ZapMedia.com, Inc.ô Partners with Gannett Co., Inc./USA TODAYô In A $270 Million Dollar Deal That Delivers On The Promise Of Internet Interactive Entertainment

Exclusive Agreement Serves Up One-Stop Entertainment To Consumers Worldwide Through Post PC Appliances

3-May-00

ZapMedia.com, Inc.ô (ZapMedia), an Atlanta, Georgia-based next generation Internet company, announced a ground-breaking partnership with Gannett Co., Inc./USA TODAYô (NYSE: GCI), one of the nationís largest media conglomerates, to provide best-in-class, interactive entertainment options to consumers around the world. The strategic alliance will enable ZapMedia to deliver and extend on the promise of an all-in-one Internet driven, interactive entertainment environment, making it a reality for consumers today.ZapMedia will provide instant access to customized news and entertainment through a common point of access, bringing the power of the marketplace home through a medium that offers security, cost efficiency and high-speed access through the ZapStation Appliance combined with the ZapMedia.com portal. With the click of a button people will serve up music, movies, television, the Internet, and email using ZapMediaís co-branded products and services. ""We are pleased to have Gannett/ USA TODAY join us in bringing increased buying power and market choice to the consumer,"" said Ken Lipscomb, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ZapMedia. ""We have both the mindshare and the financial resources to deliver on the convergence vision, putting superior digital media into the everyoneís hands whenever and wherever they want it. Thatís powerful.""The ZapMedia team represents the best and brightest from e-commerce, technology, media, entertainment and professional services, including Coca-Cola Enterprises, Security First Network Bank, WebMD, Adam.com, Ernest & Young, McKinsey & Company, USWeb/CKS, Troutman Sanders, LLP, US Dept. of Treasury, ESPN and Star TV Hong Kong.  ""Premier partnerships are critical to any company bringing ground-breaking offerings to market"", said Eric W. Hartz President and COO. ""Gannett/USA TODAY is a world-class organization with the vision and clout to help us make it happen."" ZapMediaís next-generation technology, coupled with anticipated alliances with other top-tier media firms, will give consumers revolutionary buying power in the entertainment industry from the comfort of their living rooms. This comes with the ability to create and store personalized video and music in a full complement of formats that can be accessed anytime, anywhere and from any supporting device.""Itís a natural fit,"" said Thomas Curley, President and Publisher of USA TODAY. ""For us this represents an extraordinary opportunity to gain entry into the convergence space in meaningful, quick and seamless fashion."" This exclusive $270 million deal signals Gannett/USA TODAYís and ZapMediaís entry into the convergence space and presents the opportunity for immediate leadership. At its core, the deal gives ZapMedia access to more than 17 percent of the domestic market through Gannett Broadcasting, 20 million readers through 74 daily newspapers including USA TODAY and the newspaper magazine, USA WEEKEND. ""We look forward to realizing the enormous potential to extend our brand through ZapMediaís products and services,"" said Craig Dubow, Executive Vice President of Gannett Television. About ZapMedia.comZapMedia.com, Inc. (http://www.zapmedia.com) is a next generation Internet company delivering instant access to movies, music, videos, and the web to consumers of all ages through existing TVs and Stereos. The ZapMedia(SM) ecosystem, developed in-house, consists of the ZapStationô (Device), ZapMedia(SM) Engine (Software), ZapAccess(SM) (Service), and ZapMedia.com(SM) (Portal). Core features and functions of the ZapMedia ecosystem include: Audio and Video Jukeboxes (with remote and local storage), on-demand Internet TV and radio, e-mail, Internet access and Web surfing, and a built-in CD/DVD drive. The ZapMedia ecosystem architecture supports connectivity to a wide array of devices and networks, advanced functionality for management of all content and is easily extendible beyond entertainment to business uses and delivery to other environments like hotels and hospitals.The four elements of the ZapMedia ecosystem come together to bring an unparalleled, in-control experience to consumers who seek the existing benefits of CDs, DVDs, radio, and TV combined with the ever-growing storage, bandwidth, accessibility and flexibility of the Internet - at an affordable price. The ZapMedia ecosystem captures all the advantages of broadband while leveraging existing narrowband. The ZapMedia ecosystem permits consumers to access, download, store, and stream digital video and audio content using their existing home stereo and TV. It takes entertainment off the PC and enables enjoyment over existing TVs and stereos. These parts work together as a whole to deliver an entire entertainment package.The ZapMedia ecosystem consists of the following four parts:ZapStation - a broadband connected consumer electronics device (CED) that plays CDs, DVDs, and MP3s and allows consumers to connect to the ZapCentral portal to purchase and enjoy music, movies, television, internet radio stations, surf the Internet, send and receive e-mail messages, and set up play lists. The ZapStation features an MP3 jukebox, streaming audio/video player, CD/DVD player, MP3 player, audio and video jukebox, storage for up to 10,000 MP3 songs or storage for up to 20 hours of digital video, an easy-to-use remote control driven television interface.ZapMedia Engine (ZME) - a media software engine embedded in the ZapStation that enables consumers to connect to ZapCentral portal and gain access to the world of multimedia entertainment through the features of the ZapStation. In addition, this software is designed to port to other devices and systems, extending the reach of the ZapMedia ecosystem.ZapMedia.com Portal - a common point of access (the portal) to the digital multimedia for which consumers have purchased or rented the digital rights with access to a universe of new media as vast as the web. Once consumers enter ZapCentral, they can select the multimedia content they want to view or hear and ""stream"" it to ZapStations and other Zap-enabled devices. In addition to music and video, consumers can also access up-to-the-minute information about such topics as: current events, finance, news, sports, weather, entertainment, etc.ZapAccess - a service that allows consumers to access their media content from ZapCentral through a ZapStation or any other Zap-enabled device. It further enables consumers to synchronize their assets between the ZapStation and ZapCentral.com.This total solution is portable across a variety of consumer electronics platforms (including home entertainment appliances, car stereos, cell phones, and Personal Digital Assistants) and enables synchronization with these devices. Consequently, consumers can access their multimedia assets anywhere and on-demand through their ZapStation and future Zap-enabled devices. ZapMedia has developed this solution for a ""living room"" Web experience, which can be extended to a business environment.ZapMedia.comís development and business models attract partnerships with CED manufacturers, PC manufacturers, and narrow to broadband providers for the distribution of the service. These producers will co-brand the portal. ZapMedia.com is partnering with ISP/broadband companies to assist in the speedy universal acceptance of broadband as a primary in-home conduit for multimedia data. ZapMedia.comís ecosystem has been coined a ""killer broadband application.""About Gannett CompanyGannett Co., Inc. is an international news and information company that publishes 74 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nationís largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also a variety of non-daily publications and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. owns 22 television stations reaching 17.4 percent of the US television market. Newsquest plc, a wholly-owned Gannett subsidiary acquired in mid-1999, is one of the largest regional newspaper publishers in England with a portfolio of more than 180 titles. Its publications include 11 daily newspapers with a combined circulation of approximately 450,000. Newsquest also publishes a variety of non-daily publications, including Berrows Worcester Journal, the oldest continuously published newspaper in the world. Gannett also operates 22 television stations and is an Internet leader with sites sponsored by most of its TV stations and newspapers including USATODAY.com , one of the most popular news sites on the Web.

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