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Expanded Capabilities Allow Company to Meet High-Speed Demand for Celebrity Imagery
SEATTLE, April 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Getty Images, Inc.
(NYSE: GYI), the world's leading creator and distributor of visual
content, today announced that it has successfully completed the
acquisition of WireImage. The deal, which was announced on February 22,
2007, also includes MediaVast, Inc. the owner of WireImage, and
sub-brands FilmMagic and Contour Photos.
"Celebrity, entertainment and sports photography is a fast-growing
and vital part of the imagery industry, and this acquisition positions
us to meet and exceed the demand for nearly instantaneous content,"
said Jonathan Klein, co-founder and CEO of Getty Images. "Growing our
entertainment imagery business has been a key strategic focus,
resulting in revenue growth of approximately 60 percent in each of the
last three quarters of 2006. We see further growth opportunity as a
result of this acquisition. The real winners will be our customers who
can now expect to see exciting new developments with products and
services including podcasts, editorial video, multimedia, mobile and
exclusive imagery."
Getty Images intends to maintain MediaVast's three brands and its
market Web sites. With the combined resources of Getty Images and
WireImage, Getty Images will continue to generate new imagery for their
respective celebrity and entertainment collections and make it
available for online distribution globally.
The acquisition was driven by the rapidly evolving celebrity imagery
business. A recent article in Variety pointed out that the category is
increasingly being led by online publications that publish articles at
breakneck speed and therefore demand images immediately.
Getty Images is shortening the time between image capture and the
worldwide distribution of the image through its industry-leading Web
site, which features search in local languages and purchase in local
currencies, and leads the industry in delivery speed, service and
international distribution. The acquisition of WireImage and MediaVast
gives the company more coverage capabilities for events and
portraiture, and expands the entertainment and celebrity imagery
segment.
The acquisition of WireImage will also enable Getty Images to
accelerate the growth of its video distribution business. The company
increased its portfolio of video and film footage in 2006 and has been
preparing a build out of its back end delivery systems. WireImage
established a foothold in the video business and Getty Images will
continue to grow the category by adding editorial footage to the mix.
About Getty Images
Getty Images is the world's leading creator and distributor of
visual content and the first place creative professionals turn to
discover, purchase and manage imagery. The company's award-winning
photographers and imagery help customers create inspiring work which
appears every day in the world's most influential newspapers,
magazines, advertising campaigns, films, television programs, books and
Web sites. Headquartered in Seattle, WA and serving customers in more
than 100 countries, Getty Images believes in the power of imagery to
drive positive change, educate, inform, and entertain. Visit Getty
Images at http://gettyimages.com/ .
Some of the statements in this press release may constitute
"forward- looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on
management's expectations, assumptions and projections about Getty
Images and its industry as of the time the statements are made. These
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and
are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause our
actual results to differ materially from our past performance and our
current expectations, assumptions and projections. Differences may
result from actions taken by the company as well as from risks and
uncertainties beyond the company's control. These risks and
uncertainties include, among others, risks associated with currency
fluctuations, changes in the economic, political, competitive and
technological environments, and the risks associated with system
security, upgrades, updates and service interruptions. The foregoing
list of risks and uncertainties is illustrative, but by no means
exhaustive. For more information on factors that may affect future
performance, please review the reports filed by Getty Images with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, in particular our Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended June 30, 2006 and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2005. Except as required by law, Getty Images does
not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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