TORONTO, March 1 /CNW/ - Excite Canada today launched its much-anticipated online media property, Excite.ca (www.excite.ca), to deliver an unparalleled, global-class Web experience to Canadians through a broad new range of Internet resources. The localized site includes features such as powerful personalization that focuses on the individual experience, Excite Search, an advanced, highly-integrated search tool, rich content from leading Canadian and international partners, and integrated community applications such as chat and message boards. The service, which leverages the Excite.com International Network, is aggressively targeting Canadians coast to coast, and expects to attract many of the Canadian users currently registered with Excite.com. Excite.ca intends to quickly acquire users through its vast online and offline media resources and its strategic alliances with Canada's leading media properties to raise the bar for what Canadians expect from their online experience.

Excite Canada was created last June with a 50/50 partnership valued at $30 million Canadian between Excite@Home and Rogers Media Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc. The partnership fuels Rogers' ability to provide Canadian customers with innovative new avenues for accessing the best media properties across multiple delivery platforms. For Excite@Home, it strengthens the company's aggressive international strategy of choosing the most progressive local partner in each global region to extend its global brand initiatives.

"Excite.ca delivers a compelling, content-rich online media experience that many Canadians are already using to make the most of their online time," says Peter O'Brien, vice president, Excite Canada. "Excite.ca helps people use the Internet smarter through our proprietary, advanced personalization features and innovative search technology. Combined with our strategic alliances with other leading online Canadian content properties, Excite.ca allows online consumers to quickly access the exact information they're looking for when and wherever they choose."

Excite.ca features 15 popular topic areas or "channels" such as automotive, careers, computers, health and real estate. Excite.ca's directory provides users with a wealth of Canadian specific information along with the global reach of Excite Search to access more than 250 million web pages and multimedia items -- making Excite Search one of the largest search indexes on the Web.

O'Brien says Excite.ca is about helping each person shape the Internet to serve their distinct needs. Veteran web surfers rave about the powerful search functionality, while other online users value the site's unmatched personalization features that people can use to create a "MyExcite Start Page" with personalized tracking of news, sports scores, horoscopes, chat groups and financial information tailored to their exact interests.

"Canada is a vastly important market to us, in both narrowband and broadband," says George Bell, president and CEO, Excite@Home. "This partnership is an example of how combining the world class online services of Excite and the Canadian presence of Rogers will create a winning combination for consumers. With Rogers leading in so many categories such as wireless, publishing and cable, we're confident that Excite Canada will grow Excite.ca into one of the most successful online media properties in this country."

"Excite.ca gives Canadians feature-rich access to the best the Internet has to offer," says Ted Rogers, President and CEO, Rogers Communications Inc. "Through our partnership with Excite, Canadians will benefit from Excite's world-class online property married with Rogers' knowledge of the Canadian marketplace."

Nearly half of the Canadian population (49 per cent of Canadians aged 12+) are now Internet users, according to a September 1999 Internet study by ACNielsen, while an even larger group -- two thirds of Canadians -- have some form of access. With a growing number of people using the Internet at both home and work, Excite.ca provides users with a personalized "starting point" regardless of where they choose to use the web.

    Some of the content partnerships include (phase 1):

    Canadian Press/Associated Press -- up-to-the-minute Canadian and
                                       international news
    Quicken.ca -- financial news from Canada's leading personal finance web
                  site
    ChumcityInteractive -- ChumCity Interactive is a leading North American
                           source for creative online content in popular
                           entertainment and information categories
    Tribute.ca -- the ultimate movie web site
    Looksmart Canada -- directory of best web sites in Canada
    Tribune.ca -- cable listings for each Canadian city
    Yellow.ca -- features search function for finding people and businesses
                 in Canada
    Workopolis.ca -- Canada's most comprehensive careers site
    Maclean's -- Canada's national newsmagazine
    Chatelaine -- Canada's premiere women's magazine
    Profit -- the magazine for Canadian entrepreneurs
    Canadian Business -- Canada's leading business magazine
    Money Sense -- investment advice for Canadians
    Today's Parent -- the magazine for Canadian parents

About Excite Canada -------------------

Excite Canada (Excite.ca) is a 50/50 partnership between Rogers Media Inc. and Excite@Home (Nasdaq: ATHM). Excite@Home is a global media company based in Redwood City, Calif. Rogers Media Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSE: RCI.A and RCI.B, NYSE: RG), is a leader in developing relevant and compelling online content for the Canadian Internet market. Excite.ca, the newest member of the International Excite Network, promises to be Canada's leading online media property. Excite.ca provides content areas such as Canadian news, financial information, entertainment and music, plus advanced search technology, free Web-based email, and communities. Excite Canada users can personalize their Excite.ca start page and have control over any information they choose like stock portfolios, sports scores, news topics, weather, horoscopes, TV listings and much more.

About Excite@Home --------------------

Excite@Home, the leader in broadband, offers media services through Excite Network (www.excite.com, www.bluemountain.com and other properties), and broadband subscription services through @Home (www.home.com) and @Work (www.work.home.net). The company has a worldwide footprint of 72 million cable homes under long-term contract. Excite@Home's MatchLogic subsidiary (www.matchlogic.com) offers marketers industry-leading digital advertising solutions including rich media production, targeted ad and email services, and datamart management and analysis.

About Rogers Media ------------------

Rogers Media Inc., a division of Rogers Communications Inc., (Toronto: RCI.A and RCI.B; NYSE: RG), operates three businesses: Rogers Broadcasting, Rogers Publishing and Rogers New Media. Rogers Broadcasting has 30 AM and FM radio licences across Canada as well as Toronto multicultural television broadcaster, CFMT, and a national televised shopping service, the Shopping Channel. Rogers Publishing has a number of well-known consumer magazines such as Maclean's, Chatelaine, Flare, L'actualité, Canadian Business, and is the leading publisher of a number of trade publications. Rogers New Media includes Internet properties such as Quicken.ca, Electric Library Canada, and soon Excite.ca.

Excite and the Excite logo are trademarks of Excite@Home, used by Excite Canada under license.

For further information: MEDIA CONTACTS: Jennifer Langley, Marketing Director, Excite Canada, (416) 642-4705, Email: jlangley@excitecorp.com; Sheila Wisniewski, Senior Consultant, Maverick Public Relations, (416) 640-5522, Email: sheilaw@maverickpr.com Index of Releases