Steve Zales Named Senior Vice President & General Manager of ESPN Internet Ventures.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 8, 1998--Steve Zales has been named Senior Vice President & General Manager of ESPN Internet Ventures (EIV), it was announced today by Jake Winebaum, Chairman, Buena Vista Internet Group and Dick Glover, Executive Vice President, Programming, ESPN, Inc.

Zales most recently was Vice President & General Manager of CNN/SI Interactive, a joint venture between Cable News Network and Sports Illustrated, divisions of Time Warner, Inc. While at Time Warner, he planned and negotiated the launch of CNNSI.com, and was responsible for all aspects of the service since its debut in 1997.

"We are extremely pleased to have someone of Steve's caliber assume the reins at ESPN Internet Ventures," said Winebaum. "He was the driving force behind CNNSI.com's rapid development in the Internet sports arena. He is uniquely qualified to lead EIV in building upon its position as the worldwide leader in online sports, and a perfect complement to Geoff Reiss' tremendous programming talent."

Said Glover, "Steve comes to EIV with impeccable credentials. He has proven himself quite capable of extending a broadcast entity's resources and personality to its online counterpart, which is crucial as we seek to expand upon our leadership position."

In his new role, Zales will oversee EIV's operations, which include offices in New York, Bristol, Connecticut and Bellevue, Washington. Geoff Reiss will continue in an expanded role as Senior Vice President, Programming and Production, responsible for EIV's creative vision and all phases of design and production. Under Reiss' direction, EIV services have introduced numerous innovations to the Internet, such as the GameCast real-time data application, Sortable Stats, Hit Charts, and Live Drafts for ESPN.com's industry-leading Fantasy Games franchise.

Zales, who has worked within Time Warner since August 1987, served in a number of increasingly responsible positions in which he gained valuable media and sports experience. From 1987 to 1990, he was Marketing Manager, Sell-Thru Programming, Video, and later Director, Non-Theatrical Programming, Home Video, at Home Box Office. He was Director of Video Projects and then Director of Development for Sports Illustrated from 1990 to 1996.

Zales was graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology/Economics. He earned a Master of Management, with concentrations in Marketing and International Business, from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

EIV produces ESPN.com, the most popular sports site on the Web, as well as the official Web sites of the NFL, NBA, NASCAR, WNBA and Outside magazine. EIV also includes the official Web sites of Monday Night Football and the Bowl Championship Series, and exclusive programming on America Online, keyword: ABC Sports. During the four-week period ending September 27, EIV-produced sites averaged nearly 13 million page views per day.