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NAPSTER AND NTL SIGN MAJOR BROADBAND PARTNERSHIP
New Napster online music service to be bundled with unique ntl Broadband Plus content package and also offered as standalone product to ntl’s 1 million-plus broadband customer base LONDON - (June 14, 2004) - Napster UK, Ltd., a subsidiary of Roxio, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROXI), has announced a major broadband marketing partnership with ntl Incorporated, the UK’s largest provider of broadband services. Under the terms of the agreement, ntl will bundle the Napster ® subscription service with its Broadband Plus package - giving its 1 million-plus broadband customers access to the world’s largest online music catalogue. ntl customers can also access the world’s biggest brand in online music via a web link from www.ntlworld.com. Both offers, which are available from July, include a special introductory 30-day free trial of the Napster subscription service and start with a pre-awareness email campaign. Napster has now sold in excess of 10 million downloads across its US, UK and Canadian services. Launched in the UK on May 20, Napster offers access to over three quarters of a million tracks and a huge range of value-added community features at a cost to subscribers of £9.95 a month. Alongside the subscription service, Napster Light offers music fans an a la carte download store. Broadband Plus from ntl costs £3.99 a month excluding the Napster service, or £9.95 per month with Napster. "This is a significant deal for Napster because we are partnering with the biggest provider of broadband services in the UK, and ntl’s own research has shown that over 75% of broadband customers download music each month," said Brad Duea, president of Napster. "We are impressed with ntl’s track record for driving growth in the UK broadband market and are confident our partnership will further encourage increasing numbers of UK music fans to enjoy the freedom of high speed internet access." "We are very proud of this exclusive agreement," said Aizad Hussain, managing director of ntl’s home business. "Our customers will have easy access to this high quality music service at an outstanding price. This supports our ongoing drive for new subscriptions and adds significant value to our broadband services." Notes to editors ntl Broadband On May 5, 2004 ntl announced that the number of broadband customers increased by approximately 81,000 to 1,028,800 in the first quarter, maintaining ntl’s position as the largest broadband ISP in the UK. In April 2004, ntl announced that it will increase the speed of its broadband services at no extra cost to customers. The entry level 150Kbps service will be increased to 300Kbps, over five times faster than dial-up internet for only £2 to £3 more than competitors’ dial-up internet prices. The mid tier 600Kbps will be increased to 750Kbps and the high end 1Mb service will be become 1.5Mb. ntl Broadband Plus On November 28, 2003 ntl announced the launch of Broadband Plus, a premium broadband content bundle which provides customers with easy access to a wide range of web-based content. The service is available for £3.99 per month, instead of about £34 per month, which is what it would cost if customers were to subscribe to all fifteen services individually. Broadband Plus, which focuses on music, gaming and education content, brings together 15 brands including Tweenies (provided by BBC Worldwide), Big Brother, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Freeloader, Music Choice, Time Tunnel, VidZone and Sonic Selector from OD2 for the first time. The new service also features Espresso Education, a curriculum-based educational resource for primary school children, which includes video clips, interactive multimedia activities, and a special "Parents’ Guide" to the national curriculum. More on ntl Inc.
After downloading the free Napster jukebox at www.napster.co.uk, Napster subscribers can listen to the world’s largest digital music catalogue on demand, and download any track they choose onto the hard drives of up to three PCs and listen offline - to save bandwidth while they surf, or for convenience when on the go. Ten interactive advert-free Napster radio stations allow listeners to see which song is coming next, skip forward or jump back - with favourites easily added to their Napster library with one click. Napster can even build subscribers their own custom radio station on the fly simply on the basis of selecting three songs. Napster’s rich community features allow subscribers to browse each others’ play lists and even share songs among other Napster users. Subscribers can also listen to and save full-length songs taken from the past 10 years of Official Charts Company UK charts, and can purchase and burn tracks for as little as £0.88 per song when they buy multiple tracks. If UK music fans elect not to become a subscriber, by downloading Napster for free at www.napster.co.uk, they can still purchase tracks any time they want for £1.09 and albums for £9.95 after listening to free 30-second samples of the Napster UK library. At no cost, Napster Light users can organise their entire music collection in Napster by using the ripping software in the Napster jukebox to take tracks from CDs they already own to play on Napster, import MP3s into their Napster Library, or transfer tracks they’ve bought to a wide range of portable devices. Napster Light also offers consumers free access to Fuzz, Napster’s online magazine; their own Napster Inbox; and the chance to sample the OCC UK charts. About Napster Napster® is the world's most recognized brand in online music. Napster has content agreements with the five major record labels, as well as hundreds of independents. Napster delivers access to the largest catalogue of online music with over 750,000 tracks spanning all genres and artists from Eminem to Miles Davis. Napster is a division of Roxio, Inc., (Nasdaq: ROXI), the Digital Media Company, provider of the best-selling digital media software in the world. Napster is headquartered in Los Angeles with additional offices in London, New York, San Diego and Toronto. Napster contact: Adam Howorth Communications Director Tel: +44 (0) 207 1017281 adam.howorth@napster.co.uk ntl contact: Malcolm Padley Tel: +44 (0) 20 7 7464094 Tel: +44 (0) 7788 978199 Malcolm.padley@ntl.com Safe Harbor Statement Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release, in particular matters related to the Napster’s relationship with ntl are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties such as decreased demand for our products; flaws inherent in our products or services; intense competition; and failure to maintain our relationship with ntl that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Additional information on these and other factors are contained in Roxio’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the SEC on June 14, 2004, copies of which are available at the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Roxio assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release. Copyright © 2004 Roxio, Inc. All rights reserved. Roxio, the Roxio tagline, and Napster are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Roxio, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks used are owned by their respective owners.
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