Sprint and RealNetworks Announce Agreement to Streamline Digital Music Delivery to Sprint Customers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. and SEATTLE, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Digital entertainment services company RealNetworks®, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK) and Sprint (NYSE: S) announced today an agreement to streamline the music-related offerings (ringtones, ringback tones and full-track music) available on Sprint phones into a user-friendly, unified, digital music storefront. The two companies plan to work together to streamline Sprint's digital music offerings later this year to provide the same choice and convenience to customers that Sprint provides across all its mobile services, while increasing efficiencies for the operator.

"Sprint is committed to allowing our customers easy access to the applications, services and features they want most on their Sprint devices," said Len Barlik, vice president, wireless and wireline services, Sprint. "This relationship with RealNetworks allows us to give Sprint customers an easy-to-use option to find, purchase and manage the music-related content they want on their phones in a more convenient, intuitive way."

Real will leverage its end-to-end Media Entertainment Platform to manage, administer, market and deliver Sprint's digital music content, initially including full-tracks, ringtones and ringback tones. The end result will be a rich shopping experience for Sprint customers and increased efficiency for Sprint.

"Sprint has always demonstrated a dedication to providing its customers with convenience and choice in accessing the content they want on their phones," said Vern Poyner, senior vice president, technology products and solutions, RealNetworks. "Our Media Entertainment Platform will extend the integrated, user-friendly experience that Sprint offers, providing subscribers with a convenient choice in how they access music on the go."

Real offers mobile operators a comprehensive selection of mobile services including: Music; Video; RBTs and personalization; and messaging services. Real's ASP services are currently available through 86 different mobile operators in 48 countries worldwide, making them available to more than 900 million subscribers.

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ABOUT REALNETWORKS

RealNetworks, Inc. delivers digital entertainment services to consumers via PC, portable music player, home entertainment system or mobile phone.  Real created the streaming media category in 1995 and has continued to lead the market with pioneering products and services, including:  RealPlayer®, the first mainstream media application to enable the downloading and transfer of online video to mobile devices; the Rhapsody® digital music service, which delivers a catalog of more than 8 million songs to users at home, work and on-the-go; GameHouse.com, one of the premier casual games destinations on the Web; and a variety of mobile entertainment services, such as ringback tones, offered to consumers through leading wireless carriers around the world.  RealNetworks' corporate information is located at www.realnetworks.com/company.

ABOUT SPRINT

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving more than 48 million customers at the end of the third quarter of 2009 and the first and only 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The company's customer-focused strategy has led to improved first call resolution and customer care satisfaction scores. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.

RealNetworks, RealArcade, Rhapsody, RealPlayer and the Real logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. or its subsidiaries.  All other trademarks, names of actual companies and products mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE RealNetworks, Inc.