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To: Dale Baker who wrote (6171)	5/17/1999 6:26:00 AM
From: Dale Baker	Respond to of 118717

RNWK does it again, this time with Snap.com. Monday May 17, 3:07 am Eastern Time RealNetworks, Snap.com in multimedia alliance By Martin Wolk SEATTLE, May 17 (Reuters) - Multimedia software powerhouse RealNetworks Inc. (Nasdaq:RNWK - news). and Web portal Snap.com will announce an alliance Monday focused largely on the expanding population with access to high-speed Internet connections. Under the arrangement Snap.com, a growing group of Web properties tied to General Electric Co.'s (NYSE:GE - news) NBC television unit, will become the exclusive branded Internet search feature on the widely used RealNetworks RealPlayer G2 software as well as on all RealNetworks Web sites. The agreement also will integrate RealNetworks' RealGuide to multimedia content on the Internet with a separate multimedia directory developed by Snap.com. An unusual feature of the deal is that the search engine will guide the user back to a new co-branded version of Snap.com (http://real.snap.com) for RealPlayer users. Under the deal Snap.com will pay a fee to RealNetworks and the two companies will share any revenues. Exact terms were not being disclosed but RealNetworks Senior Vice President Tom Frank called it the biggest content distribution deal the Seattle-based company had ever done. ''We're interested in the expanded opportunities for the distribution of content to a highly qualified and highly targeted audience,'' Frank said. The deal is part of an effort by Snap to differentiate itself from other major portal services by focusing on audio, video and other multimedia content available on the Internet, particularly for the growing population with access to high-speed connections, a market also crucial to RealNetworks. ''We really are completely convinced about the growth potential of high-speed connections,'' said Shawn Hardin, Snap.com senior vice president. ''This is the key growth area for the entire Internet and we wanted to get out in front of it.'' Snap.com has set up a separate Web site focused on multimedia content for people with high-speed Internet connections. RealNetworks has announced deals with AtHome Corp. (Nasdaq:ATHM - news) and Enron Corp. (NYSE:ENE - news) focused on the so-called broadband market. RealNetworks is the dominant player in Internet multimedia broadcasts, with about 85 percent of content providers relying on its server software. The company claims a registered user base of more than 60 million people, about half of whom use the latest G2 software. Snap.com is a joint venture of NBC and CNET Inc (Nasdaq:CNET - news) and will become the umbrella brand for the new NBC Interactive service, which also will include Xoom.com Inc. (Nasdaq:XMCM - news), which operates another fast-growing but second-tier Web site. biz.yahoo.com