MATV Matav-Cable Systems Media Ltd. ADS (MM)

NETANYA, Israel, May 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Matav-Cable Systems Media Ltd. (NASDAQ:MATVNASDAQ:&)(TASE:MATV) reported today that the merged operations of Matav and the other two Israeli cable television providers operating under the HOT brand name through Hot Telecom, is experiencing severe problems in the provision of telephone services to its subscribers due to transmission failures in the interconnect lines between the companies' network caused by Bezeq - Israel Telecommunications Corporation Ltd. Bezeq is the largest telephone services provider in Israel and a competitor of HOT. As a result of the transmission failure, which appears to have been caused due to labor sanctions in Bezeq, HOT's telephone subscribers are generally not able to connect to telephone subscribers of other telephone service providers and to receive calls, excluding cellular and international calls. Following a motion filed with the Israeli district court in Jerusalem last night, Bezeq was instructed by the court to restore the transmission services immediately in any possible way. However, the failure has not been rectified yet. Bezeq applied to the labor court against the Bezeq's employees union and the hearing is set for today afternoon. There can be no assurance if and when such failure shall be rectified nor is it possible to assess at this stage the damages caused to HOT. About Matav: Matav is one of Israel's three cable television providers, serving roughly 25 percent of the population. Matav's current investments include 1.2% of Partner Communications Ltd., a GSM mobile phone company and 18.5 % of Barak I.T.C. (1995) Ltd., one of the three international telephony providers in Israel. Important Notice: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements that are based on various assumptions (some of which are beyond Matav's control) may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may", "can be", "will", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "believes", "projects", "potential", "are optimistic", "view" and similar words and phrases. Actual results could differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including but not limited to (1) changes in technology and market requirements, (2) decline in demand for the company's products, (3) inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications, (4) loss of market share and pressure on pricing resulting from competition, (5) uncertainty as to the completion of acquisition of new businesses or operations and integration thereof with Matav's business, and (6) the other risk factors detailed in Matav's most recent annual report and other filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Matav undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Contacts: Ori Gur Arieh, General Counsel Matav-Cable Systems Media Ltd. Tel.: +972-77-7077031 Ayelet Shiloni Integrated Investor Relations Tel.:+1-866-447-8633 Tel.:+972-50-6883-336 DATASOURCE: Matav - Cable Systems Media Ltd. CONTACT: Contacts: Ori Gur Arieh, General Counsel, Matav-Cable Systems Media Ltd., Tel.: +972-77-7077031; Ayelet Shiloni, Integrated Investor Relations, Tel.:+1-866-447-8633, Tel.:+972-50-6883-336,

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