SEATTLE and REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 3, 2000 — MSN® today announced the renewal and expansion of an agreement with leading online retailer Amazon.com (Nasdaq:
“AMZN” ). The agreement builds on Amazon.com’s success with MSN and expands their relationship as the premier music provider in MSN® eShop and across the MSN network of Internet services.
Through this expanded deal, Amazon.com adds to their contextually relevant placements and merchandising opportunities throughout the network. A consumer on MSN can easily link to Amazon.com and place an order for music, video, books and other products sold by Amazon.com. These product offerings will be available across the MSN network, including the MSN homepage, MSN Search results pages, Windows Media™
pages and MSN eShop.
“Expanding our relationship with Amazon.com gives MSN the pride and prestige of being able to offer our millions of users the very best online selection and the ability to find what they are looking for and make purchases with ease,”
said Jed Savage, national sales manager for MSN.
“This deal is natural as both companies continue to expand their global leadership online.”
“We’re delighted to renew our relationship with the MSN network of sites,”
said Owen Van Natta, vice president of business development for Amazon.com.
“Our goal is to help consumers find and discover anything they want to buy online, and our affiliation with MSN, the world’s most popular Internet destination, will help make that possible.”
With customers in more than 160 countries, Amazon.com is the world’s leading online retailer. MSN is the largest global online brand and recently became the world’s No. 1 Internet destination with 201 million unique users.
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com (Amazon.com Inc. and its subsidiaries) is the Internet’s No. 1 music, No. 1 DVD and video, and No. 1 book retailer. Amazon.com opened its virtual doors on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection, along with online auctions and free electronic greeting cards. Amazon.com seeks to be the world’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Amazon.com lists more than 18 million unique items in categories including books, CDs, toys, electronics, videos, DVDs, tools and hardware, lawn and patio items and kitchen products, software, and video games. Amazon.com has three international sites: www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de and www.amazon.fr that offer a complete line of British, German and French books, music CDs, DVDs and videos for sale locally and for export around the world. Amazon Anywhere is the leader in mobile e-commerce, providing access from anywhere in the world to Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.de on personal digital assistants (PDAs) and through handheld wireless Internet devices that use HDML or the Wireless Application Protocol.
About MSN
MSN is an integrated network of content and services that helps consumers get more from the Web — any time, any place and from any device. MSN is the most popular destination on the Internet, attracting 201 million unique visitors worldwide during June, and is available in 33 markets in 17 languages — a broader global presence than any other portal. MSN Internet Access is the highly rated, fast and reliable way for consumers to get on the Web, now with 3 million subscribers. MSN delivers The Everyday Web™ experience by providing more than just the basics for new Internet users, with benefits for more advanced users looking for richer functionality. Best-of-breed services include the MSN Hotmail® Web-based e-mail service, the world’s largest e-mail system, with more than 70 million active accounts; the MSN Messenger Service, the fastest-growing instant messaging service, with more than 18 million users; MSN Search, the second most popular search service on the Web; MSN Mobile, the customizable wireless information service; the award-winning MSN MoneyCentral™
online personal finance service; MSN eShop, the one-stop online shopping resource; MSN Custom Web Sites, the easy way to share information on the Web; and many other widely used services that make MSN a leading innovator of Internet technologies. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/ .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, Amazon.com’s limited operating history, anticipated losses, significant amount of indebtedness, unpredictability of future revenues, potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results, seasonality, consumer trends, competition, risk of distribution center expansion, risks related to fourth-quarter performance, risks of system interruption, management of potential growth, inventory risks, risks related to auction and zShops services, risks related to fraud and Amazon.com Payments, and risks of new business areas, international expansion, business combinations, strategic alliances and the Amazon.com Commerce Network. More information about factors that could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 1999, and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2000, and June 30, 2000.
Microsoft, MSN, Windows Media, The Everyday Web, Hotmail and MoneyCentral are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.
