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MEDIA RELEASE - 26 April, 2001
Itvworld snaps up a rare little earner, Urban Cinefile
By Katrina Nicholas
His business is one of the few dot coms turning a profit, but for
Mr Andrew Urban, founder and editor of Urban Cinefile, more than
organic growth was needed to take his company to the next level.
Urban Cinefile was yesterday acquired by digital media group itvworld.
The merger will see itvworld take Urban Cinefile's movie content
and repackage it for interactive TV, WAP-enabled mobile phones and
personal digital assistants, such as Palm Pilots.
"In the past we'd kept small so we would be profitable," said Mr
Urban, who started the business in 1997. "But the only way we saw
to grow, that was not going down the path of finding venture-capital
funding, was merging with a company that was a perfect fit."
Mr Urban, also an SBS journalist, said itvworld had a business
culture "sympathetic" to Urban Cinefile's and was not "just another
number-crunching business".
He said the deal would allow the Web site to offer its customers,
which include AOL Australia, Telstra.com and Ozemail, "souped-up"
content suitable for new interactive services.
Mr Urban, along with deputy editor and wife Ms Louise Keller, will
hold senior positions within itvworld.
For further information contact:
Charlotte Faunce, itv|world
charlotte@itvworld.com
Phone: (02) 9288 4704
Mobile: 0407 009217
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