UPC IRELAND AND NAGRAVISION S.A. SETTLE COURT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST A LARGE-SCALE DISTRIBUTOR OF ILLEGAL DIGITAL TV BOXES IN IRELAND

• UPC Ireland and Nagravision S.A., a Kudelski Group company, announced today they have reached a settlement of court proceedings against Mr. Thomas Roddy, a large-scale distributor of illegal digital boxes in Ireland. UPC and the Kudelski Group are convinced such legal actions are necessary to prevent the development of industrial piracy.

Dublin (Ireland) and Cheseaux (Switzerland), 1st December, 2008: UPC Ireland and Nagravision S.A. announced today they have reached a settlement of court proceedings against Thomas Roddy. This brings to conclusion a prolonged investigation which originally commenced in November 2006.

Operation Gaelic, a covert investigation, revealed an extensive distribution network managed by Thomas Roddy which involved the sale of illegal digital boxes and distribution of software codes that give access to digital TV subscription channels for free.

Robert Dunn, CEO of UPC Ireland said:

“Some ambivalence may exist in public opinion as to the seriousness of the crime of TV piracy. This may appear to be a victimless offence, but in reality this causes substantial damage to legitimate Irish enterprises which has an impact on people’s livelihoods. Like any black market activity, this act has serious financial consequences for the economy as a whole.

UPC is aware that these fraudsters have a wide ranging underground distribution network which supports this illegal activity. Some consumers using these boxes on our network may be unaware that this is a civil wrong and criminal offence under Irish law. This investigation has also disclosed detailed intelligence of Roddy’s Irish distribution chain and individuals that purchased from this source. UPC is currently considering next steps as part of its ongoing anti –piracy investigations.”

Nagravision S.A, a Kudelski Group company, is firmly convinced that such legal actions are necessary, in order to prevent the development of large-scale industrial piracy.

Mr. André Kudelski, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Kudelski Group, and Nagravision made the following comment:

“We have always and will continue to provide significant support to our customers in taking legal action against pay TV pirates. This case should act as a serious warning to others to steer clear of this type of activity. We take this matter extremely seriously in every part of the world and will continue to work closely to protect our customers' revenues and our respective legitimate commercial interests.”

Anyone wishing to contact UPC in a confidential and anonymous manner should do so on freephone 1800 941 999 or by [email protected]

Note to Editors:

The case centres on, among other matters, infringement of Section 9 of the 1990 Broadcasting Act and the remedies available under Section 15 of the same Act which deem it illegal to use, sell or distribute decoders that intercept a protected TV signal. In accordance with terms of the settlement, Thomas Roddy has agreed to the following:

• To a pay a substantial six figure sum
• An undertaking not to engage directly or indirectly, in the import, sale, supply of any protection defeating device (i.e. illegal digital boxes and/or computer software and/or any other device allowing the viewing of digital subscription television service without the payment of the appropriate fee )
• Cooperate, intermittently over a period of two years, with a representative of the Plaintiffs by disclosing details of his distribution network in Ireland and supply network outside of Ireland
• A number of injunctions restraining him from importing, possessing, supplying, selling, or offering to supply or sell any illegal digital box and/or computer software and/or any other protection defeating device thus restraining him from infringing in any way the legal rights of UPC and Nagravision S.A.

About UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is the parent company of Chorus ntl and is a subsidiary of UPC Broadband (UPC), the European division of Liberty Global, Inc., the world’s leading international cable operator. UPC brings television, broadband internet and telephone services to approximately 10 million customers throughout 10 European countries. The company is driven by its vision that 'this amazing but often complex digital world should be for everyone'. UPC Ireland’s 850 employees throughout Ireland strive to make this happen by bringing simplicity and a real human touch to everything they do. For further information, please visit www.upc.ie

About Nagravision
Nagravision, a Kudelski Group company, is the leading supplier of open conditional access systems, DRM and integrated on-demand solutions for content providers and digital TV operators over broadcast, broadband and mobile platforms. Its technologies are currently being used by more than 120 leading Pay TV operators worldwide securing content delivered to over 92 million active smart cards and devices. For further information, please visit www.nagravision.com

The Kudelski Group – a Swiss-based world leader in digital security and convergent media solutions for the delivery of digital and interactive content - is engaged in an active and fundamental fight against television piracy. As part of this effort, it is prosecuting companies and individuals who are involved in piracy activities as well as those who develop infrastructures designed to facilitate such activities. Through these actions, the Kudelski Group aims at extending the lifespan of the solutions used by its clients by reducing the economic attractiveness of large-scale industrial piracy in the long term. These actions complement the significant development of new security technologies. Please visit www.nagra.com for more information about the Kudelski Group.

Contacts :

Anna-Maria Barry
UPC
PR Manager
+ 353 1 245 8062
[email protected]

Daniel Herrera
(contact for general interest media)
Kudelski Group
Head of Corporate Communications
+41 21 732 01 81
[email protected]

Ivan Schnider
(contact for trade media)
Nagravision SA
Head of Marketing Communications
+41 21 732 09 40
[email protected]

Santino Rumasuglia
(contact for investors and financial analysts)
Kudelski Group
Head of Investor Relations
+41 21 732 01 24
[email protected]