Strategic Partnership

Future Network PLC
26 July 2000

                                  
                FUTURE ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT
                         IN TED CONFERENCES


Future Network plc (LSE: FNET), the international specialist consumer
magazine and online publisher, today announces that it has entered
into a strategic partnership agreement with TED Conferences LLC, a US
company that runs one of the world's most successful and innovative
conferences, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design).

This agreement will see Future investing US$8 million to acquire a
49% shareholding in TED Conferences LLC, of which US$6 million will
be paid in cash, with the remaining US$2 million paid through the
issue of 158,228 new ordinary shares in Future. These shares are to
be retained for at least 12 months.  Future has agreed to acquire the
remaining 51 per cent interest within three years of the date of the
agreement for a maximum consideration of US$12 million.  TED
Conferences founder and director, Richard Saul Wurman, will remain
with the business and will continue to exercise management and
creative control of the conferences.

The 2000 conference (TED10) was held in Monterey in February this
year and attracted more than 800 registrants.  Revenues were
approximately US$3 million, of which 80 per cent came from
registrations and the remainder from sponsorships.  Earnings before
interest and tax were approximately US$2 million.  The tangible
assets of TED Conferences LLC were US$1.9 million on completion.

Chris Anderson, Chairman of the Future Network, commented,

'Every time I've been to TED, I've come away inspired and
invigorated. I've heard incredible things and I've met incredible
people. TED is a magnet for great people. It has become a brand of
enormous power, as well as a highly successful business. I am
absolutely delighted that Richard has formed this new alliance with
us and that he will be continuing to run the conference over the
coming years.

'Like TED, Future is built on passion, and on the belief that you
don't compromise your audience's needs for commercial interests. We
are committed to preserving the values that have made TED great.  And
we have exciting ideas for how it can be grown and made truly
international. There's a terrific fit with Business 2.0 and with some
of our other properties.'

Earlier this year The Future Network announced its first US
conference, Business 2.0 Live, to be held in Monterey this October.

The consideration shares of 1p each in Future will be issued credited
as fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with Future's
existing ordinary shares.  Application has been made to the London
Stock Exchange for these shares to be admitted to the Official List
and this is expected to take place within 14 days.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

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

Hogarth Partnership:                      020 7357 9477
James Longfield/Harriet Keen


NOTES TO EDITORS

Background on TED Conferences

TED Conferences was founded in 1984 by Richard Saul Wurman in
response to the way Technology, Entertainment and Design (hence the
name TED) were reshaping business and society by creating new ways of
communicating and learning.

Held annually in Monterey, California, TED has become one of the
world's most successful and innovative conferences.  Each year TED
brings together a prestigious collection of leaders from the
business, academic and artistic worlds to share experiences and
exchange ideas.

The eclectic range of past presenters covers the spectrum from
architects to zoologists and includes Microsoft's Bill Gates; co-
founder of Greenpeace, Robert Hunter; brain surgeon, Keith Black; co-
founder of Sun Microsystems, Bill Joy; columnist and author, Arianna
Huffington; Rabbi, Irwin Kula; and, stand-up comedian, Sinbad.

The conference has also become a forum for innovation and has been an
early showcase venue for a number of major products, including the
original Macintosh computer, the revolutionary Java programming
language, Adobe's Photoshop software and the publishing phenomenon,
Wired Magazine.

The distinctive TED brand has been extended in recent years and has
spawned a number of affiliated conferences, including, in June this
year, TEDCity, a joint conference held in Canada with Canadian
Broadcaster Moses Znaimer.  The 2001 TED conference is already
attracting delegates and presenters, including Sergey Brin, co-
founder of Google.com; Steve Case, Chairman of America Online; and,
Michael Milken, Financier and philanthropist.

Background on Richard Saul Wurman, Founder of TED Conferences LLC

Richard Saul Wurman graduated in Architecture from the University of
Pennsylvania in 1958 and by 1962 at the age of 26 had written his
first of over 50 books.  His career has spanned a 13 year
architectural partnership in Philadelphia and a directorship of GEE!
Group for Environmental Education to lecturing posts at a number of
leading universities, including Cambridge (England), UCLA, Washington
and Princeton.  He has received numerous awards and fellowships
including the 1991 Kevin Lynch Award from MIT for his creation of the
ACCESS travel guides and, in 1994, he was named a Fellow of the World
Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.  In addition to the management
and creative control of TED Conferences, Richard is Chief Executive
of TOP publishing Group and is a member of the Editorial Board of
Novartis Magazine.  He continues to be a regular consultant to major
corporations in matters relating to design and the understanding of
information.

About The Future Network:

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 and Wroclaw.  Future was floated on
the London Stock Exchange in June 1999 and has a current market
capitalisation of over £1.1 billion.