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RCA Press Release for October 12, 1982

Citing many similarities between book publishing and video discs, Berkley Publishing Group and RCA today announced a pilot tie-in promotion designed to increase sales of the latest James Bond novel, License Renewed, and RCA's series of James Bond video discs.

At selected retailers in Boston, Houston, Los Angeles and Detroit, consumers will receive a paperback copy of the book free with the purchase of any three James Bond video discs. The book offer is in addition to RCA's special promotion offering consumers a $10 rebate with the purchase of three James Bond discs.

Seth M. Willenson, Division Vice President, Programs and Business Affairs, RCA VideoDiscs, said book publishing and video discs both give consumers a great deal of flexibility in how they use the products.

"Just as a reader will riffle through the pages to find his favorite passages and chapters, so the rapid access and visual search features on the video disc player enable them to rapidly scan the disc to find favorite scenes, which can be viewed over and over again at leisure," Mr. Willenson said.

He said the James Bond video discs have been strong sales leaders for RCA, "which is not surprising since the James Bond films constitute the most successful series of feature motion pictures ever produced, grossing in excess of $1.5 billion at the box office." The movies are based on novels written by the late Ian Fleming, approximately 100 million copies of which have been sold to date world-wide.

In 1981, RCA licensed from United Artists 11 of the great spy thrillers. Five of the titles already are available on video discs, including "Goldfinger," "From Russia With Love," "Dr. No," "You Only Live Twice," and "Diamonds Are Forever." A sixth James Bond disc, "The Spy Who Loved Me," is slated for October release.

"Berkley is pleased to join with RCA to promote the exciting escapades of James Bond in both book and video disc formats," according to Victor Temkin, President of Berkley Publishing Group. "We think that these two forms of media work well together. Bond readers will enjoy watching 007 on the screen and video disc users will turn to the many James Bond novels to satiate their interest in the superspy."

License Renewed is James Bond's latest adventure thriller by John Gardner, a writer who delivers the same non-stop action and electrifying suspense Ian Fleming did with his original Bond books.

Over three months on The New York Times best seller list, and with over 1 million copies in print in both hardcover and paperback editions, License Renewed pits secret agent Bond against a monstrous mad scientist who threatens to hold for ransom the world's nuclear power plants. And along the way Bond tangles with some of the most sensual beauties of his career, including a lady by the name of Lavendar Peacock.

Mr. Willenson said, "I am very pleased about this pilot tie-in promotion with Berkley Books. Books and video discs are very similar products for many reasons. They both can be targeted towards specific audiences and they are both marketed by category. This product compatibility makes books and video discs perfect for tie-in promotions and we hope to increase the number of these types of promotions in the future."