Arbitron Ranks Public Interactive 13th; First Streaming Media Rating Service Tracks Top 25 Webcast Networks.

Business Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2001

Listeners Spent 324,500 Hours Tuned to Public Interactive

Affiliates In January

Public radio listeners at Public Interactive's affiliate stations are turning to online audio programming in impressive numbers according to webcast ratings for January recently released by Arbitron, Inc. As a webcast network with 75 affiliates, application service provider Public Interactive ranked 13th out of the top 25 and logged 324,500 aggregate tuning hours (ATH), according to the report. Arbitron defines a webcast network as a company that aggregates online audio programming, and ATH as the total amount of hours listeners tune to a given station. Monthly webcast ratings have been released by Arbitron since October 1999.

The ratings measure 2,300 stations and channels that provide Arbitron (www.arbitron.com) with access to server data. As a service to its public radio affiliates, Public Interactive has Arbitron rank its local stations individually to provide each one with valuable, third-party audience numbers.

Public Interactive President Tom Lix sees the Arbitron ranking as another step forward for his company and for public radio. "Our goal has always been to help public broadcasting expand its reach, embrace the Internet and build loyal communities online," Lix said. "Now we have an objective tool that can quantify the growth of those communities, region by region. This is an exciting time. We're at the forefront of developing programs to serve this expanding, global audience.

"Arbitron's streaming media ratings service, which it refers to as `a near census of Internet tuning sessions,' offers public radio stations a glimpse into a future of new online communities, new membership initiatives and creative fundraising tools," Lix added.

Lix said Public Interactive is working with a number of stations to integrate online streaming with fundraising and membership programs by creating a direct visual relationship between the two. One example is a custom pop-up window that appears when the Personal Public Radio(TM) custom player is launched. The window contains a pitch, graphics and a link to the station's pledge form. The pop-up window, or webcast call-to-action, is currently being used by WYEP, Pittsburgh.

"We're experimenting with new membership initiatives that make an immediate visual connect between the live stream and the sense of belonging," said Lee Ferraro, General Manager of WYEP. "Beyond the obvious benefits of convenience and minimal cost to implement, this kind of membership outreach gets great results. The audience is connected to us, even if they are not geographically close. Public Interactive is helping us boost membership in a way that makes sense to our audience."

Stations interested in experimenting with membership initiatives may check out: http://www.publicbroadcast.net/wyep/ppr/.

Public Interactive's strong Arbitron ranking is the latest in a series of high points. In December, the company was re-engineered as an application service provider (ASP) and began charging its public broadcasting affiliates fees for content and technology tools. The new direction proved successful. Public Interactive is close to its goal of self-sustaining profitability and its projections are on track. Earlier this month, Pacific Mountain Network, with 31 member stations, became a Public Interactive partner and pushed the company past its benchmark of signing 75 affiliate public radio and television stations by April 1. In the coming months, the company plans to create a series of enhanced online features and to launch Personal Public Television(TM).

Since June 1999, Public Interactive has provided award-winning content and advanced technologies to more than 100 public radio and television stations in more than 250 markets nationwide. The company's popular content offerings for public broadcasting Websites: Public NewsRoom(TM), Public Arts(TM) and Personal Public Radio(TM) have a potential national audience of 22 million public radio listeners and 94 million public television viewers. Public Interactive, Inc., is an integrated application service provider (ASP) of online collaborative tools, technologies and content/commerce infrastructure for public broadcasting stations nationwide. The company was created in partnership with Public Radio International (PRI) and 15 leading public broadcasting organizations including: WNYC-AM/FM, New York; WXPN-FM, Philadelphia; KERA-FM/TV; Dallas; WBUR-AM/FM, Boston; WGBH-FM/ TV, Boston; WETA-FM/TV Washington; KPLU-FM, Seattle/Tacoma; KPBS-FM/TV, San Diego; WYEP-FM, Pittsburgh; WCPN-FM, Cleveland; Oregon Public Broadcasting, Portland; WAMC/Northeast Public Radio (regional network), Albany; WKSU-FM, Akron/Cleveland; South Carolina Educational Communications, Inc. (state network); and Vermont Public Radio (state network). Public Interactive provides innovative, interactive content initiatives to public radio and television stations including Public NewsRoom(TM), Public Arts(TM) and Personal Public Radio(TM). The company also creates and manages the award-winning Car Talk Web site, CARTALK CARS.COM.