ESPN2 Cable Sports Network to Air Full Season of Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour and National and World Championship Events

Business Wire, June 5, 2000

Business Editors, Sports & Entertainment Writers

RENTON, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2000

Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. (NYSE:HAS) and makers of the Magic: The Gathering(R) and Pokemon(TM)(1) trading card games, announced an agreement with 24-hour national sports cable network ESPN2 to begin televising the 2000 Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour(TM) season, starting with Pro Tour-New York and including the U.S. Nationals and the World Championships.

ESPN2 is scheduled to broadcast nine shows in the year 2000 beginning in June of this year. Since 1997, ESPN2 has only covered and aired the Magic(R) World Championships.

"ESPN2 viewers for the first time will have the opportunity to follow their favorite Pro Tour players throughout the entire season and watch how top Magic players become World Champions," said Brian Kemp, Visual Media Group, Hasbro Inc. "ESPN2's coverage will focus on the Pro Tour players' unique strategies, in-depth deck preparations and what it takes to become top professional players of the game."

ESPN2 sports network will begin airing 30-minute programs on June 7, 2000. Programs will cover the Magic: The Gathering trading card game Pro Tours, the new team challenge at Pro Tour-New York, U.S. Nationals and the World Championships. Two 60-minute programs will be produced from the World Championships in Brussels, Belgium. The first segment will consist of individual tournament play while the second segment will cover team tournament play.

"The full-season coverage will give our top Magic players the opportunity to showcase their skills in front of a national viewing audience," said David Hoppe, director of Organized Play for Wizards of the Coast. "Magic fans will watch top players like Bob Maher Jr., Mike Long, Jon Finkel and Kai Budde compete during the Pro Tour season and see exactly what type of strategies they use to win." The Magic: The Gathering events will air on ESPN2 beginning with Pro Tour-New York on June 7, 2000, 2:30-3 p.m., followed by U.S. Nationals on July 7, 2-2:30 p.m.; World Championships on Sept. 6, 1-2 p.m., and Sept. 29, 1-2 p.m.; Pro Tour-New York on Oct. 24, 1:30-2 p.m.; and Pro Tour-Chicago December 20, 1-2 p.m. All times are Eastern Standard Time.

With an estimated fan base of more than six million players, the Magic game is played in social and competitive settings, including the prestigious $1 million Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour circuit. Played in more than 52 countries worldwide, the Magic game is supported by the DCI(TM) players' organization, the governing authority for all officially sanctioned Magic tournaments. Helping both amateur and professional Magic players track their rankings, the DCI players' organization currently sanctions more than 60,000 Magic tournaments around the world per year.

Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories. A leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products, as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation's largest specialty game retail chains, the company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanic of trading card games (TCGs) and produces the world's best-selling Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering TCGs. The company's retail locations, many of which provide game-play areas, include a growing number of Wizards of the Coast(R) specialty game retail stores as well as 53 The Game Keeper(R) stores. Headquartered near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London and Beijing. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company's website and electronic retail store at www.wizards.com.

WIZARDS OF THE COAST, THE GAME KEEPER, Magic: The Gathering, Magic, DCI and MAGIC: THE GATHERING PRO TOUR are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast Inc.(c)2000 Wizards

(1) (c)1995, 1996 and 1998 Nintendo, Creatures, GAMEFREAK. Pokemon is

a trademark of Nintendo.