Pioneer & Time Warner Cable Launch National HDTV Retail Promotion; Campaign Marks Unprecedented Initiative Between Consumer Electronics Giant And Major Cable Operator to Accelerate Consumer Adoption of HDTV.

LONG BEACH, Calif., Nov. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., a leader in high definition television and digital cable set-top boxes and Time Warner Cable, an industry leader in the delivery of advanced digital services, today launched a national HDTV promotion to stimulate market growth, increase HD awareness among Time Warner Cable customers and establish an ongoing relationship with key retailers throughout the country.

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The joint promotion is Time Warner Cable's first national foray into the retail market to showcase its HDTV service. In an integrated effort to educate the marketplace about high definition television, cable customers who buy a Pioneer HDTV and subscribe to Time Warner HD service will receive a $500 cash rebate, six months of free Time Warner HD service and Time Warner HD set top box rental and basic installation.

"Time Warner Cable is committed to a more competitive market place and this partnership with Pioneer is our symbiotic effort to promote cable as the superior platform for high-definition content," said Charles Haugabrook, vice president sales channel development for Time Warner Cable. "We can't sell a customer an HDTV tier if they don't have an HDTV set and this is a phenomenal opportunity to invite consumers into retail locations and take advantage of our high-definition offering. We value Pioneer's partnership and recognize the enormous benefits that the company's combined experience as a cable technology provider and an international consumer electronics manufacturer will bring to Time Warner Cable's digital customer."

The national campaign was developed to educate and expand retail presence of Time Warner Cable's HDTV services. It evolved from a Pioneer and Time Warner Los Angeles pilot HD promotion that ran last year, which resulted in a 175 percent increase in digital HDTV subscriber growth during three months.