Business Editors
WAYNE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 24, 2002
Audible, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBL) announced today a relationship with MSN in which premium content and access to Audible.com's(R) industry-leading Internet audio information service will be available to consumers who subscribe to MSN 8.
Two free audiobooks from Audible.com, worth up to $100 depending on the titles selected, will be offered as part of the upcoming MSN 8 subscription service. MSN 8 subscribers will also be offered the opportunity to purchase subscriptions to the AudibleListener(TM) flat-rate membership plan, purchase Audible's low-cost audio-playing handheld device, the Audible.com Otis(TM), and receive free CD-R media for recording CDs of Audible.com audio. This will allow MSN 8 users to select from Audible.com's 34,000 hours of programming and listen whenever and wherever they want to.
"We are pleased to be working with Audible in offering consumers a wide selection of premium downloadable content from Audible.com," said Parul Shah, MSN product manager. "Access to Audible's best selling audiobooks, audio editions of leading newspapers and periodicals, and original comedy is indicative of the enriched multimedia services that will be available with MSN 8."
"MSN 8 has clearly been designed to offer the best medley of services and Internet-based media experiences to its subscribers," noted Foy Sperring, senior vice president, Strategic Alliances, Audible, Inc. "We believe MSN and its many loyal subscribers will benefit from the inclusion of Audible's premier content offers, as we believe the introduction of Audible's award-winning audio service to millions of MSN subscribers will be an important milestone for Audible and an important extension of our long technology and investor relationship with Microsoft."
About Audible.com:
Audible.com, recently named the best entertainment software on the Internet by CNet.com (June 2002), and one of the "Best of Today's Web" by PC World (August 2002) features daily audio editions of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times -- available on a subscription basis in time for the morning drive to work each day--as well as Forbes, Harvard Management Update, Scientific American and Fast Company. The site offers a powerful collection of audiobook best sellers and classics by authors such as Tom Clancy, Stephen King, John Grisham, Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, the Dalai Lama, David McCullough, Stephen Hawking, William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and Jane Austen. There are also speeches, lectures, and on-demand radio programs including Marketplace, All Things Considered, Car Talk, Fresh Air and This American Life, and original shows such as RobinWilliams@audible.com. All of the programs at audible.com are available for computer-based playback, burning to audio CD, and on-the-go listening using numerous AudibleReady(R) portable digital audio players offered by leading consumer electronics and computer manufacturers.
About Audible, Inc.
Audible(R) (www.audible.com(R)) is the Internet's largest, most diverse provider of premium spoken audio services for content download and playback on personal computers, CD or AudibleReady(R) computer-based mobile devices. Audible has more than 34,000 hours of audio programs and 125 content partners that include leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, entertainers, magazine and newspaper publishers and business information providers. Audible.com is Amazon.com's (www.amazon.com) exclusive provider of spoken word products for downloading or streaming via the Web. Additionally, the Company is strategically aligned with Random House, Inc., to pioneer the first-ever imprint to produce spoken word content specifically suited for digital distribution, Random House Audible. Among the Company's key business partners are Apple Corp., Card Access Inc., Casio Inc., Compaq Computer Corporation, Handspring, Hewlett-Packard Company, Microsoft Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, RealNetworks, Inc., SONICblue Incorporated's Rio Audio Group, Sony Electronics, Texas Instruments and VoiceAge Corp.
Audible, www.audible.com and AudibleReady are registered trademarks of Audible, Inc.; AudibleListener is a trademark of Audible, Inc. and all are part of the family of Audible, Inc. trademarks.
Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.
This press release contains information about Audible, Inc. that is not historical fact and may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements about the company. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, Audible's limited operating history, history of losses, uncertain market for its services, and its inability to license or produce compelling audio content and other risks and uncertainties detailed in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings
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