KANSAS CITY, MO and SAN JOSE, CA (February 5, 2002)-Knight Ridder Digital,
interactive information subsidiary of Knight Ridder and founder/operator
of the Real Cities Network, and uclick, a division of Andrews McMeel
Universal,
today
announced a strategic agreement whereby uclick will
manage branded comic and puzzle content for Knight Ridder Digital's Real
Cities local media network of Web sites.
Under the agreement, uclick will provide Knight Ridder Digital's Real
Cities Network with a variety of popular comics and puzzles from Universal
Press Syndicate, Tribune Media Services (TMS) and United Media, including
such favorites as Garfield, Doonesbury, Dilbert, For Better or For Worse,
Shoe, JUMBLEŽ, Crossword Puzzles, PlayFour!, and others. Over the next
several weeks, uclick will begin delivering regionally-branded comics and
puzzles in the Entertainment channels to 27 Real Cities Web sites in major
media markets.
The agreement further calls for Knight Ridder Digital and uclick to
cooperate in the exploration and development of new consumer-supported
revenue sources, including future opportunities to generate growth through
subscription-based content models.
"We believe that 2002 offers a new wave of opportunities for content
presentation," says Ken Doctor, vice president/content services for Knight
Ridder Digital. "Knight Ridder Digital is pleased to partner with uclick
as we continue to innovate new business models for delivering premium
content to consumers."
As a first step, Knight Ridder Digital will begin offering uclick's new
puzzle subscription service, "The Puzzle Society," to its on-line readers
starting in February. "The Puzzle Society" is a co-branded consumer
subscription product, offering best-of class interactive puzzles and game
content.
[The Knight Ridder on-line readers will join the Puzzle Society
through a co-branded relationship. Uclick's Puzzle Society uses Clickshare as a single-signon, multi-site transaction platform for all its users.]
"Our companies have a long and successful history of cooperation and
partnership on innovative projects, such as this one," adds Chris Pizey,
Chief Operating Officer at uclick. "This agreement further strengthens our
relationship."
In addition to the current interactive business, the relationship between
the two companies includes print syndication and, in the past, has
extended to businesses as diverse as instant book publishing.
About Knight Ridder Digital and Real Cities
Knight Ridder Digital, a leader in local information on the Web, creates
innovative online services and comprehensive local content to help
consumers make the most of their experiences on the Internet. Knight
Ridder Digital develops and manages the Internet properties of Knight
Ridder (NYSE:KRI), the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher. Knight
Ridder Digital is a separate Internet subsidiary and is the founder and
operator of Real Cities, a premier national network of city and regional
Web sites nationwide.
Real Cities consists of a unique partnership network that brings together
the best local strengths of leading U.S. media and Internet companies
including properties of Belo Interactive, E.W. Scripps Co, Knight Ridder
Digital, Media General, Gannett Co., Inc., The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and
The Milwaukee Journal. The network allows media organizations to leverage
their strong local content in a national network that brings to consumers
news, sports, event happenings and community connections from locally-run
information sources that are trusted to be the heart and soul of their
locale. Among Real Cities' member Web sites are AZCentral.com,
BayArea.com, Charlotte.com, Cincinow.com, DallasNews.com, Indy.com,
JournalNow.com, KansasCity.com, Kentucky.com, Miami.com, NYDailyNews.com,
NWSource.com, NYDailyNews.com, Post-Gazette.com, ProJo.com, TBO.com,
TimesDispatch.com and TwinCities.com.
About uclick
uclick is an Andrews McMeel Universal company, a company which also
includes Universal Press Syndicate and Andrews McMeel Publishing. As the
largest packager and distributor of branded comics, word games and other
content on the Web, uclick syndicates the highly sought-after work of more
than 100 content creators to hundreds of Sites, including more than 200
Newspaper Web Sites. uclick content is also found on major portals such as
AOL, Yahoo, MSNBC, and iWon. You'll recognize many of uclick's brands,
including: Garfield, Doonesbury, Cathy, FoxTrot, Ziggy, Boondocks, Pat
Oliphant, News of the Weird, Universal Crossword, Dear Abby and
more. uclick is also building brands for the future, like Bizarro and
Heart of the City. In addition, uclick develops and hosts Web sites of
other key creators such as Garfield.com, Doonesbury.com, Ziggy.com
and sites of other key creators.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Sherrie Stuckey, uclick
(816) 300-6558 / sstuckey@uclick.com
Cynthia Funnell, Knight Ridder Digital
(408) 938-6076 / cfunnell@knightridder.com
Bill Maxfield, PRx Inc. for Knight Ridder Digital
(408) 350-0796 / bill_maxfield@prxinc.com