Sony 2002 Annual Report Download - page 35

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33
Sony World
airboard
Sony’s personal IT television, the “airboard”, comprises a touch panel LCD
monitor linked to a base station by wireless connection. This innovative
entertainment system allows users to watch television, surf the internet,
check e-mail and view images from video devices, all from any location in
the home.
Pictured here is the latest airboard model, which features a larger, 12.1-
inch screen and a brighter picture. The new airboard can also serve as an access point for PC’s with
wireless LAN capabilities.
By connecting a printer to the USB port, a new feature of the base station, users can print out
images anywhere in the home over the wireless network simply by pressing the print button on the
monitor. With its wireless viewer and a base station equipped to accommodate a variety of peripher-
als, airboard is much more than just a television: it is a new concept product gaining recognition as a
fresh approach to entertainment.
Television Business
SPE’s television business performed well in the face of a tough economic climate.
In response to a changing industry, we consolidated SPE’s domestic television
operations and focused on specific programming opportunities, particularly in
cable. Columbia TriStar Domestic Television’s (CTDT) made-for-cable successes
include the shows, Strong Medicine, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, and The Shield—
each presently rated the No. 1 series on their respective cable networks. In
network TV, CTDT’s The Guardian was the top new drama for the 2001-2002
season, while The King of Queens maintained a No. 1 rank in its time slot and
Dawson’s Creek delivered its 100th episode, an industry milestone. Our top-rated
game shows, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, continued their successful runs, as
did our daytime dramas, Days of Our Lives and The Young & The Restless. We also benefited from the initial
syndication runs of Just Shoot Me and The Steve Harvey Show.
Columbia TriStar International Television (CTIT) produced more than 1,000 episodes in 23 countries. Most
notable are the hits, As If and Rockface, produced in Britain and sold across Europe, and the top-rated Friday
comedy block for Germany’s RTL network. CTIT continued to expand its global reach with local language
production in key markets and more than 30 channel investments around the world.
CTDT and CTIT’s combined television operations produced and distributed 58 shows around the world and
continued to leverage the assets of SPE’s television library, one of the industry’s largest.
In April 2002, we sold our minority investment in the U.S. Spanish-language television broadcaster, Telemundo
Communications Group, Inc., to NBC for a gain of approximately 500 million U.S. dollars.
The Young & The Restless