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.

iPublic

Thanks for that - no offence meant and really a compliment reflecting your knowledge and insights; don't suffer from paranoia as a rule. That's a big stake although all these things are relative. YOO a buy in Shares review of Tips for 2004.

Eric

Yes, it is a large stake

It's important the key individuals on the board, have the incentive to drive the businesss forward, which is achived through existing large shareholdings and the options at 15p. Remember these are not free shares, the directors must still pay for them, meaning more funds for Yoo.

Although the placement discount was disappointing, we have all has the opportunity to buy around 17p anyway, which I have taken at 17.25p.

Onwards and upwards.

Put whats left of my YOO investment into MDW, in profit already and could recover losses very quickly, now that is a share for the future (hopefully!!)
I can see why 845k would make you stay though and I wish you well.

Andysmith

How much of the company do the MDW directors own?

iPublic: Thank you for your candour. I do not want to see the old Research note, it is the new one that is eagerly awaited. By the way I already have several Yahoo email accounts...but why you are unable to use the MoneyAM system is a mystery. Anyway I wish you well with your holding. By the way do you also post undeer the nomenclature Mactavish? JGT

No, although sometimes he pastes my posts from other boards, hence the similar style.

Mactavish is welcome to do this.

Radio stations dial into instant feedback
By Maija Pesola
Published: January 14 2005 02:00 | Last updated: January 14 2005 02:00

Music fans will soon be able to use mobile telephones to give radio stations instant feedback on latest hits and quiz competitions when Nokia launches handsets with an interactive "visual radio" capability.

Kiss FM, a Finnish radio station, will be first to launch services that use the technology - which works like the red button on digital television - in early March, followed shortly afterwards by Virgin Radio in the UK.

Nokia, which will begin shipping two kinds of visual radio-enabled handset models in February, is also in talks with a number of radio broadcasters across continental Europe.

Listening to the radio over mobiles is becoming more common - 15 per cent of handsets sold worldwide have an embedded radio tuner. Visual radio, however, takes things a step further. It will allow radio stations to send information to mobile phone screens at the same time as the tracks are playing - pictures of the artist, for example - or ask listeners to rate the song with a click of a button. Votes are transmitted back to the station instantly.

Most interestingly, radio stations will be able to use the interactive connection to sell listeners a ringtone version of the track, or concert tickets, CDs and DVDs.

Ringtones alone are a huge business - about 3.5bn songs are downloaded worldwide each year - so this could significantly enhance radio station earnings.

James Cridland, managing editor of Virgin Radio's new media operations, says advertisers are enthusiastic about the prospects. According to Virgin's research, the addition of a visual element can make radio advertising 50 per cent more effective. Virgin Radio already has some experience of this from streaming text and pictures to the screens of DAB digital radios, and from its internet radio services.

"Radio is a great medium for emotion and immediacy," Mr Cridland says. "But if you can make it more permanent - keeping a telephone number on a mobile screen for example - it can be much more powerful."

Visual radio also will give radio advertisers, for the first time, a channel by which listeners can respond directly. They will be able to see exactly how many people are listening and know who those listeners are.

"For the first time radio advertising can become measurable," says Reidar Wasenius, who heads the radio project at Nokia's multimedia unit. "This is a potential disruptor to the music industry business model. Rather than radio stations being paid rates based on the estimated number of listeners, they could pay stations based on how many copies of a song they sold. Radio stations could become more like retailers."

Mobile phone operators on the other hand, will be hoping that these services will help speed flagging adoption rates for higher-speed mobile data connections. In order to use the interactive services, mobile users will need to upgrade their mobile phone connection to GPRS, which transmits data faster than standard GSM.

Adoption of the technology could also increase average revenues per user for mobile operators, as research by Nokia has shown that mobile users would be willing to spend an additional 5 to 6 (3.50 to 4.20) per month on accessing interactive radio services. Nokia is providing radio stations with the back office software to run visual radio free of charge.

The company hopes to reap the benefits in the form of handset sales. It expects to sell 100m handsets with visual radio capability over the next two years. If successful, this would form an important part of the 300m new subscribers the company hopes to capture from new growth markets by 2007.

Nokia could also make money from licensing the handset technology to other handset manufacturers.

A number of mobile operators have been experimenting with different forms of mobile interaction. For example, Orange in the UK has teamed up with the Woolworths hit40uk chart to stream information to mobile phones while the chart plays on Sunday nights.

BT Wholesale and Digital One, the digital radio station, announced a partnership last year to look into broadcasting multimedia services to portable devices including personal digital assistants, mobile phones and portable digital radios.

Despite such telecoms industry interest, none of the other handset-makers appears to be working on interactive radio features. "When we announced our NGage gaming console a few years ago, there was a flurry of announcements from other manufacturers that they were working on similar things. But this time - nothing," says Mr Wasenius.

So whether this puts Nokia at a great first mover advantage or out on a limb in a very unproven market will not be seen until much later this year

Thinking about dipping in to YOO. iPublic - you are obviously very confident about the future for YOO given your sizeable stake. What is it for you that makes YOO so appealing?

chad

I am not surprised that iPublic hasn't rushed to answer your question. I suggest you read some of his previous posts which have been most informative; also those of mactavish. Then come back with some specific questions. Not meaning to offend, just suggesting that we are business-like in conducting these columns.

Eric

EWRobson

Do you think we could get one of the informative posters to draw up a list of risks associated with this business?

Chad

If you read the last three months posts on this BB and the other Yoomedia boards on the internet, you will receive all the information you need to make an investment decision. Sorry I can't answer your question, but sometimes I need a break.

The Gull

Do you mean risks associated with the business itself or risks associated with investing in it? Serious difference. Thank goodness I don't have to worry about the former - the MD;s secretary breaking her leg or having a baby, for instance!

As an investor, I like risk. No risk, no rewards! That's one of the problems I have with the new YOO: less risk with all this extra money, extra skills (e.g. in technology) larger platform in some of the key business sectors. It seems to me that a small emerging company, as YOO was last year, is risky for the investor, but the rewards are large, measured as the cap goes from, say, 10m to 50m. The cap has more than doubled with the last takeover whilst shareholder's equity has fallen. That was an unforeseen and most unpleasant risk. What is the risk of loss in value of shares from current level? Underpinned, I think, by the 15p placement price. Offset by Evolution having a case to prove to the investors they've brought on board. Very little downside from here. Upside not as good as it was in percentage terms. I would think though that it will have compound growth of not less than 20% over the next several years and could be twice that. That's just reflecting the growing market and YOO's unique position in it. Can't think of a comparable share - perhaps someone else can?

Eric

ipublic, re:post 449.
MDW CEO and directors own >20% of company, difference being that not acquired by ripping off existing holders.
Again, I think that YOO will be successful in time but having made a 30% loss on YOO thanks to the placing, I am pleased to be >20% up on MDW already.
How much of your 485k was bought at sp <20p? If most you will be comfortable about your prospects, i had only a small holding and bought at a high price.
I think my decision was right and I also think your decision is probably right.
Good Luck and I admire your allegiance to YOO.

mactavish/ipublic and others,
I will continue to monitor this thread and if it feels good I may come back to YOO but I will always be nervous now after the recent actions, once bitten!!
Keep up the excellent work and info and I wish you well. Andy.

EWRobson

I suppose I must have been thinking about risks associated with investing, something like potential future competitors, who could become competition, what are the chances of future competition, worst case scenarios on participant numbers, etc.

I suppose I asked the question because I am finding it difficult to see the risks as my knowledge is limited in technology.

Andysmith

Established, respected institutions like LloydsTSB and Perpetual, taking a >3% stake in the placement, does indeed inject me with renewed confidence. One can be sure they were priviliged to information on the business plan, not contained in the aquisition letter to shareholders. My strong gut feeling is a return to the mid 20's by the end of Feb and as a consequence, will be buying another 50k, before 21st Feb.

iPublic, I'm not doubting the backing that it has, nor that it will become successful it's just that at this moment there are better ways to make some money quickly (other than being on the board of YOO!!!). If I clear some profits in the coming months and we have some early projections of the new YOO I will probably re-join as I believe it has the prospects to prosper but need my dosh back first and more quickly than YOO will probably recover.

Fair enough.

That's the gamble of course. Let's hope we are both correct.

Full credit to Malkie for the story - very interesting!

malkie - 15 Jan'05 - 14:11 - 4693 of 4693

Not new - but interesting anyway......

Malc

Raising the red button stakes

William Hill's takeover of a channel and the launch of a celebrity reality poker show make gambling the favourite to become interactive TV's most lucrative application. Sean Hargrave reports

Monday August 23, 2004
The Guardian

Interactive television has tried all manner of new media services searching for its "killer ap" but it now seems clear the frontrunner that television executives should be putting their proverbial shirts on is one of the oldest forms of entertainment - gambling. As HSBC this month joined a list of banks who have ditched the medium, casinos and bookmakers look set to start filling the void. At the front of the pack is William Hill which within two or three months will take over and brand a channel dedicated to virtual gambling, which has already been set up by DITG, the company behind the bingo and virtual casino television station Avago.
At the same time, plans are being drawn up for the country's first 24-hour celebrity poker show that will be broadcast in 2005. The show, which Challenge TV sums up as where Big Brother and poker meet, is the result of a deal with a fledgling gambling channel in America, CGTV. The latter has bought Challenge's programme library, which includes several poker shows, as well as going halves on new programming, including the planned show Poker Hotel.
"There's a real buzz about poker among the public so we're going to get four or five celebrities and pitch them up against the best poker players in the world," promises Jonathan Webb, Challenge's Controller.
"We're going to put it in a classy place, probably a hip hotel, and you'll be able to really see what the celebrities are like. The top players have a poker face you can't see past but it's when a celebrity is bluffing on his last bit of stake money that the tension really shows and they're stripped - it's that democratic nature of poker that makes it so popular with viewers."
For those who want to play as well as watch poker on their television, Challenge is due to launch Casino Casino, which allows Sky viewers to press red and get dealt a virtual hand for fun, rather than money stakes.
"A great encouragement for us is that on Sky, where play-along is offered, viewers stay for twice as long as cable, where it isn't offered," says Webb. "It's illegal for us to allow people to play for money so it's just for fun. With the proposed relaxation of gambling laws, we'd hope to one day offer poker for real money, but not for the time being."
Although changes to the country's gambling laws being debated in parliament are not expected to be implemented until 2006, there has already been some relaxation in attitudes that has allowed one channel to offer the first real (rather than virtual) play-along casino game.
Last month's launch of roulette on iSports was important for interactive television, according to Damian Cope, the managing director of the channel's operator DITG. Although roulette has always been one of the most popular games on the net, television broadcasters are banned from allowing the public to gamble on live, real card and casino games.
"The main regulatory concern is that games have to fixed odds, just like a bet on which football team will win on Saturday," Cope explains.
"Obviously card games aren't based on fixed odds because there are so many variables. Roulette is fixed-odds, though, because you can see all the numbers and there are only so many slots the ball can land in, and so, after some discussions, we were allowed to put the game up."
This has come in time for William Hill's planned branding of the channel in either October or November. David Harding, the bookmaker's CEO, reveals that he decided to "launch" a television channel because online has worked very well for the brand and showed no signs of "cannibalising" its high street business. Hence he is confident that television gambling will be huge, and not at the expense of the bookmaker's shop, internet or phone operations.
"We've been looking at interactive television for quite a while," he reveals. "It has always been too expensive in the past, but now you have what I call a "gatekeeper" like DITG that can sit between someone like us and Sky and have a channel already set up for them, it has become a much more affordable option for us."
Soon after William Hill rebrands the iSports channel, DITG will begin trials of fun poker on its Avago channel, which it hopes will then be taken up next year by William Hill.
The interactive television broadcaster also launched the world's first real-life game where viewers can guess which pig - numbered one to 10 - will be picked out of a pen by a farm hand. The Squeal of Fortune game was launched last week to viewers watching Teletext through C4 on the Sky platform.
According to Robin Bosworth, director at the television and telecommunications consultancy Schema, the huge growth in gambling and betting on interactive television stems from Sky's success with its Sky Bet service. This offers fixed-odds betting on many popular sports and provides the odds for C4's Attheraces channel, and has proved to other operators how receptive the public is to pressing red and placing a wager.
"The UK is unique in that you've got digital television in more than half of households and you've got one of the most liberal gambling regimes in the world," Bosworth says. "So, it was always going to be the leading market for interactive TVgambling and Sky Bet has simply shown the way and it's not surprising that others are following."
In fact, the market is so huge that Bosworth estimates it will be worth 600m this year and will increase 70% next year. This is appealing to bookmakers and casino operators, he believes, because the growth does not come at the cost of online or high street betting because it appeals to a new market.
"The really interesting thing is how television is changing the dynamics of the market," he explains. "In the high street only around 5% of customers are women but with television that jumps to around 20-30%. It also appeals to people that would not normally think about going to a betting shop but are open to watching sport or a virtual casino game and having a flutter.
"The really clever thing the likes of Avago are doing is building up a community side where people can 'chat' via the show so they've got a feeling of being among friends."
The huge growth Bosworth predicts for the market not only comes from continued enlargement of today's services but also through combining gambling and television shows, such as the planned Poker Hotel. "When you look at it, the biggest thing on television now is participation television," he says. "Whether it's Big Brother, Restoration or Strictly Come Dancing, people want to interact with a show. If you add gambling to the voting those types of shows offer, then you're going to get phenomenal growth."

I will give YOO a couple of weeks - wish I'd never bought the bloody things after the Shares Mag hype in October! After that I must take a view on where they are going medium term.I want them to do well but feel soured by the recent events with the reverse takeover and the huge dilution of my share value. EW Robson and pals seem to be endlessly optimistic, though aggrieved of course, I just feel aggrieved!