Digital Island Brings Formula 1 Racing Closer to Fans for Granada; UK Broadcast Giant Breaks Speed Limit Worldwide with Dynamic Web Site.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 2001

Digital Island, (Nasdaq:ISLD), the leading provider of managed Internet infrastructure, announced a deal with Granada Broadband to manage the performance and delivery of the ITV Formula 1 Web site, www.ITV-F1.co.uk. (WWW.ITV-F1.COM)

The deal enables Granada Media, a UK-based broadcaster, to develop a rich Web site for this year's racing program, which gets under way March 4 in Melbourne Australia. Granada's plans include the introduction of video interviews with team owners, chief mechanics and other personalities to be streamed to Formula 1 followers worldwide.

"Racing fans are hungry for as much information as they can get, which gives us a real opportunity to develop an engaging Web platform," says Ian McCulloch, commercial development director, Granada Broadband. "Like most consumers they are also a very demanding group, so we have to make sure what we provide lives up to the quality expected from Granada Media."

Digital Island is providing an integrated managed infrastructure for Granada through its Extended Host and Footprint(R) Content Delivery Network services. Delivering a significant increase in performance for the site's global following, the Digital Island solution combines placing Web content close to where users are located and assured bandwidth capacity through Digital Island's private network. As a result, the company has delivered up to a three-fold increase in the speed of the site for the end user, whether they log on from the United Kingdom, the United States or Australia. Additionally, Digital Island services smoothes response to peak demand on the site for news and results on race days.

"In working with Digital Island, Granada can move forward to develop the Formula 1 site with the confidence that there will be the capacity to accommodate increasingly rich media, such as streaming video, as well as a fast growing audience of web visitors," says Tim Wilson, chief marketing officer, Digital Island.

The site is hosted in Digital Island's London and San Francisco data centers, from where content is pushed out to edge servers in the content delivery network in response to user demand. Digital Island's patented Best Distributor Selection (BDS) technology monitors traffic conditions on the Internet and directs users to the best performing server.

"For the media and entertainment industry, the Internet agenda is fast graduating from the `must-be-present imperative,' to becoming a core element of the business model. As our customers lay the groundwork for sophisticated revenue or business generating Web operations, they are recognizing the need for a solid secure infrastructure to support the model," says Wilson.

The ITV Formula 1 site, which is updated as news happens, was developed by Granada to bring significant added value to the broadcaster ITV and fully supports and integrates with the ITV free-to-air coverage of F1 racing. A dynamic multi-media operation, it facilitates merchandising, magazine subscriptions and banner advertising. There are also facilities for revenue-generating click through buttons to the Grand Prix Store, race-themed game downloads, and soon-to-be introduced on-line betting.

About Granada Broadband

Granada Broadband is the division of Granada that is responsible for all online activities across all Granada assets. The division exploits on screen brands and develops online and channel business with third parties.

About Digital Island

Digital Island(R) is the leading provider of managed Internet infrastructure for enterprises that need to give their customers a great Web experience in order to drive e-Business transactions. The company integrates managed hosting, content delivery and network services to bypass Internet congestion and guarantee fast and relevant interactions. Digital Island is headquartered in San Francisco, and its global e-Business delivery network reaches 33 countries. www.digitalisland.net.

Important Notice

Digital Island and Footprint are registered trademarks of Digital Island, Inc. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners. This press release contains information about the plans, objectives and expectations of the management of the Company that may constitute forward-looking statements. Important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, include but are not limited to: the operational difficulty of developing, deploying and delivering the Company's complex range of products and services; the potential lack of market acceptance of such products and services; competition from presently existing and new competitors; the risks associated with international operations and expansion; delays in raising or the unavailability of additional capital to fund operating losses and capital investment; the possibility of decreased growth in demand for Internet services in general and other factors detailed in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no duty to update information contained in this press release.