NDS Group plc Reports Third Quarter Results

Thursday, May 1st, 2008
NDS Group logo

NEW YORK and LONDON — NDS Group plc (“NDS” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: NNDS), a majority-owned subsidiary of News Corporation that supplies open end-to-end digital technology and services to digital pay-television platform operators and content providers, announced today its operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.

Key Non-financial Measures

                               For the Three Months   For the Nine Months
                                       Ended                 Ended
                                      March 31,              March 31,
                                    2008     2007        2008      2007

Smart card deliveries (in millions)
Quantity delivered in period        10.6      6.4        26.9      19.6

Authorized cards (in millions)
Additions                            4.2      3.0        11.5       7.9
Number of authorized cards,
 end of period                      86.9     72.9        86.9      72.9

Middleware clients deployed (in millions)
Acquisitions                           -        -           -       2.0(1)
Additions                            6.7      5.1        21.3      13.7
Cumulative deployments,
 end of period                      83.1     57.3(1)     83.1      57.3

DVR clients deployed (in millions)
Net additions                        1.7      1.1         4.8       2.9
Cumulative deployments,
 end of period                      12.1      6.4        12.1       6.4

(1) Includes 2.0 million OpenRG™ residential gateway middleware devices developed and deployed by Jungo that were recognized at the time of the acquisition of Jungo on December 31, 2006.

Key Developments

“¢ Premiere has selected NDS’s VideoGuard® conditional access system to secure its satellite pay-TV platforms in Germany and Austria – another major success for NDS in Germany. Migration from Premiere’s incumbent provider will begin in calendar Q2 using customer-friendly simulcrypt technology. All new Premiere receivers will be equipped with VideoGuard. News Corporation beneficially owns a minority interest in Premiere.
“¢ New pan-Indian cable network operator, DEN Digital Entertainment Network, has chosen NDS’s VideoGuard conditional access system, MediaHighway middleware and customized electronic program guide to secure and enhance its new digital cable service.
“¢ The Tele Columbus Group, Germany’s third-largest cable operator, has chosen VideoGuard to protect its independent networks. Tele Columbus will use a simulcrypt solution to support the launch of the new platform. Tele Columbus Group serves some 3.7 million cable-connected households, as well as a large number of satellite-facilitated independent networks, making it one of Germany’s biggest multimedia service providers.
“¢ CANAL+ GROUP has deployed the latest generation of NDS’ MediaHighway middleware to allow subscribers to easily transform their HD set-top boxes into HD DVRs. CANAL+ and CANALSAT subscribers in France can now add an external hard drive via the USB port on their HD set-top box to have a fully functional HD DVR. CANAL+ has also deployed NDS’ MediaHighway to support its latest dual-tuner HD set-top box.
“¢ Hathway, India’s leading provider of digital cable services, has chosen NDS XTV™ to launch the first cable DVR in India.
“¢ Scandinavia’s Viasat Broadcasting has extended its contract with NDS to provide NDS’s VideoGuard conditional access system to secure its digital premium pay-TV satellite platform. Additionally, a second new agreement covers the supply of NDS’s MediaHighway middleware, customized electronic program guide and XTV DVR technology in support of Viasat’s recently announced HD satellite pay TV service.

More: Earnings Release