ulTRAX'S ARCHIVE
WEBTV UPGRADES
RATE INCREASE
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Dear WebTV Plus Subscriber,
Unfortunately, extremely high usage and the high cost of delivering the WebTV Plus service has made an increase in the WebTV Plus service price necessary. Therefore, starting June 1, 1998, we will increase the monthly price for new WebTV Plus subscribers by $5 to $24.95. (The monthly service charge for WebTV Classic will remain at $19.95).
To recognize the loyalty of existing Plus subscribers, this rate change will not affect you until January, 1999, so long as you continue your service without interruption until then. This includes "Use your own ISP" and "WebTV Powered by MCI Internet" subscribers.
When the price increase does go in to effect for you in January, 1999, the monthly rates will be as follows, depending on the service you have selected
- Standard WebTV Plus service: $24.95
- Use your own ISP: $14.95
- WebTV Powered by MCI Internet Service: $19.95 for the first 4 months you've signed up for the Powered by MCI Internet service or for as long as you are an MCI long distance customer
Why are we raising the price?
We've found that Plus subscribers are online 70 percent more than PC Internet service subscribers, or an average of 41 hours per month. This unprecedented usage demonstrates the unique integration of television and the Internet that WebTV Plus offers. We are encouraged by this enthusiastic response, however, the features that have led to such high usage are unfortunately more costly to deliver than simple Internet access.
As always, we're committed to continually enhancing WebTV Plus, allowing you to do things with your TV that were never before possible. In fact, your feedback led to the exciting new features we'll be offering in an automatic upgrade this summer. Here are some highlights:
- VCR Record - With just a click of the remote, you'll be able to program your VCR to record favorite shows directly from TV Listings.
- Improved TV Window - You told us that you love the TV Window, but that too often it gets in the way of websites or the e-mail you read. So, we enhanced the TV Window to not block anything on the screen.
- New, Searchable, TV Listings - Now you'll be able to view a full week's worth of TV programming, and search it by title, description or category.
- Remind - Receive on-screen notification that TV shows you want to watch are about to begin.
- Multimedia email creation - Add pictures, sounds, even your own voice to e-mail messages. You'll be able to send still pictures from a TV program, from your camcorder, and most digital cameras. You'll also be able to record a personal audio message.
- Personalized information - Access headline news, stock quotes, sports scores and weather from the Web Home page.
I know you will enjoy the new features and improvements in the coming upgrade and hope you understand the basis for our service price changes. If you have any questions, please visit
WeCare Online for additional information.
Sincerely,
Steve Perlman
CEO, WebTV Networks, Inc.