RealNetworks Expands Leadership in Online Music With More Than One Million Subscribers

RealNetworks Expands Leadership in Online Music With More Than One Million Subscribers

Company Achieves Record Revenues in First Quarter 2005

SEATTLE, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RealNetworks(R), Inc. (NASDAQ:RNWK), the leading creator of digital media services and software, announced today that it now has more than one million subscribers to its premium subscription music services, including its award-winning Rhapsody(R) service and commercial-free Internet radio services.

"We've now crossed a critical mass milestone in digital music," said Rob Glaser, Chairman and CEO of RealNetworks. "By offering consumers the best way to get unlimited legal access to digital music, we have the #1 digital music subscription business in America. Now, we're accelerating our growth by working with partners such as Comcast to make it really easy for consumers to get Rhapsody in entirely new ways."

In advance of the company's upcoming quarterly financial results conference call scheduled for May 4, 2005 at 2:00 PM (PDT), RealNetworks also announced today that total revenue for the first quarter of 2005 was approximately $76.6 million. This compares to the company's previous first quarter revenue guidance of $73 million to $74.5 million, and represents an approximately 27% increase from $60.4 million in total revenue for the first quarter of 2004. This result also represents a record quarter of revenue for RealNetworks.

The company indicated that this is the first quarter in which RealNetworks' music subscriber count includes subscribers from its new relationship with Comcast. Under its agreement with Comcast, RealNetworks sells premium music services on a wholesale basis to Comcast. Comcast then makes those services available to its broadband subscribers at no additional charge provided they register to receive Comcast Rhapsody Radio Plus. Although Rhapsody Radio Plus is available to all Comcast broadband subscribers, RealNetworks only counts as subscribers those Comcast customers who register for the Rhapsody Radio Plus service. At the end of the first quarter of 2005, RealNetworks had more than 975,000 subscribers to its premium subscription music services including Comcast Rhapsody Radio Plus registrations.

Upcoming Events

Last week, RealNetworks announced that it will hold a press conference to unveil a revolutionary new initiative in digital music and a free concert featuring multi-platinum recording artists Good Charlotte at New York City's Radio City Music Hall on April 26, 2005. Additional information for these events can be found at http://www.realnetworks.com/company/press.

Additional details about the company's financial performance and subscriber figures will be discussed on Wednesday, May 4, 2005 when the company discloses results for the first quarter of 2005. Additional information can be found at http://www.realnetworks.com/company/investor/earnings.html.

ABOUT REALNETWORKS

RealNetworks, Inc. is the leading creator of digital media services and software including the award-winning Rhapsody(R) Internet jukebox service and RealPlayer(R), the first product to integrate finding, organizing, buying, playing and managing digital audio and video in a single product. Consumers can access and experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks' consumer software at http://www.real.com/. Broadcasters, network operators, media companies and enterprises use RealNetworks' products and services to create and deliver digital media to PCs, mobile phones and consumer electronics devices. RealNetworks' systems and corporate information is located at http://www.realnetworks.com/

Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This release may contain forward-looking statements regarding RealNetworks' revenue for the first quarter of 2005, future growth acceleration, future announcements, music initiatives, consumer adoption of music services or other factors that may affect future earnings or financial results. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors including the final preparation of first quarter 2005 financial statements, continued consumer adoption of our music services and future success of our third party distribution relationships. Additional information concerning factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements can be found in RealNetworks' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including but not limited to the most recent reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-K, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Copies of filings made with the SEC are available through the SEC's electronic data gather analysis and retrieval system (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov. RealNetworks assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this document.

Source: RealNetworks, Inc.

CONTACT: press, Amanda Sanyal of SutherlandGold Communications, +1-415-934-9600, ext. 305, or Amanda@sutherlandgold.com, for RealNetworks; or financial, Roy Goodman of RealNetworks, +1-206-892-6841, or rgoodman@real.com

Web site: http://www.realnetworks.com/

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