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RCN Corporation: RCN Extends RTVi and RTVi Plus to International Channel Lineups

^{Published on 2009-07-31 16:43:41, Last Modified on 2009-07-31 16:43:50 - Market Wire}
 

HERNDON, VA--(Marketwire - July 31, 2009) - [ RCN Corporation ] (NASDAQ: [ RCNI ]), [ www.rcn.com ], a leading provider of all-digital and high definition video, high-speed internet, and premium voice services to residential and small-medium business customers, as well as high-capacity transport services to carrier and large enterprise customers, announced today that it is extending its offering of RTVi and RTVi Plus from the New York market to RCN service areas in Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Philadelphia.

[ RTVi ] is the leading provider of Russian-language programming in the U.S. It brings entertainment and news to Russian-speaking audiences through two channels -- RTVi and RTVi Plus. Through these channels, RTVi presents a wide variety of programming including news, comedy and drama shows, talk shows, game shows, movies and documentaries, sports, concerts, and children's programming.

"RCN is committed to delivering a wide-variety of quality [ International content ] to our subscribers," said Richard Ramlall, SVP, Strategic External Affairs and Programming at RCN. "Based on the success of RTVi and RTVi Plus airing on RCN in New York, we're excited to extend coverage of the channels to our Russian subscribers in Boston, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Philadelphia."

"There are about one million Russian-speaking families in the U.S.," noted Sergey Shestakov, Executive Vice President of Overseas Media Inc. "We're thrilled that our programming has made a connection with RCN customers and that RTVi can be a resource for these families as they thrive in their new country and stay abreast of what is happening in the world today."

To subscribe to RTVi or RTVi Plus on RCN, customers can call 1-800-RING-RCN (1-800-746-4726). RTVi will air on RCN channel 530, and RTVi Plus will air on RCN channel 531.

About RCN Corporation

RCN Corporation, (NASDAQ: [ RCNI ]), [ www.rcn.com ], is a competitive broadband services provider delivering all-digital and high definition video, high-speed internet and premium voice services to residential and small-medium business customers under the brand names of RCN and RCN Business Services, respectively. In addition, through its RCN Metro Optical Networks business unit, RCN delivers fiber-based high-capacity data transport services to large commercial customers, primarily large enterprises and carriers, targeting the metropolitan central business districts in the company's geographic markets. RCN's primary service areas include Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley (PA), New York City, Boston and Chicago. (RCNI-G)

About RTVi

Launched in 1997, RTVI, [ www.rtvi.ru ], is a 24-hour Russian-language television network that serves a nationwide Russian-speaking audience. Our goal is to offer Russian-speaking people throughout the world an independent source of information and entertainment programming in their native language. Available to U.S. subscribers via local cable providers and a satellite network, RTVI commits itself to being the leader in the industry. Throughout the years of operation RTVI has earned the respect and admiration of the Russian speaking community. It continues to do so by providing them with innovative programming, including six newscasts daily, the latest TV-series, controversial talk-shows and a vast array of movies.

About Overseas Media, Inc.

Overseas Media owns the only fully-fledged privately-held Russian-language information and television service. It is independent of the Russian government and currently reaches approximately 50 million international viewers. They have also entered the film production business, and do advertising and Internet-based information projects. Through its affiliates, it holds worldwide rights to the largest Russian and Soviet movie library, consisting of more than 2,500 titles.