OT - 00:14 24Sep2004 DJ Matsushita To Supply Cable TV Software, Equip To Comcast
DJ Matsushita To Supply Cable TV Software, Equip To Comcast
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (6752.TO) said Friday it will supply software and set-top boxes for digital cable television services to Comcast Corp. (CMCSK), the largest U.S. cable TV operator, from 2005.
With the deal, the Japanese maker of "Panasonic" brand audiovisual products hopes to boost its presence in the U.S. cable TV market, where users are shifting to advanced digital services from analog ones.
Matsushita has been providing set-top boxes for analog-type cable TV services in the U.S., but its presence there is dwarfed by major U.S. makers such as Motorola Inc. (MOT).
"The shift to digital (services) is offering us a business opportunity" because we have strength in digital related technology, said a spokesman at the Osaka-based consumer electronics maker.
Matsushita aims to post sales of around Y20 billion in its cable TV equipment related business in North America in the year ending March 2008.
For the current fiscal year, Matsushita's global sales in the business, which is mostly in Japan, are expected to reach Y23 billion, it said. The company forecasts group sales of Y8.8 trillion this fiscal year.
Comcast will install Matsushita's software in digital cable TV set-top boxes to be built for the cable TV operator. It will also purchase Matsushita-made set-top boxes that contain the software.
Matsushita said it expects to sell about 300,000 units of the set-top boxes next fiscal year.
The software will conform to North American standards for digital cable TV services, Matsushita said.
With a set-top box, or receiver, equipped with the software, consumers can use a variety of interactive services, such as video on demand, an electronic program guide, home banking and interactive games, and other e-commerce
applications.
-By Kanji Ishibashi, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; kanji.ishibashi@dowjones.com
-Edited by Kirsty Mackenzie
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Friday, 24 September 2004 00:14:49
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