Strategic Partnership

Future Network PLC 26 July 2000 FUTURE ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT IN TED CONFERENCES Future Network plc (LSE: FNET), the international specialist consumer magazine and online publisher, today announces that it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with TED Conferences LLC, a US company that runs one of the world's most successful and innovative conferences, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design). This agreement will see Future investing US$8 million to acquire a 49% shareholding in TED Conferences LLC, of which US$6 million will be paid in cash, with the remaining US$2 million paid through the issue of 158,228 new ordinary shares in Future. These shares are to be retained for at least 12 months. Future has agreed to acquire the remaining 51 per cent interest within three years of the date of the agreement for a maximum consideration of US$12 million. TED Conferences founder and director, Richard Saul Wurman, will remain with the business and will continue to exercise management and creative control of the conferences. The 2000 conference (TED10) was held in Monterey in February this year and attracted more than 800 registrants. Revenues were approximately US$3 million, of which 80 per cent came from registrations and the remainder from sponsorships. Earnings before interest and tax were approximately US$2 million. The tangible assets of TED Conferences LLC were US$1.9 million on completion. Chris Anderson, Chairman of the Future Network, commented, 'Every time I've been to TED, I've come away inspired and invigorated. I've heard incredible things and I've met incredible people. TED is a magnet for great people. It has become a brand of enormous power, as well as a highly successful business. I am absolutely delighted that Richard has formed this new alliance with us and that he will be continuing to run the conference over the coming years. 'Like TED, Future is built on passion, and on the belief that you don't compromise your audience's needs for commercial interests. We are committed to preserving the values that have made TED great. And we have exciting ideas for how it can be grown and made truly international. There's a terrific fit with Business 2.0 and with some of our other properties.' Earlier this year The Future Network announced its first US conference, Business 2.0 Live, to be held in Monterey this October. The consideration shares of 1p each in Future will be issued credited as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with Future's existing ordinary shares. Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for these shares to be admitted to the Official List and this is expected to take place within 14 days. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Future Network plc: 01225 442244 Greg Ingham, Chief Executive Terri Davey, Communications Manager Hogarth Partnership: 020 7357 9477 James Longfield/Harriet Keen NOTES TO EDITORS Background on TED Conferences TED Conferences was founded in 1984 by Richard Saul Wurman in response to the way Technology, Entertainment and Design (hence the name TED) were reshaping business and society by creating new ways of communicating and learning. Held annually in Monterey, California, TED has become one of the world's most successful and innovative conferences. Each year TED brings together a prestigious collection of leaders from the business, academic and artistic worlds to share experiences and exchange ideas. The eclectic range of past presenters covers the spectrum from architects to zoologists and includes Microsoft's Bill Gates; co- founder of Greenpeace, Robert Hunter; brain surgeon, Keith Black; co- founder of Sun Microsystems, Bill Joy; columnist and author, Arianna Huffington; Rabbi, Irwin Kula; and, stand-up comedian, Sinbad. The conference has also become a forum for innovation and has been an early showcase venue for a number of major products, including the original Macintosh computer, the revolutionary Java programming language, Adobe's Photoshop software and the publishing phenomenon, Wired Magazine. The distinctive TED brand has been extended in recent years and has spawned a number of affiliated conferences, including, in June this year, TEDCity, a joint conference held in Canada with Canadian Broadcaster Moses Znaimer. The 2001 TED conference is already attracting delegates and presenters, including Sergey Brin, co- founder of Google.com; Steve Case, Chairman of America Online; and, Michael Milken, Financier and philanthropist. Background on Richard Saul Wurman, Founder of TED Conferences LLC Richard Saul Wurman graduated in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1958 and by 1962 at the age of 26 had written his first of over 50 books. His career has spanned a 13 year architectural partnership in Philadelphia and a directorship of GEE! Group for Environmental Education to lecturing posts at a number of leading universities, including Cambridge (England), UCLA, Washington and Princeton. He has received numerous awards and fellowships including the 1991 Kevin Lynch Award from MIT for his creation of the ACCESS travel guides and, in 1994, he was named a Fellow of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In addition to the management and creative control of TED Conferences, Richard is Chief Executive of TOP publishing Group and is a member of the Editorial Board of Novartis Magazine. He continues to be a regular consultant to major corporations in matters relating to design and the understanding of information. About The Future Network: Future was founded in the UK in 1985. Today it publishes over 127 magazines worldwide and has extensive online activities attracting the attention of 4.9 million unique visitors and generating over 83 million page views per month. It is the world's fastest growing major publisher; the leading publisher of video games and home computing magazines in the UK, France, Italy, Poland and the US; and ranks as the fourth largest magazine publisher in the UK. Future employs over 1,700 people in offices in Bath, London, San Francisco, New York, Paris, Milan, Munich, Rotterdam and Wroclaw. Future was floated on the London Stock Exchange in June 1999 and has a current market capitalisation of over £1.1 billion.

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