Business Wire Beta Tests Multilingual Releases Via Its State-of-the-art 'NX' News Delivery Platform

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2005--Business Wire will advance its state-of-the-art NX transmission technology to the next level with the simultaneous delivery of multilingual releases to major international news organizations and financial information providers, Cathy Baron Tamraz, president, announced today.

NX -- Business Wire's proprietary, patent-pending NewsML-based delivery platform -- has set the news industry standard since it was launched in September 2003. Business Wire, for example, can deliver time-sensitive material news to market-moving news services 50 times faster than its largest competitor, providing actionable information to the investment community with greater precision timing than any other service provider.

“As Business Wire continues its global expansion, it is critical that we have the ability to reach the news media, online services, financial information providers, and other key audiences with local-language releases in a real-time environment”

With corporate transparency and disclosure reform becoming an important issue in key European and Asian financial markets, Business Wire has made the ability to transmit multilingual releases, simultaneously and in real-time, a top corporate priority. Reuters, Bloomberg and Dow Jones/vwd are among the leading news services that are part of the pilot project that begins next month.

The initial phase of Business Wire's multilingual rollout includes German, French, Swedish, Spanish and Dutch; other languages will be added in secondary stages. Business Wire anticipates live production of its multilingual service in the second quarter.

"As Business Wire continues its global expansion, it is critical that we have the ability to reach the news media, online services, financial information providers, and other key audiences with local-language releases in a real-time environment," noted Tamraz. "NX has served as Business Wire's reliable and secure communications backbone for the past 18 months, and it has become a key differentiator in the marketplace. Our imminent ability to simultaneously transmit in multiple languages clearly provides Business Wire with a major competitive edge in the commercial news industry and underscores our technology leadership."

Business Wire has begun installing NX receivers in newsrooms throughout Europe and Asia. NX supplements Business Wire's expansive global media network, which includes leading international news organizations such as The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, and dozens of national news agencies and specialized news services.

In addition to its advanced multilingual and multimedia capabilities, NX provides the following advantages:

-- (1) enhanced security,

-- (2) elimination of delays due to heavy copy volume,

-- (3) the use of metadata, allowing for greater searchability,

-- (4) and bidirectional communication between media recipients and Business Wire, validating receipt of every transmission.

NX was conceived by Steve Messick, chief information officer, and was developed internally by the company's technical team.

About Business Wire:

Business Wire was founded in 1961 by chairman/CEO Lorry I. Lokey, veteran journalist and public relations executive. The company's multi-channel delivery network, with access to some 60 international and national news agencies, financial information providers and Web-based news services throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, provides real-time, simultaneous access to key audiences -- the news media, trade publications, institutional and individual investors, business-to-business decision-makers and consumers.

Business Wire electronically disseminates some 1,000 full-text news releases daily to the media, the Internet, online services and databases, and the global investment community in 150 countries in 45 languages. Business Wire has 24 U.S. offices, Frankfurt, London, Stockholm, Brussels, Sydney and Tokyo offices, and reciprocal offices throughout the world.