Encore Movie Pak Part of Driver for Charter's Digital Movie Tier

ST. LOUIS, and ENGLEWOOD, Colo., May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Charter Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: CHTR) and Starz Encore Group LLC (Starz Encore), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation (NYSE: L, LMCb), have signed an extended long-term affiliation agreement for Charter's carriage of the Starz Super Pak and Encore Movie Pak(SM) -- as components for Charter's digital video offerings -- and to help further drive its industry-leading digital cable penetration. The Starz Super Pak, which includes up to 12 digital premium movie channels, along with an on-demand service in all programming tiers, enhances Charter's significant consumer value proposition in its digital offering.

As part of the agreement, Charter will launch Starz On Demand, Starz Encore's industry-leading subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service offering over 100 movies each month, as part of its new "on-demand" platform to select cable systems. This marks the largest-ever cable Starz On Demand launch commitment to date.

SVOD lets consumers choose from a menu of on-demand video programming without paying a transactional fee for each program. Championed by Starz Encore to the television industry since 1998, SVOD empowers consumers to simply pick from the video menu, watch on-demand as much as they want, as often as they want, and with full DVD-like capabilities.

"We commend Charter for its industry leadership in creating a virtual video store at home for its customers and for embracing 'the power of the pak,'" said Que Spaulding, president of distribution for Starz Encore. "We are delighted to have this opportunity to showcase the appeal of our programming services in the linear and on-demand programming environments. With great hit movies including 'About A Boy' and 'The Scorpion King' airing in May on the Starz Super Pak, and upcoming blockbusters including 'XXX,' 'Austin Powers in Goldmember,' 'The Bourne Identity' and 'The Lord of the Rings 2: The Two Towers' coming soon, the timing could not be better to embrace Charter's digital offerings.

"Such great programming, offered commercial-free and uninterrupted, with 'DVD-like' control, and on-demand without transaction fees, provides the ultimate driver for digital video services," added Spaulding. "With the pending launch of Starz On Demand, Charter has secured an incredibly robust competitive offering, and we look forward to assisting them with their marketing efforts in the coming months to make this launch a true success."

"Charter is a recognized industry leader in the deployment of new technologies," said Scott Lopez, division vice president of the Charter Communications account for Starz Encore. "They have already demonstrated that premium movie channels drive digital penetration; now Charter can use the Starz Super Pak and Starz On Demand services to convert basic-only customers to digital cable. As a strategic partner, Starz Encore will commit its full company resources to support this massive launch."

About Charter Communications

Charter Communications Inc., A Wired World Company(TM), is the nation's third-largest broadband communications company, currently serving approximately 6.7 million customers in 40 states. Charter provides a full range of advanced broadband services to the home, including cable television on an advanced digital video programming platform marketed under Charter Digital Cable(R) and high-speed Internet access marketed under the Charter Pipeline(R) brand. Commercial high-speed data, video and Internet solutions are provided under the Charter Business Networks(TM) brand. Advertising sales and production services are sold under the Charter Media(TM) brand. More information about Charter can be found at www.charter.com.

About Starz On Demand and Starz Encore

Starz On Demand is an enhancement to the Starz Super Pak, which provides impulse viewing of Starz Super Pak movies with full "DVD-like" functionality for a simple, flat monthly charge and no fee per view. Starz On Demand features over 100 hit and classic Hollywood movies every month, selected from titles shown across the Starz Super Pak, Starz Encore Group's collection of up to 12 distinct digital movie channels. For more information on Starz On Demand, and to view customized versions of the interactive Starz On Demand experience as seen in current market deployments, please visit www.starzondemand.com.

Starz On Demand now offers a steady supply of blockbuster titles including, "Monsters, Inc.," "Spy Game," "John Q," and "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," and "The Scorpion King," as well as upcoming hits such as "Signs," "XXX," "Sweet Home Alabama," "8 Mile," and "Austin Powers in Goldmember." Hollywood studios supplying films to Starz On Demand include Disney, Universal, Sony, MGM, Paramount, New Line, Revolution Studios, and Miramax.

Starz Encore Group LLC (Starz Encore) is the largest provider of premium movie services in the United States with approximately 143 million pay units. Starz Encore offerings include the Starz Super Pak(R), with up to 12 digital movie channels and about 800 movies per month, and Starz On Demand(R), the first premium on-demand subscription offering and the only on-demand pay TV subscription service available on cable, satellite, and broadband platforms. Starz Encore is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation (NYSE: L, LMCb), www.starzencore.com.

For further information please contact: Marc McCarthy, +1-720-852-5841, marc.mccarthy@starzencore.com, or Eric Becker, +1-720-852-4065, eric.becker@starzencore.com, both of Starz Encore Group; or Andy Morgan of Charter Communications, +1-314-543-2217, amorgan@chartercom.com.

SOURCE  Charter Communications Inc.; Starz Encore Group LLC
    -0-                             05/14/2003
    /CONTACT:  Marc McCarthy, +1-720-852-5841, marc.mccarthy@starzencore.com,
or Eric Becker, +1-720-852-4065, eric.becker@starzencore.com, both of Starz
Encore Group; or Andy Morgan of Charter Communications, +1-314-543-2217,
amorgan@chartercom.com/
    /Web site:  http://www.charter.com http://www.starzencore.com /
    (CHTR L LMCb)

CO:  Charter Communications Inc.; Starz Encore Group LLC; Liberty Media
     Corporation
ST:  Colorado, Missouri
IN:  ENT TVN FLM MLM LEI TRA
SU:  PDT


SK 
-- LAW129 --
7670 05/14/2003 22:02 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com