Nation's Largest Real Estate Companies SelectCaptivate Network as Exclusive Provider of Internet...

Business Editors

WESTFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 19, 2000

New Media Company Captures Nearly 500 Class A Office Towers in Top 25

Media Markets

Captivate Network, Inc., the first new media company to bring the Internet to the elevator, announced today

that it has been selected by 12 of the nation's leading real estate companies as the exclusive provider of programming to nearly 500 high-rise office buildings. The firms -- Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, L.P. (BREA), Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP), Cornerstone Properties Inc. (NYSE:CPP), Crescent Real Estate Equities Company (NYSE:CEI), Equity Office Properties Trust (NYSE:EOP), Prime Group Realty Trust, Reckson Associates Realty Corp. (NYSE:RA), Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc., Shorenstein Company, L.P., TrizecHahn Office Properties, Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO), and properties owned by partnerships supervised by Wien & Malkin LLP - collectively control more than 300 million square feet of the country's Class A office space. In addition to selecting Captivate to provide this new media service, several of the companies have invested a total of $28 million in Captivate Network.

In the first year of the ten-plus year agreement, Captivate will install screens and provide customized media feeds in New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. In 2001, Captivate's reach will extend to Denver, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle, Austin and several other major cities.

Captivate is slated to be installed in many of the nation's landmark buildings, including New York City's 199 Water Street (One Seaport Plaza), Grace Building and 1350 Avenue of the Americas; Chicago's Sears Tower, Mercantile Exchange, John Hancock Building, IBM Plaza, and AON Center; San Francisco's The Embarcadero Center, One Market, and Bank of America Center; Boston's Prudential Center, 500 Boylston Street and 60 State Street; Los Angeles' Wilshire Courtyard, Wilshire Palisades, and Two California Plaza; Houston's Houston Center, Greenway Plaza, and Allen Center; Dallas' The Crescent(R) and Fountain Place; Atlanta's 191 Peachtree Street and Washington D.C.'s Metropolitan Square and Market Square buildings.

"This agreement with the nation's office building owners is a resounding validation of Captivate, its product, technology, management team and business model," said Michael DiFranza, Captivate President and CEO. "We are very proud to be in partnership with some of the most progressive and aggressive companies in real estate. This deal establishes us as the national market leader. Imagine if one company had been poised to install every car radio 60 years ago and if that same company also had all the programming. Our deal with these top-tier building owners is of that magnitude."

Captivate, the first company in the country to deliver news and information to elevator passengers, currently has more than 130 buildings under contract with Equity Office Properties Trust, Jones Lang LaSalle, Divco West, Adams & Company, and others. Captivate signed its first national agreement in May 1999. The new contracts with these major real estate companies ensure that Captivate will have as much as 50-80 percent market share in most of the cities the company serves.

Elevator passengers in office towers comprise a very desirable demographic profile. Captivate reaches these high income business and professional consumers with information and advertising messages during the workday - when they have, historically, been difficult to reach.

In commenting on the Captivate service, Michael Sheinkop, Senior Vice President, Real Estate Services for Equity Office said, "We immediately saw the potential of Captivate's content and delivery system to increase customer satisfaction while riding the elevator. We are pleased to have served as the catalyst for the national growth of this unique and valuable customer service, and to now broaden that commitment. The innovation found in this service reflects Equity Office's effort to redefine the workplace on behalf of our customers." Equity Office will have the largest number of office buildings with the Captivate screens.

Captivate has programming partnership agreements with major media companies including: The New York Times, Reuters, Boston.com, Boston Herald, Chicago Tribune, Tribune Media Services, CitySearch, AccuWeather, SmarTraveler, TrafficStation -- and new content providers are continually being added. Captivate's programming department selects material from its content providers, and creates 10-second screens. Captivate's silent, high-resolution flat- panel screens display news and information on the top of the screens and advertising on the bottom. At each building, the Intelligent Building Server (TM) retrieves information specific to its building to create the onscreen programming. The programming is then delivered to elevator screens via patented wireless local area network technology. In addition to Internet content, Captivate's unique ScreenCenter(TM) messaging capability enables managers to communicate building-specific announcements directly to tenants and to update those messages easily.

A motivating force behind the Captivate deal was the desire by the building owners involved to make available superior amenities in their office environments. "Today's office customer expects first-class management and an array of amenities that are consistent with premier office facilities," said Crescent Real Estate Equities' Howard Lovett, Vice President New Business Opportunities. "Crescent is committed to ensuring that our customers have access to cutting-edge technology and to vital information that makes their business lives easier. Captivate's elevator screens will assist us in doing this by offering up-to-the-minute news, weather, sports and financial information while providing a medium for us to communicate building-specific messages directly to our customers."

Captivate Network, Inc. (www.captivatenetwork.com) was founded in October 1997 by Michael DiFranza, Todd Newville and Ray Pineau and is privately held. Current venture capital investors include ABS Capital Partners, Advent International, Olympic Venture Partners and Primus Venture Partners, Inc. The company is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts, and currently employs 80 people, with plans to expand to 155 by year-end.