EX-10.29



 






Exhibit 10.29









March 30, 2005




Mr. Joel Hassell

c/o OpenTV Corp.

275 Sacramento Street, California 94111



Dear Joel:




     This letter confirms the terms of your ongoing role as Senior Vice President and Managing
Director of North American Satellite for OpenTV, reporting directly to me in my capacity as Chief
Executive Officer. You shall have the rights, powers, duties and obligations relating to such
office as are customarily associated with such office and such other rights, powers, duties and
obligations as we may agree upon from time to time. Your principal place of work, subject to
reasonable and customary travel, shall be at the OpenTV offices located in Denver, Colorado.



     During the course of your employment with OpenTV you shall devote your full business time and
efforts to OpenTV; provided, that, nothing herein shall prevent you from (i) participating
in industry, trade, professional, charitable and community activities, (ii) serving on corporate,
civic or charitable boards or committees, and (iii) managing your personal investments and affairs,
in each case so long as such activities do not conflict with OpenTV’s interests or interfere with
the performance of your responsibilities to OpenTV.



Base Salary and Annual Bonus




     Your annual base salary will be $258,750, which shall be paid to you in regular intervals in
accordance with OpenTV’s customary payroll schedules for salaried employees, but in no event less
frequently than twice each month. For each of the calendar years in which you are employed by
OpenTV, you shall be eligible for annual discretionary bonus awards (the target amount of which
shall be established by the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, subject to approval by the
Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) of the Board of Directors of OpenTV (the
“Board”) prior to the commencement of any calendar year to which it relates), based on
financial and strategic objectives agreed to annually by the Committee and me. Your discretionary
bonus, if any, will be paid to you, at the option of the Committee, in a cash payment, in shares of
capital stock of OpenTV, or in a combination of cash and capital stock of OpenTV. Your target
bonus for 2005 is 35% of your annual base salary, which may change in subsequent years, as
described above, within the discretion of the Committee, but such targeted bonus percentage shall
not be materially less than the target bonus percentages of other senior executives of OpenTV at
the same level. Such annual discretionary bonus



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awards shall be payable or issuable, as
applicable, as soon as practicable after the Committee and I can determine whether, and the degree
to which, such financial and
strategic objectives have been reached, but in no event later than any discretionary
performance bonuses are paid to other senior executives of OpenTV.




Termination




     If (i) OpenTV terminates your employment without Cause, as defined below, (ii) you resign your
employment as a result of OpenTV moving your principal place of work more than 50 miles from the
City of Denver, Colorado, or (iii) you resign your employment due to a material reduction of your
duties and/or responsibilities (which caused a significant amount of your duties to be inconsistent
with the duties and responsibilities normally assigned to a person serving in the capacity of
Senior Vice President and Managing Director of North American Satellite) or a material reduction in
your annual base salary, then, in each such case, you will be entitled to the following:




• a lump sum payment in an amount equal to the sum of (a) your annual base
salary through the date of termination, (b) vacation time not used as of the date of
termination to the extent that such vacation time has been accrued during the calendar year
of termination, calculated based upon your base salary at the date of termination, and (c)
business expenses reimbursable under this letter, in each case to the extent not
theretofore paid;




• continuation of your base salary then in effect, payable in accordance
with the normal payroll practices of OpenTV in effect on the date of termination, for a
period of six (6) months after the date of termination, unless the date of such termination
is within 12 months following the date of any “Approved Transaction”, “Board Change” or
“Control Purchase” (as such terms are defined in the Plan, and collectively referred to
herein as “Change in Control”), in which case the amount due to you pursuant to
this sub-paragraph shall be equal to 12 months of your then base salary, payable in
accordance with the normal payroll practices of OpenTV in effect on the date of
termination;




• continued vesting of all options granted to you under the Plan through
six (6) month anniversary of the date of your termination; provided,
however, that if a termination to which this paragraph applies occurs within 12
months after a Change in Control (and the vesting of such options have not otherwise been
accelerated pursuant to the terms of the Plan), then, in such event, vesting of all options
granted to you under the Plan shall continue until the 12 month anniversary of the date of
your termination; and




• all vested stock options held by you following the termination of your
employment with OpenTV pursuant to the first sentence of this paragraph (including any
stock options that vest following the date of termination pursuant to the immediately
preceding sub-paragraph above) shall remain exercisable for a period of 90 days following
the date on which the last options vest in accordance



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with the continued vesting provisions
of the immediately preceding sub-paragraph above (but not later than the scheduled
expiration of such stock option).



     If you intend to resign your employment as a result of a material reduction of your duties or
your annual base salary, you must notify OpenTV in writing. If OpenTV fails to cure or remedy your
reason for resignation within thirty (30) days of its receipt of your notification your resignation
shall be effective on the earlier of (i) the date OpenTV notifies you in writing of its
determination not to cure or remedy your reason for resignation or (ii) the thirtieth (30th) day
following OpenTV’s receipt of your notification.



     OpenTV may terminate your employment for Cause at any time upon written notice of such
termination to you setting forth in reasonable detail the nature of such Cause. If OpenTV
terminates your employment for Cause, or you resign for a reason other than those stated in the
first paragraph under “Termination” above, then you will be entitled to a lump sum in an amount
equal to the sum of (i) your annual base salary through the date of termination, (ii) vacation time
not used as of the date of termination to the extent that such vacation time has been accrued
during the calendar year of termination, calculated based upon your base salary at the date of
termination, and (iii) business expenses reimbursable under this letter, in each case to the extent
not theretofore paid. In addition, upon termination of your employment by OpenTV for Cause, all
stock options granted to you, notwithstanding any prior vesting, shall immediately terminate.



     Solely for purposes of this letter, “Cause” shall be deemed to have occurred upon the
happening of any of the following: (A) the breach by you of any material provision of the Employee
Proprietary Information and Inventions Agreement, dated as of the date of your acceptance of this
letter (the “Employee Inventions Agreement”), a copy of which is attached hereto as
Exhibit B, (B) any breach by you of any of the provisions set forth under the heading
“Noncompetition” below, (C) your having been charged with a felony under the laws of the United
States or any state thereof (other than a traffic violation), (D) your act of fraud, theft,
embezzlement, other material act of dishonesty or any material breach of fiduciary duty owed to
OpenTV, (E) your willful failure to perform, or gross neglect in the performance of, your duties
and responsibilities to OpenTV (other than as a result of illness or incapacity), and (F) your
agreement to settle any charges brought against you by the Securities and Exchange Commission with
respect to any act or omission by you, which charges involve an allegation of fraud or, in the good
faith opinion of the Board, would reasonably likely to have resulted in a conviction had the matter
proceeded.



Benefits; Vacation and Expenses




     You will have the right to participate in and to receive benefits from all present and future
life, accident, disability, medical, pension and savings plans and all similar benefits made
available generally to executives of OpenTV. The amount and extent of benefits to which you are
entitled shall be governed by the specific benefit plan, as it may be amended from time to time.



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     You will be entitled to four weeks of paid vacation per year or such longer period as may be
provided by OpenTV. Such vacation shall be taken at such times and intervals
as shall be determined by you, subject to the reasonable business needs of OpenTV. You shall
not be permitted to accrue more than 1.75 times your annual vacation entitlement.



     OpenTV shall pay or reimburse you promptly for all reasonable expenses and other disbursements
incurred or paid by you in the performance of your duties and responsibilities to OpenTV, including
those incurred or paid in connection with business related travel, telecommunications and
entertainment, subject to reasonable substantiation by you in accordance with OpenTV’s policies.



Noncompetition




     Covenant Not to Compete. During the period of your employment with OpenTV and ending upon the
first anniversary of the date of termination of your employment with OpenTV (the “Restricted
Period”), you agree that you will not, directly or indirectly, engage in, participate in, or
acquire an equity interest in any person, firm, corporation or other entity (a “Person”),
which engages or participates in any business that operates any line of business, business activity
or operations that are competitive with any line of business, business activity or operations
conducted by OpenTV during the Restricted Period (the “Restricted Business”).



     Exceptions to Covenant Not to Compete. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the restrictions set
forth in the immediately preceding paragraph shall not be applicable to:




• any acquisition of an interest in a Person, which is engaged in a
Restricted Business so long as (x) you do not control (whether through the ownership of
voting securities, by contract or otherwise) such other Person and (y) the Restricted
Business conducted by such other Person does not constitute ten percent (10%) or more of
its business (as measured by its assets or revenues);




• the acquisition of beneficial ownership (as defined in Rule 13d-3
promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) by you or any member of
your Immediate Family (as defined below) of an equity interest in any Person engaged in a
Restricted Business, so long as (i) such equity interest (A) is listed or traded on a
national securities exchange or the NASDAQ Stock Market and (B) constitutes less than five
percent (5%) of the outstanding equity interests of such Person and (ii) you are not
actively involved in the management of the business of such Person; the term “Immediate
Family” shall mean your spouse, parents, children, siblings, mothers and fathers-in-law,
sons and daughters-in-law, and brothers and sisters-in-law;




• your engaging in or participating in the Restricted Business in
connection with your employment with OpenTV at the direction of the Board or the Chairman
of the Board;




• situations where a termination of employment with OpenTV is (i)
terminated by you pursuant to clause (ii) of the first sentence under the paragraph



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captioned “Termination,” or (ii) effected by OpenTV without Cause or for reasons unrelated
to performance, such as a result of a reduction in workforce; or




• you being employed by or otherwise rendering services to Liberty Media
Corporation, any of its subsidiaries or controlled affiliates of any other person or entity
to which Liberty Media Corporation may consent.



     Territory for Covenant Not to Compete. You hereby acknowledge and agree that the Restricted
Businesses engaged in by OpenTV and its subsidiaries extends throughout the United States and in
other jurisdictions in which OpenTV conducts significant business activities (the “Restricted
Territory”) and that OpenTV and its subsidiaries may be harmed by competitive conduct anywhere
in the Restricted Territory. You therefore agree that the covenants contained in the provisions
under the heading “Noncompetition” shall be applicable in and throughout the Restricted Territory,
as well as throughout other areas of the world in which OpenTV and its subsidiaries may be (or have
prepared written plans to be) doing business from time to time. You further warrant and represent
that, because of your varied skill and abilities, you do not need to compete with OpenTV and its
subsidiaries in any Restricted Business, and that this letter will therefore not prevent you from
earning a livelihood. You acknowledge that the restrictions contained in the provisions under the
heading “Noncompetition” constitute reasonable protections for OpenTV and its subsidiaries in light
of the foregoing and in light of the consideration and promises to you contained in the letter.



Arbitration of Claims




     You hereby acknowledge and agree that, except as provided below, all disputes concerning your
employment with OpenTV, the termination thereof, the breach by either party of the terms of this
letter or any other matters relating to or arising from your employment with OpenTV shall be
resolved in binding arbitration in a proceeding in San Francisco, California, administered by and
under the rules and regulations of the American Arbitration Association. Both parties and the
arbitrator will treat the arbitration process and the activities that occur in the proceedings as
confidential. Nothing contained in this paragraph shall limit OpenTV’s right to seek equitable
relief in any court of competent jurisdiction in respect of the matters set forth in the
“Noncompetition” provisions above.



Employment At Will




     By signing this letter, you understand and agree that your employment with OpenTV is at-will.
Therefore, your employment can terminate, with or without Cause, and with or without notice, at any
time, at your option or OpenTV’s option, and OpenTV can terminate or change all other terms and
conditions of your employment, with or without Cause, and with or without notice, at any time, in
all cases subject to the other terms and conditions of this letter. This at-will relationship will
remain in effect throughout your employment with OpenTV or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates.
This letter and any stock option agreement between you and OpenTV constitute the entire agreement,
arrangement and understanding between you and OpenTV on the nature and



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terms of your employment
with OpenTV. This letter supersedes any prior or contemporaneous agreement, arrangement or
understanding on this subject matter, except, subject to the third succeeding sentence, for any
stock option agreement between
you and OpenTV. By executing this letter as provided below, you expressly acknowledge the
termination of any such prior agreement, arrangement or understanding. Also, by your execution of
this letter, you affirm that no one has made any written or verbal statement that contradicts the
provisions of this letter. In the event of any inconsistency between the terms contained in this
letter and the terms contained in any stock option agreement between you and OpenTV, the terms
contained in this letter shall control, such that the provisions regarding vesting or termination
contained in your stock option agreements shall be superseded by the provisions of this letter to
the extent of any conflict and the non-competition covenant contained in this letter shall also be
supersede the provisions of any other similar covenant contained in your stock option agreement to
the extent of any conflict. The at-will nature of your employment, as set forth in this paragraph,
can be modified only by a written agreement signed by both OpenTV’s Chief Executive Officer and you
which expressly alters it. This at-will relationship may not be modified by any oral or implied
agreement, or by any policies of OpenTV, practices or patterns of conduct.




     We are enthusiastic about your continuing employment with us and the contributions you can
make to our executive management team and OpenTV. Please retain the original retention letter for
your records and return the signed copy to me.



	 	 	 
	

	Sincerely,
	 
	 	 
	

	OPENTV, INC.
	 
	 	 
	

	By: 	/s/ Jim Chiddix
	

	Name: Jim Chiddix
	

	Title: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer






Signature of Acceptance:




	 	 
	/s/ Joel Hassell

	Joel Hassell








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