Publishers Open New Video Revenue Opportunity with WorldNow

NEW YORK (October 26, 2004) -- WorldNow, a leading provider of Internet technology, revenue and content solutions for local media companies, announced today that two major newspaper Web sites are using WorldNow's proprietary video streaming solution, Video Producer TM , in order to offer their readers richer content and capitalize on the emerging revenue opportunities presented by Web-based video news and advertising.

The home of the Boston Globe (www.boston.com) and the interactive unit of The Atlanta Journal Constitution (www.ajc.com) entered into agreements to use WorldNow's Video Producer TM , an integrated browser-based tool that enables non-technical staff to edit, manage and post video to local news Web sites. Video Producer also allows local media companies to aggressively monetize their online video through integrating video interstitials and custom advertiser "brand wrappers."

"Over the last five years WorldNow has helped local media companies generate over $50 million in incremental revenue by leveraging innovative technologies such as streaming video advertising," said Gary Gannaway, WorldNow's CEO. "Now, local newspapers have the ability to leverage the explosive growth in broadband consumption, via WorldNow's streaming video management tools."

"Boston.com and AJC.com have always led the pack for the newspaper crowd," said Gordon Borrell , president, Borrell Associates, Inc., a research firm that focuses on local online advertising. "In this case, they recognized the streaming-video trend at a critical time -- just as it was about to explode -- and bought into an excellent platform. This was a really smart move. They are poised to take advantage of a very strong spike in local and national spending on Internet-based video commercials."

"It is critical to deliver news and information to our readers throughout the day in the format they demand, and what they are saying loud and clear is that they want broadband video content," said Jeff Moriarty, vice president of product and technology, Boston.com. "By streamlining the process of creating and encoding video, WorldNow has allowed us to quickly increase the amount of video content available on our site both for our users and for advertisers interested in reaching that audience." Boston.com implemented the Video Producer solution for New England Sports Network (NESN) coverage and will use it with partner New England Cable News (NECN). The NESN player was implemented in time for the Red Sox post-season, allowing users to access video content from NESN on Boston.com almost immediately after broadcast.

"We needed a video partner with a commitment to continuous technology development and customer support. We needed a player that was advertiser-friendly and which also kept our brand out there, since newspapers brands aren't strongly associated with video," says Hyde Post, AJC.com's editorial director. "WorldNow has been a good partner for us."

WorldNow's Video Producer allows local media companies to easily encode, edit and publish streaming video files on the Web without the need for dedicated technology resources. The system also provides multiple ways for video publishers to monetize their content including easily trafficked video interstitials, custom media player brand wraps, targeted ad units, dynamic data acquisition forms and branded buffer graphics. Through the system's video player interface, The MultiMedia Station TM , consumers have the ability to search video, generate and manage video playlists , send video to a friend and interact with the video file via customized information forms.

With over 3.5 million unique visitors each month, Boston.com has dominated the local online media landscape since its launch in 1995. The site is renowned for its breaking news coverage and is also home to an array of features, including Boston Globe articles, Arts and Entertainment listings and streaming video from partner New England Cable News.

AJC.com is a brand of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, one of the largest and oldest media companies in the U.S. In addition to its newspaper interests, Cox Enterprises operates radio and television stations as well as cable systems around the country. Reaching 58 percent of the Atlanta online market - more than any other Web site - AJC.com's audience represents the money, brains and purchasing power of Atlanta .

New York-based WorldNow is the leading provider of Internet technology, revenue and content solutions for local media companies. Through partnerships with 190 local television stations, newspapers and cable outlets WorldNow has built the largest network of local news and information Web sites in the world. For local media companies, WorldNow offers revenue programs, national content offerings, consulting services and ongoing customer support to enable local news organizations to establish Internet businesses that grow their audience, enhance their brand and drive new profits. For advertisers , WorldNow offers the unique convergent marketing opportunity to connect with a targeted local consumer base on air and online. By combining the strength of local broadcast news, the power of on air promotion, and the trust of established television brands with a unique Internet marketing platform The WorldNow Network reaches over eight million unique visitors each month, and has sales representation agreements reaching 16 million unique visitors each month.

Contacts:

WorldNow:
George H. Simpson
O: 212.309.9068
M: 203.521.0352
georgehsimpson@att.net

The New York Times Company:
Toby Usnik
O: 212-556-4425
usnikt@nytimes.com

AJC.com:
Hyde Post
O: 404.526-5341
hpost@ajc.com