Three-year Licence Agmnt

Future Network PLC
31 July 2000

                  FUTURE WINS UK LICENCE TO PUBLISH
                   OFFICIAL PLAYSTATION 2 MAGAZINE
                                  
    Three-year licence agreed with Sony Computer Entertainment UK
                                  
The Future Network plc (LSE: FNET), the international specialist
consumer magazine and online media company, today announces that its
UK publishing arm, Future Publishing, has been awarded the exclusive
licence to publish the Official Magazine for PlayStation2T ('PS2') by
Sony Computer Entertainment UK.  Future was awarded the three-year
licence following a competitive pitch against several other leading
UK and international publishing companies.

Official PlayStation2 Magazine will be on sale on 20 October ahead of
the UK launch of PS2, which is set for 26 October 2000.  PS2 was
launched in Japan in March this year, selling an unprecedented
980,000 units in the first three days.  Comparative sales for the
first three months show PS2 sales some 325% greater than those
achieved by the original PlayStation. To date over 2.5 million PS2
units have been sold in Japan and similar sales success has been
forecast for the UK.

The three-year licence builds on the successful relationship Future
already has with Sony, as UK publisher of the award-winning Official
PlayStation Magazine.  This magazine was launched in 1995 and quickly
became the UK's biggest selling games magazine and the best selling
'Official' magazine for any PlayStation market in the world. With its
£4.99 cover price, Official PlayStation Magazine is one of the top
five highest-grossing monthly magazines at retail, with current sales
close to 300,000. Official PlayStation Magazine is licensed by Future
in 17 countries worldwide and similar rights will be available for
PS2.

Ray Maguire, Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment UK,
says:

'We are delighted to be working with Future in the development of
this next phase in the PlayStation story.  We received an amazing
level of interest from magazine publishers in this new title and we
were impressed with the creativity and enthusiasm shown by all
parties in their pitches.  However, the success of the original
magazine, together with Future's ideas for PS2 and its innate
understanding of the PlayStation audience meant that we were
extremely confident that in choosing Future once more we would be
making the very best decision for PlayStation 2.  We look forward to
working with Future and the team to make PlayStation 2 even more
successful that its predecessor.'

Commenting on the award Greg Ingham, The Future Network's Chief
Executive, says:

'This is truly huge news for Future - we're absolutely delighted.
Official PlayStation 2 is widely regarded as the most highly-prized
new deal in UK magazine publishing because it has the clear potential
to be the most successful-ever entertainment magazine. Sony have
already invested over £2.6 billion developing the successor to the
world's most successful games machine - it has massive strategic and
financial significance to them and provides just the most incredible
opportunity for us. PS2 is more than just a games console. It's a
revolution in electronic entertainment and it was the strength of our
ideas for supporting it that won the day.

'Working closely with Sony, we have had enormous success with the
original magazine and like to feel we played a part in the success of
the PlayStation in the UK.  This track record clearly helped our
position, but with so many other UK and international publishers
pitching so fiercely for it, our success was far from inevitable and
was never taken for granted. I'm delighted to be continuing Future's
successful relationship with Sony and thrilled for the Future
PlayStation team who have worked so hard on this project.
PlayStation 2 is going to be absolutely enormous - it'll have much
higher sales than the already record-breaking PlayStation 1 - and I
know we can develop a great magazine to do it justice.'

Official PlayStation2 Magazine will be launched in September with an
editorial team of 11.  The launch will be led by the current Editor
of Official PlayStation Magazine, Mike Goldsmith, and Group Senior
Editor, Matt Bielby.


For more information:

Sony Computer Entertainment UK          020 7911 8882
Ray Maguire, Managing Director

The Future Network plc                  01225 442244
Greg Ingham, Chief Executive
Terri Davey, Communications Manager

Hogarth Partnership                     020 7357 9477
James Longfield/Harriet Keen


PlayStation Key Facts:

*   More than 74 million PlayStations have been sold worldwide since
    1994
    
*   There are 5.6 million PlayStations in the UK
    
*   The UK is the largest market for PlayStation in Europe, with 20%
    share of PlayStations sold in Europe
    
*   PS2 launches in the UK on 26 October
    
*   2.5 million PS2 units have been sold in Japan since March
    
*   3 months' comparatives show PS2 sales some 325% more than PS1

Official PlayStation Magazine Key Facts:

*   Future launched Official UK PlayStation Magazine in 1995
    
*   OPM sales peaked at 400,000 copies over Christmas 1999, although
    circulation figures have declined to around 300,000 in
    anticipation of the launch of PlayStation 2
    
*   At its peak, OPM was the 4th biggest selling men's magazine in
    the UK, outselling high profile magazines such as Loaded and GQ.
    
*   OPM has been Future UK's most successful magazine to date, with
    a 40% share of the UK PlayStation magazine market.
    
*   OPM won Magazine of the Year at the interactive entertainment
    industry awards - the InDin - for the past two years (1998 &
    1999).
    

About The Future Network Plc

Future was founded in the UK in 1985. Today it publishes over 127
magazines worldwide and has extensive online activities attracting
the attention of 4.9 million unique visitors and generating over 83
million page views per month. It is the world's fastest growing major
publisher; the leading publisher of video games and home computing
magazines in the UK, France, Italy, Poland and the US; and ranks as
the fourth largest magazine publisher in the UK. Future employs over
1,700 people in offices in Bath, London, San Francisco, New York,
Paris, Milan, Munich, Rotterdam, Tokyo and Wroclaw. Future was
floated on the London Stock Exchange in June 1999 and has a current
market capitalisation of over £1.1 billion.

Future's Internet activities serve the PC, Mac, Games, Music and
Football communities in the US and the UK with fast-growing sites
like maximumpc.com, maximumpc.co.uk, dailyradar.com, intermusic.com,
and totalfootball.co.uk. Future's Web sites and Web networks provide
rich, community and information-based services to people in these and
related markets worldwide.