RealPlayer Jumps Ahead to Fourth Most Used Home Application, Reports Media Metrix; Napster Increases to 2.5 Million Users

Business Wire, May 22, 2000

Business and Technology Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2000

Media Metrix (NASDAQ: MMXI), the pioneer and leader in Internet and Digital Media measurement worldwide, reports that RealPlayer has leaped ahead of other Internet and online interface software applications such as America Online and Netscape to become the fourth most used application on home computers. This represents almost a 13-fold increase from early 1997 usage of 2.4 million users. Also of note, Napster, virtually nonexistent until February 2000 in the Media Metrix software usage ratings, has jumped to 2.5 million users, while Microsoft's Outlook Express, one of the email applications which unwittingly carried the recent ILOVEYOU virus, has risen to 27.9 million users in March 2000.

"The data indicate that streaming media, including both audio and video, has arrived as the second most used Internet and online interface application despite the fact that less than five percent of all PC households in the U.S. have broadband modem speeds," said Bruce Ryon, Senior Vice President of the New Media Group, Media Metrix. "People tend to associate streaming media with video but much of the content being played is actually audio, which works well with modem speeds of 56 kilobits per second or less."

RealPlayer is a product of RealNetworks, which develops and markets software products and services designed to enable users of personal computers and other consumer electronic devices to send and receive audio, video and other multimedia services using the Web. Napster is an application that helps users find and download music in MP3 format from the Web. Outlook Express is the email software application bundled with Microsoft's Internet Explorer and is closely related to the Microsoft communications and information management software, Outlook.

                           MEDIA METRIX INC.
                   Top 25 Software Application Usage
                       U.S. Home Windows and Mac
                              March 2000

                                              Unique       Percent of
                                            Users (000)      Users
                                           -------------  ------------
      Total Usage                             93,182           100%
 1    Microsoft Internet Explorer             49,250          52.9%
 2    Microsoft Word                          40,325          43.3%
 3    Microsoft Notepad                       30,507          32.7%
 4    RealNetworks RealPlayer                 28,917          31.0%
 5    America Online                          27,919          30.0%
 6    Microsoft Outlook Express               27,883          29.9%
 7    Microsoft Office                        24,928          26.8%
 8    AOL Netscape Navigator/Communicator     23,406          25.1%
 9    InstallShield                           22,817          24.5%
10    Microsoft Solitaire                     21,036          22.6%
11    AOL Instant Messenger                   18,235          19.6%
12    Microsoft Windows Media Player          18,196          19.5%
13    Microsoft Write/Wordpad                 17,877          19.2%
14    Microsoft Excel                         17,699          19.0%
15    Network Associates VirusScan            17,578          18.9%
16    Microsoft Freecell                      17,444          18.7%
17    Microsoft Volume Control                17,271          18.5%
18    Microsoft Scandisk For Windows          15,706          16.9%
19    Microsoft Works                         15,501          16.6%
20    Microsoft Disk Defragmenter             15,040          16.1%
21    Intuit Quicken                          14,616          15.7%
22    Microsoft Paint                         14,147          15.2%
23    Adobe Acrobat Reader                    13,721          14.7%
24    Norton Antivirus                        13,180          14.1%
25    Nico Mak Computing Winzip               10,927          11.7%




                           MEDIA METRIX, INC.
                       TOP 10 MEDIA PLAYER USAGE
                              US Home PCs
                       March 1997 to March 2000

                                   March 1997     March 2000
                                  Unique Users   Unique Users  Percent
     Media Player                    (000s)          (000s)     Change
     ------------                 ------------   ------------  --------
 1   RealNetworks RealPlayer          2,364         29,704      1157%
 2   Microsoft Windows Media Player   6,256         18,196       191%
 3   Apple QuickTime                  3,128          8,702       178%
 4   AOL Winamp                          --          4,377
 5   RealNetworks RealJukebox            --          3,817
 6   MusicMatch Jukebox                  --          1,236
 7   Liquid Audio Player                 --            353
 8   Microsoft NetShow Player            --            279
 9   AOL Spinner                         --            197
10   Sonique Player                      --            193
     Total of Top 10                  8,173         42,121
     ---------------                  -----         ------      ------