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CNET Channel Launches PartnerAccess™, Transforming Content and Communication between Manufacturers and Channel Partners RETAILVISION FALL, DENVER, CO. August 28, 2006 — CNET Channel, a property of CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNET), today announced the launch of PartnerAccess™, a new service that automates and streamlines content and communication between technology manufacturers and the channel partners that sell and market their products. PartnerAccess gives manufacturers a simple and easy way to create, distribute and communicate the right information at the right time, empowering channel partners to better merchandise the products, provide a better customer experience, and maximize sales. PartnerAccess is being introduced at the RetailVision Fall 2006 conference (booth #8 in the Levin Consulting Pavilion — Centennial Ballroom A, B, C) in Denver, Colorado. "With PartnerAccess, CNET Channel has effectively created a strong connection among two large groups with significant communications challenges," said Steve Parrott, general manager of CNET Channel. "Manufacturers are finally able to actively participate in the selling and marketing of their products, and channel partners finally have access to the rich product content and information they need to effectively sell to the end user. We're extremely proud to introduce a service that helps create a community within the channel." Reaching channel partners and communicating with them has been widely regarded as a task that is inefficient and expensive, yet critical to a successful sales pipeline. Today, manufacturers rely on manual, inconsistent processes to create, distribute and communicate up-to-date product content and information. For example, one channel partner may prefer product information faxed, another may want it via email, and yet another wants the manufacturer to send rich product content by CD. It's likely that by the time manufacturers distribute content to each of their channel partners, and the channel partners associate the information with the correct product, the information is already outdated. PartnerAccess solves these problems with an automated approach that also gives manufacturers immediate access to CNET Channel's large and established global distribution network of more than 1,500 channel businesses worldwide. Using PartnerAccess, manufacturers are now able to:
The service, which launched in limited release last year, is now available to technology manufacturers and software publishers throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Leading manufacturers such as Quantum were among over 300 beta participants worldwide who implemented PartnerAccess. As the worlds' leading manufacturer of reliable backup, recovery, and archive solutions, Quantum was in need of a better way to communicate with the direct marketers that sell their products. In addition, the company wanted more insight into how the products were marketed. With PartnerAccess the company is able to disseminate detailed SKU information, price information, and product specifications directly to their channel partners, and have been able to considerably improve the control and quality of this information. "Our biggest challenge as a manufacturer is providing accurate and timely product information to the channel," said Mike Gearhart, Alliance and Channel Marketing Manager, Overland Storage. "With CNET Channel PartnerAccess, we can ensure that channel partners - large or small - have the same correct product information, which increases our overall revenue through the channel." For more information about PartnerAccess, please visit its dedicated Web site at: http://www.partneraccess.com, or call 1-877-276-5560. About CNET Channel About CNET Networks # # #
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