New and Improved MSN Movies Site Adds Partners and Functionality To Become the Leading Online Movies Destination Through New Deals With Blockbuster, CinemaNow and MovieTickets.com

REDMOND, Wash. -- Aug. 12, 2004 -- Today MSNŽ announced three new arrangements to help movie lovers access and view a wide range of their favorite movies over the Internet. MSN has signed agreements with industry leaders Blockbuster Inc., CinemaNow Inc. and MovieTickets.com Inc. that will enable U.S. consumers to rent DVDs, download movies and buy tickets online at the MSN Movies site, http://movies.msn.com/, with a single click of the mouse. These new relationships complement MSN Movies' offerings of movie showtimes, tickets, trailers, reviews, and its database of cast and crew information for more than 70,000 titles.

"MSN is rolling out the red carpet to movie fans across the nation with easy access to renting, downloading or buying movie tickets online -- making it the only Web destination for finding both old favorites and new releases through a simple click of the mouse," said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of the MSN Information Services & Merchant Platform division at Microsoft.

Movie studios and entertainment providers are making new inroads through technology, and MSN is providing Blockbuster, CinemaNow and MovieTickets.com with a great opportunity to reach millions of MSN customers each month through its home page, as well as through MSN Entertainment.

"We see online rental as a sizeable opportunity and feel that teaming up with MSN to reach its large audience of unique monthly users is one key way BLOCKBUSTER Online (TM) can quickly establish itself in this business," said Shane Evangelist, Blockbuster vice president and general manager of BLOCKBUSTER Online (TM) .

The introduction of these new services is further evidence of the commitment by MSN to provide the best destination for broadband users and demonstrates the exceptional ability of MSN to deliver a premium online experience through strategic partnerships. Consumers and movie lovers can enjoy these enhanced services:

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More at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2004/aug04/08-12MSNMoviesPremierPR.asp