LodgeNet, ESPN Turning a Daily Double for Sports Starved Travelers

LodgeNet, ESPN Turning a Daily Double for Sports Starved Travelers

Hotel SportsNet to Offer Daily, ESPN GamePlan and ESPN Full Court Subscription Packages for College Football and Basketball Fans Across the U.S.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., June 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ:LNET), the world's largest provider of interactive television and broadband solutions to hotels, and ESPN, the Worldwide Leader in Sports, today announced an agreement that will deliver major college sports action from two of ESPN's most popular subscription packages to guests at LodgeNet-served hotels nationwide.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000310/LODGELOGO )

Through the Hotel SportsNet(SM) service on its sigNETure TV(R) and sigNETure HDTV(SM) systems, LodgeNet will offer daily subscription access to:

-- ESPN GamePlan, featuring more than 150 games of college football tradition and excitement from the top conferences across the country. -- ESPN Full Court, taking guests to all the top arenas for up to 30 regular season college basketball games a week.

Guests ordering either package can enjoy the day's full roster of games for one daily subscription charge (subject to local blackout restrictions). The agreement also covers ESPN's other pay-per-view programming including boxing, martial arts and poker championships.

"Followers of major college basketball and football are some of the most loyal sports fans anywhere, and in fact, a significant amount of hotel business is generated by individuals or groups traveling specifically to watch their favorite teams," said Steven D. Truckenmiller, Senior Vice President Programming & Content Management for LodgeNet. "Adding these subscription packages to our Hotel SportsNet lineup takes us a huge step further along the path of delivering more sports programming, to more guests, in more hotel rooms than the lodging industry has ever seen."

"ESPN's GamePlan and ESPN Full Court packages will offer hotel guests over 600 games of premier college sports programming," said Matt Murphy, Senior Vice President, Broadband and Interactive Sales, ESPN. "We are excited to offer our fans who are traveling the college sports content they crave. This is also a great opportunity to reach prospective new subscribers who can sample our football and basketball packages while on the road."

Hotel SportsNet combines landmark programming agreements and patent- pending technology to deliver daily subscription sports programming in guest rooms. LodgeNet is demonstrating Hotel SportsNet as part of its sigNETure(SM) Solutions at booth #711 of the HITEC show, today through June 23 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

About LodgeNet

LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation ( http://www.lodgenet.com/ ) is the world's largest provider of interactive television and broadband solutions to hotels, including resort and casino hotels, throughout the United States and Canada as well as select international markets. These services include on- demand movies, music and music videos, on-demand videogames, Internet on television, and television on-demand programming, as well as high-speed Internet access, all designed to serve the needs of the lodging industry and the traveling public. LodgeNet provides service to more than one million interactive guest pay rooms and serves more than 6,000 hotel properties worldwide. LodgeNet estimates that during 2004 approximately 275 million travelers had access to LodgeNet's interactive television systems. LodgeNet is listed on NASDAQ and trades under the symbol LNET.

About ESPN

ESPN, Inc. is the world's leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of seven domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPNU, ESPN Today), ESPN and ESPN2 HD, simulcast services, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (networks, syndication, radio, web sites), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, SportsTicker, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN Zones (sports-themed restaurants), and other growing new businesses including ESPN360 (Broadband), ESPN Mobile, ESPN on Demand, ESPN Interactive and ESPN PPV. Based in Bristol, Ct., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

LodgeNet, the LodgeNet logo, sigNETure, sigNETure TV, sigNETure HDTV and Hotel SportsNet are service marks or registered trademarks of LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000310/LODGELOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation

CONTACT: Ann Parker, Director of Corporate Communications, of LodgeNet Entertainment Corporation, +1-605-988-1000, communications@lodgenet.com ; or Katina Arnold, VP, Affiliate and International, of ESPN, +1-860-766-7463, Katina.arnold@espn.com

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

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