Only the directors know!

ITV and the new Yoomedia, working together, COULD become a very powerful force indeed! After ITV4, why not ITV5, ITV6, ITV7...............all interactive, presenter led channels.......if Yoomedia are involved, then it's buy, buy, buy!!!

.

Mr Docherty said recently:

"The merged entity, he added, will be able to "provide solutions from digital television all the way through mobile and all points in-between. We'll be able to cross-market, cross-promote and cross-database. And I think that's going to be seen in the market as really innovative: that one company can come in and solve all your problems in one gulp, so to speak."

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm........Yes, we do need DITG, now we are the complete package.

We can provide everything an independant program producer needs. From a return path solution, processing of financial transactions, right through to quality interactive content, like gaming, chat and mobile interactivity. Looking at it in this way, the shares actually appear to be 'dirt cheap'

In the future, SKY may increasingly provide ONLY the broadcast space on the network. We can do the rest!

EWROBSON

33P or 150m market cap, suddenly seems cheap all of a sudden!

iPublic
If they are so dirt cheap, why did Docherty do such a large deal at 15p? His actions belie his words.
He should be asked to give a plausible explanation of the need to place at 15p in the light of that statement. He should be also asked if they are so cheap to those shareholders who are sitting on substantial losses as a result. He and his cronies immunized themselves from that pain.
This guy really needs to come clean and address all the issues. The hype does not convince me. When and if the company has settled down and producing solid results, then I will feel more positive. No need to rush in the meantime, better stuff out there at the moment.

EVO were not prepared to underwrite the placement above 15p. Yes, Yoomedia could have gone elsewhere, but they seem to want the merger settled by Christmas, allowing them to forge ahead in 2005. The sector has just come of age and will be evolving rapidly in 2005. Could we really afford to wait a few months for a better placement deal to be found?

It is more forgivable, if Yoomedia are teaming up with ITV for ITV4. Debbie Mason was the founder of AVAGO and she must be a stakeholder of DITG/TGG, if so then the Chief Commissioner of the new interactive quiz and gaming channel ITV4, to be launched next year, is a substantial Yoomedia shareholder. One does not need a high IQ to work out where ITV will going for content and quite possibly RETURN PATH.

This may explain why speed was of the essence, hence the need to rush through the placement before Christmas.

Finally, we did have the opportunity to buy below 18p anyway!

iPublic: This deal has been rumbling around for some time, enough time for Yoomedia to explore all the avenues available before closing the deal through EVO, so your point about speed, finance and timescales is not convincing. But what takes the biscuit is the Options award, tied up with the vote for the merger! Quite disgraceful and something I thought might happen. The Directors seem to think they are running this operation for their own self interest. That's fine when you are a Private Company but the thinking at Board level needs to change when you are a Public Company.

I also doubt, as have other BB posters, that Yoomedia will produce the earnings that this merger needs to create to justify the sharholder dilution that is taking place, for many years to come. I hope to be proved wrong, but on balance it's unlikely.

Finally, I do not think anyone is arguing about the merits of the deal, it's just the approach that has been taken to do it.

iPublic

Just got up to date with the spate of posts, having emerged from income tax returns (snore!). The ITV deal seems likely given that it will have been on the go for a while, Docherty would have known that, so it would give extra motivation for closing the deal quickly. Dec 20th meeting could have been timed to enable the following EVO announcement to be that much stronger. I suspect we really do need to see the projections made before we can assess the future cap. and thus sp. If the announcement is strong and sexy, then the hype could be huge and the sp could get ahead of itself. I suspect this will happen: the implications would be, firstly, to increase one's stake (share is somewhat down today) and, secondly, be on the ball to take some profits (in my case, close the cfd).

Eric

NHS Direct Interactive Digital TV service launches
The UKs long-awaited NHS Direct interactive television health information service is finally being launched.

The National Health Service in the UK currently provides a telephone advice and an online health information service, which is being expanded to cover digital television platforms.

The new interactive television service is being launched by Dr John Reid, the Secretary of State for health, and Harry Cayton the director responsible for patients and the public at the Department of Health.

Initially, NHS Digital TV will provide basic health information in different languages, directing viewers to the NHS Direct telephone service.

The service will be expanded over time and is eventually expected to include transactional services such as booking appointments.

The service was originally commissioned at the beginning of 2004, after a series of pilot projects to assess the potential of digital television for delivering health information.

Following a competitive tender, the initial three-year contract for the project, thought to be worth 15m, was awarded to MMTV together with PA Consulting and usability specialists Nomensa.

The service was expected to launch in the summer of 2004 and be available on all digital television platforms by the end of the year, according to the aggressive schedule originally set.

MMTV was subsequently acquired from its parent company Multimedia Television plc by the iPublic division of YooMedia plc at the end of September 2004, positioning YooMedia as a key supplier for public service interactive television.

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

Full credit to craZyjon on another website.

Yoomedia unveils online version of Fancy a Flutter game
December 20, 2004 Emma Rigby,

LONDON - Interactive entertainment company Yoomedia has launched an online version of its gaming brand, Fancy a Flutter.

The new website marks Yoomedia's first step into online gaming in line with its plan to stretch its interactive TV properties to the web and mobile. Yoomedia CEO David Docherty said: "The launch of FancyaFlutter.co.uk means that Yoomedia has a strong presence on all the main interactive platforms, including television, mobile and now online. He added: "Due to the high quality of the games we have developed, and the simple way in which you can play for as little as 10p, we expect FancyaFlutter.co.uk to attract large numbers of players in the online world." Yoomedia has developed new games for the online offering, featuring animation, and a winner's area. FancyaFlutter.co.uk will be supported with a promotional campaign and will include email, mobile, and affiliate elements, as well as partnership promotions. Since its launch in February 2003, Fancy a Flutter has been available on Sky Active's Betting Zone. If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the Forum here.

http://www.fancyaflutter.co.uk

http://www.yoomedia.com/press_releases/pr16dec.html

"The launch of the new website marks Yoomedias first step into online gaming"

"Yoomedias gaming brands operate in the soft, fixed odds gaming market, a sector which has seen massive growth in the last 12 months, particularly among women."

Editorial Notes

About Yoomedia
YooMedia is a leading provider of commercial iTV, internet and mobile products and content to the UK digital TV and interactive media market. The Company is British owned and operates interactive channels on all four UK digital platforms; Sky, ntl, Telewest and Freeview. The operations of the Group can be split into four key divisions:
Yoomedia Gambling & Games - with brands including Avago FancyaFlutter, and Channel 425/William Hill and turn-key gaming solutions for commercial partners through its TV Gaming Group (TGG)

Yoomedia Dating & Chat - with brands including Dateline, Avenues, and YooChat
Yoomedia Mobile - with brands including TriggerTv and Whoosh

iPublic bringing local/central government and healthcare services to digital television

Yoomedia plc is quoted on the Alternative Investment Market.
www.yoomedia.com

Contacts:
Matt Ball or Daljit Bhurji
Hotwire
T: 020 7608 4649 or 020 7608 4626
M: 07880 642257
E: matt.ball@hotwirepr.com, daljit.bhurji@hotwirepr.com

Yoomedia PLC
20 December 2004


YooMedia plc
('YooMedia or 'the Company')

RESULT OF EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING

The Board of YooMedia is pleased to confirm that the resolution proposed for
consideration at the Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company, which was
held today in London, was approved.

The Acquisitions and the Placing remain conditional on, among other things,
Admission, which is expected to occur at 8.00am tomorrow, 21 December 2004.


Enquiries:

John Murray
Powerscourt 0207 236 5615




This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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In sickness and in health.......

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