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Press Release

MSNBC.com Crosses Threshold to Profitability

Q4 2004 marks first quarterly profits for Internet’s top breaking news source

MSNBC.com, a leader in breaking news and original journalism on the Internet, has achieved its first quarter of profitability since its launch into the information revolution in July 1996.  The quarter comes in a year of record annual revenue of nearly $45M.  Significantly, MSNBC.com reached this milestone with a diverse advertiser base; more than 80% of the revenue came from 60 advertisers and more than 70 different advertisers spent in excess of $100K.

MSNBC.com is in rare company in its position as a comprehensive news and content site whose finances are in the black.  The company credits its high quality news coverage with capturing more and more of the highly desirable “at-work prime time” audience that makes MSNBC.com an effective advertising medium. 

“In less than 8 years, MSNBC.com has used quality content and smart technology to build a mass audience, providing an ideal space for advertisers interested in brand messaging,” said Charlie Tillinghast, General Manager and Publisher of MSNBC.com. “Bringing this vision from planning through launch to profitability is the direct result of our award-winning newsroom and technology teams working closely with the business team.”

In June of this year, MSNBC.com won two prestigious news awards for general excellence online. An Edward R. Murrow award was given to MSNBC.com for best news website and the National Press Club recognized MSNBC.com as the best journalism website.

“Through innovative multimedia strategies and excellent reporting we have created the No. 1 source for breaking news and information,” said Dean Wright, Editor-in-Chief of MSNBC.com.  “In a time of tight marketing budgets, advertisers continue to choose MSNBC.com because of its ability to consistently attract a sought-after audience segment – hard to reach news users who wield substantial influence in their communities.”

MSNBC.com offers viewers a strong combination of original reporting and the best of NBC News, MSNBC Cable, Newsweek, The Washington Post, CNBC and NBC Sports.  In addition, MSNBC has content sharing agreements with Budget Travel, BusinessWeek Online, FT.com, Forbes.com, The Sporting News, Science Magazine, Slate Magazine, Space.com, and BET.com.

About MSNBC.com

MSNBC.com is a leader in breaking news and original journalism on the Internet.  MSNBC.com delivers the best of NBC News, MSNBC Cable, CNBC, NBC Sports, MSN, and Newsweek.  MSNBC is a 24-hour cable and Internet joint venture of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and NBC News (NYSE: GE.)

Contact:

Kris Coratti for MSNBC.com

DBC Public Relations Experts

202-298-9059

Kris@dbcpr.com