Dow Jones and Bennett, Coleman Reach Agreement to Publish Journal for India.

Business Editors

NEW YORK & NEW DELHI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2004

Dow Jones & Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., publisher of the Times of India and The Economic Times, announced today an agreement on a joint venture to publish The Wall Street Journal for India. The venture would publish the Journal five-days-a-week, edited for global Indian business readers and international business travelers, drawing on the newspaper's global content.

Dow Jones would own 26% of the new venture; Bennett, Coleman would own 74%. The newspaper would be edited by Suman Dubey, a leading Indian journalist and currently Dow Jones' corporate representative in India. Further terms weren't disclosed.

"I am thrilled that we will soon be able to offer Indian business readers access to the incomparable global business information of The Wall Street Journal on a timely basis," said Peter R. Kann, chairman and CEO of Dow Jones. "India is a vibrant and growing part of the global economy, and we look forward to playing an increased role in charting--and spurring--that growth. We're especially pleased to be launching this venture in partnership with Bennett, Coleman and The Times Group, the leading Indian newspaper publishers, and one of the most distinguished players in publishing globally."

Vineet Jain, managing director of the Times Group said: "The joint venture comes at a moment when India is poised to become a global player across a range of industries: from software outsourcing and entertainment, to pharmaceuticals, textiles and automobile components. As Indian companies, investors and consumers begin to think beyond the geographical boundaries, the need for global information and perspective will grow. We believe that the venture fits in perfectly with the emerging needs of the time. We respect Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal for the enviable standards they have set in publishing and media. We look forward to learning from each other."

Karen Elliott House, publisher of The Wall Street Journal, added: "A Wall Street Journal for India will instantly become an important component of the global Journal network, including The Wall Street Journal in the U.S., The Asian Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal Europe and The Wall Street Journal Americas in Latin America. We look forward to serving readers and advertisers in India who need the world's most vital business news every business day."

Added Ravi Dhariwal, executive director of The Times Group: "The joint venture represents an opportunity to synergize and leverage on each other's core competencies. The joint venture between the two seeks to deliver great value to the reader and the advertiser."

Notes to Editor

The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ; www.dowjones.com), is the world's leading business publication. Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal has a paid circulation of more than two million, reaching the nation's top business and political leaders, as well as investors across the country. Holding 27 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism, the Journal provides essential and relevant information, presented fairly and accurately, from a dependable and trusted source. The Wall Street Journal has more than 700 journalists world-wide, part of the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,600 business and financial journalists. Other publications that are part of The Wall Street Journal franchise, with total circulation of more than 2.6 million, include The Asian Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal Europe and The Wall Street Journal Online, the largest paid subscription news site on the Web.

Bennett, Coleman & Company Limited

Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. is India's oldest and largest media house. Its flagship brand, The Times of India, founded in 1838, is the largest circulated English general interest broadsheet in the world with 9 editions across India. The Economic Times (ET), a sister brand, is Asia's largest and the world's second largest circulated business daily. The group owns over 150 brands across all media, many of which are leaders in their respective categories. These include Indiatimes.com, India's largest web and e-commerce portal and Radio Mirchi that is India's leading FM radio network. Bennett Coleman recently tied up with BBC Worldwide to publish speciality magazines in India.