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Leading Supplier of Broadcast Management Software, Specialty Data Systems Inc., Announces Expansion into U.S.

Unique All-in-One Broadcast System Hailed by Broadcasters for Improving Operational Efficiency, Reducing Costs

Toronto, Ontario – April 5, 2006 – Specialty Data Systems (SDS) Inc. of Toronto, a leading provider of broadcast management software, has announced it is bringing its unique broadcast system to the U.S. market. With the signing of several U.S.-based clients, including Impulse Media Sales (IMS) in New York and World Wrestling Federation Entertainment (WWE) in Connecticut, the company is actively expanding its operations across North America.

The SDS\eBroadcast system – the industry’s first proven all-in-one broadcast management system – is unique in that it offers a unified approach to sales, traffic, programming, operations and accounting, enabling a two-way flow of data to be shared across departments and eliminating the need to re-key information or use paper. With the SDS system, users access information on-line in real-time, filtered and formatted to meet their particular needs, whether they’re programming airtime, booking orders, scheduling promos, or producing sales and commission reports.

Since the establishment of SDS in 1993, the company has experienced tremendous growth, as the technology evolved from a standalone system to the enterprise-level solution it is today. In the last six years alone, SDS has achieved an average annual growth of 33 per cent.

The SDS client list includes such major broadcasters as Bell ExpressVu, CanWest Global, Alliance Atlantis, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, Newfoundland Broadcasting System,
Stornoway Communications, Crossroads Television System (CTS), and Fairchild Communications, among the 70 networks and stations it supports.

As SDS President Dave Cole puts it, it’s all about giving broadcasters the automated tools they need to maintain market share, increase revenue and reduce costs in an environment that is in constant flux.

“There are so many new developments out there that broadcasters are concerned about their revenue streams going forward,” says Cole, who founded the company after developing its flagship product, SDS Proposal, in the late 1980s. “At SDS, we keep a pulse on the industry, watching for trends and developing the automated tools broadcasters need in order to stay competitive.”

“By working closely with our clients, we understand the challenges that broadcasters face,” says Jim Anderson, SDS Vice-President, Client Services. “A key strength of our unified system is that it helps to manage the day-to-day operations in a manner that increases productivity and reduces costs, freeing up time for broadcasters to find innovative ways to generate additional revenue.”

With a history of selling to cable and specialty networks, SDS is also gaining the interest of conventional broadcasters who typically use several software systems to handle the same
functionality supported by the all-in-one SDS eBroadcast approach.

CTS-TV, an Ontario-based regional network, and one of the first conventional broadcasters to use SDS software, successfully replaced two vendors with one by moving to SDS. According to Glenn Stewart, CTS Director of Sales and Marketing, the transition has saved the station money.

“We were looking for an alternative to upgrading our legacy systems and SDS fit the bill,” says Stewart. “They were also able to grow with us as we grew from a selective station to a regional network serving all of Ontario.”

Laura Velazquez, Vice President and National Sales Manager of New York-based IMS, is equally enthusiastic: “SDS Proposal is a very user friendly system. The system allows for easy
navigation while building a proposal. The finished document is very professional and informative and ready for client presentation," she said.

Despite its current success in conventional broadcasting, there’s nothing conventional about the company’s beginnings. In fact, when Cole wrote his first computer application in the early `80s – a system to help specialty television networks determine audience ratings – he never suspected it would one day lead to the development of an all-in-one broadcast management system. Rather, he was just trying to do his job.

Working as an independent national sales representative at the time, Cole developed a way to automatically generate the rating numbers that would convince media buyers to advertise with the emerging cable and specialty television networks he represented. It filled a niche in the market and quickly gained the attention of competing networks, prompting Cole to incorporate as a way to extend the technology to others.

Today, SDS’s approach to innovation continues to help broadcasters across North America compete effectively. At Toronto-based Stornoway Communications, for example, broadcasters of BPM-TV, the Pet Network and I-Channel, the SDS unified approach is essential to smooth operations.

“SDS software provides efficiency right from the program scheduling to handling advertising sales to generating the traffic logs that feed our automation system,” says Executive Vice-
President Frank Bertolas. “We don’t have to enter data into three different systems and there’s a consistency in our data,” he adds.

In addition to the unified SDS\eBroadcast system, SDS offers standalone versions of SDS Proposal, a system for handing proposals, bookings and booking revisions; SDS Traffic, tools to manage all aspects of program inventory and scheduling; and, SDS Affiliates, an advanced system for tracking cable subscriber revenue.

As the industry evolves, SDS matches its pace, offering new features to meet the changing needs of broadcasters. New product directions include a complete radio solution.

“At SDS, we have a fast development team that is nimble and ready to react,” says Cole. “As the North American broadcast marketplace undergoes change, we’re quick to adapt our software in order to take advantage of it.”