Big Entertainment to Purchase Hollywood Online

Posted on January 11, 1999

Big Entertainment, Inc. and The Times Mirror Company have announced that Big Entertainment will acquire Hollywood Online, Inc., and its website, hollywood.com, from Times Mirror for $31.0 million in stock, under a definitive agreement signed today by the two companies.

Big Entertainment said that it plans to combine hollywood.com's information and content with BigE's entertainment e-commerce website. Hollywood Online currently owns and operates hollywood.com, a leading Internet site for movie and celebrity-related multimedia information, including movie show times for about 75 percent of screens nationwide. BigE currently owns and operates bige.com, an e-commerce studio store offering thousands of licensed merchandise products from Hollywood studios, TV networks and popular culture. The combined Internet properties will operate under the hollywood.com name and web address upon completion of the purchase.

Mitchell Rubenstein, chairman and CEO of Big Entertainment, said, "The acquisition is the defining event in BigE's transition into a premier Internet retailer in the entertainment sector. We are combining the leading movie content and movie show times Website with our leading studio store merchandise site. To complete hollywood.com's powerful movie and entertainment package, we expect to add online movie ticketing and other e-commerce products, including videos and DVDs. We believe consumers will want to visit and use hollywood.com frequently. The acquisition makes us a global player, with about 20 percent of our new Website users overseas. We see significant growth potential globally as we create the new hollywood.com on-line superstore."

The combined website will be promoted under an exclusive marketing agreement with the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO). Under the NATO contract, hollywood.com is the exclusive movie information online site promoted on-screen in these theatres.

Big Entertainment, Inc. ("BigE") was founded by Mitchell Rubenstein and Laurie Silvers, who earlier founded the Sci-Fi Channel. BigE owns bige.com, an e-commerce studio store offering thousands of entertainment products. BigE also owns entertainment properties created for it by best-selling authors and media celebrities, including Leonard Nimoy and Mickey Spillane.