LOS ANGELES (February 28, 2001) - As the U.S. market research business continues to experience rapid growth with revenues estimated at $5.4 billion for 2000*, Hollywood Stock ExchangeŇ (www.hsx.com) today announced the launch of its first subscription-based market research applications. HSX Research, a separate business division of HSX, will strive to leverage the community and technology of hsx.com to become the leading provider of information to the entertainment research market.

HSX Research's primary application, HSX Trader Insight, consists of six dynamic reports that provide clients with long-lead estimates of audience awareness, intention and box office projecting for all film projects. Future applications, such as advertising effectiveness analysis, product placement analysis, entertainment product indexing and other value-added market research services will be available later this year.

Brian Dearth, the company's recently named CEO, will oversee the new division. Prior to his appointment, Dearth served as HSX's VP Market Research. He also served as a senior vice president for VNU's Entertainment Group and managed marketing for Claritas Inc. Melissa Perrot has been named Vice President, Market Research for the company.

"HSX Research is the only market research application that provides accurate, unbiased, real-time insight into the minds of the most influential entertainment consumers," said Brian Dearth, CEO of the Hollywood Stock Exchange. "Our clients will be able to rely on hundreds of thousands of active respondents to provide them with continuous, accurate data. HSX Research will be an open gateway into the opinions and desires of our community comprised of trend-setting, early adopting entertainment consumers."

HSX Research expects to serve clients across several industries, including entertainment, consumer products/packaged goods and financial institutions. Such clients can look forward to the following benefits from the company's various applications:

• Real time Results:
  Basic research information can be pulled off of the Exchange in minutes - and deeper market research questions will be answered without having to do long-lead planning.
• Cost Efficiency through Long Lead Tracking:
  Because HSX tracks films and music from early development through release, clients will have the long lead-time needed to create more efficient and cost-effective marketing campaigns.
• Unbiased and Unobtrusive Methodology:
  Through the use of HSX's patented Virtual SpecialistTM technology, the Exchange generates an unparalleled depth of real-time consumer data that will allow HSX to provide its Research customers with detailed, actionable marketing information.
• Large sample size of influential entertainment enthusiasts:
  HSX Research allows major marketing decisions to be made based on hundreds of thousands of respondents, instead of the much smaller samples used in the past.

HSX Research customers will also have the advantage of the site's valuable community of more than 730,000 traders, strong demographics and the division's leadership & research industry expertise.

"The business of Market Research has been in HSX's plan since the beginning," said HSX co-founder and chairman Michael Burns. "Our customers in the entertainment, packaged goods and financial industries will soon see that, with these revolutionary research applications, it has been worth the wait."

For more information please visit www.hsxresearch.com.

*Source: Inside Market Research