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Exhibit 1
For Immediate Release:
December 11, 2000
EarthWeb Announces Agreements With Element K For
MeasureUp Test Preparation Products & EarthWeb's Education Courseware
Strategic Highlights
. EarthWeb Expands Reseller Relationship with Element K For MeasureUp Test
Preparation Products
. Element K Gains License To Host MeasureUp Test Preparation Products On
ElementK.com
. EarthWeb Transfers Certain Education Courseware Assets To Element K Press
New York, NY, December 11, 2000 -- EarthWeb (Nasdaq:EWBX) announced today that
it has entered into a series of agreements that expand Element K's role as a
reseller of MeasureUp Test Preparation Products, license certain MeasureUp
content to Element K, and transfer certain assets of EarthWeb's education
courseware business to Element K Press. MeasureUp is a service of EarthWeb
Career Solutions, which includes Dice.com, a leading nationwide job site for
Information Technology (IT) Professionals.
"Element K has significant worldwide sales and distribution capability in the
education market," said Jack D. Hidary, President and CEO of EarthWeb. "The
expertise and customer relationships which Element K brings will allow us to
extend and enhance our sales and marketing reach for both MeasureUp and Dice.com
products and services."
"These licensing and reseller agreements highlight the competitive strengths of
both organizations. Element K Press is the market leader for courseware that
prepares individuals for IT certifications, and MeasureUp is the market leader
in test preparation exams that also help prepare students for certification.
These license agreements enable Element K Press to offer the highly regarded and
complimentary MeasureUp products directly to our customers," said Laura
Schaefer, General Manager of Element K Press.
Financial Terms. Financial terms for the content licensing agreement between
Element K and EarthWeb's MeasureUp were not disclosed. As part of this
agreement, EarthWeb has agreed to transfer certain education courseware assets,
such as customer databases, to Element K.
As a result of this transaction, EarthWeb will no longer resell educational
courseware. Discontinuing this line of business is expected to result in
approximately $300,000 to $500,000 in incremental, non-recurring costs in the
current quarter associated with inventory write-offs, severance and related
expenses. Revenues recorded in the fourth quarter of 2000 from the educational
courseware business are anticipated to be substantially lower than in previous
quarters of 2000, due to the decision to exit this business.
Additional brief comments by management will be webcast later today on
EarthWeb's Investor Relations website, www.ewbx.com; after five days, this
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webcast will be archived in the Conference Calls section of www.ewbx.com.
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About Element K
With more than 550 information technology and business courses designed
exclusively for the Web,
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Element K offers instructor-led online courses, self-paced tutorials, a
comprehensive reference library and dynamic interaction with experts and peers.
Element K hosts an online learning environment integrated with a powerful
learning management system. Visit Element K's online learning solutions at
www.elementk.com.
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About Element K Press
Element K's online offerings are complemented and augmented by its sister
company Element K Press (www.elementkpress.com), a leading publisher of
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information technology courseware. Element K Press also operates the leading IT
training center in Rochester, N.Y. Element K Press Journals
(www.elementkjournals.com) publishes computer-related journals and information
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products that help individuals become more proficient computer users. Element K
and Element K Press are based in Rochester, N.Y., and employ more than 570
people.
About MeasureUp
EarthWeb Career Solutions, part of the EarthWeb network of online IT services,
includes dice.com and MeasureUp. MeasureUp (www.measureup.com) creates
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preparation products for professional certifications using an innovative testing
system to deploy individually licensed preparation products over the web.
About EarthWeb
EarthWeb Inc. (Nasdaq: EWBX, www.earthweb.com), the IT Career Solutions
Company TM, is the leading online provider of career development resources and
technical expertise to the world's Information Technology (IT) professionals.
Through its network of online services including dice.com, measureup.com,
earthweb.com and itknowledge.com, EarthWeb provides a comprehensive set of
solutions to a broad range of IT professionals, from CTOs to programmers, IT
recruiters and HR managers. EarthWeb's dice.com is the leading online IT job
board, as ranked by Media Metrix and Alexa in 2000.
This press release may be deemed to contain forward-looking information. Any
forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements, including statements as to industry trends, future economic
performance, anticipated profitability, anticipated revenues and expenses, and
products or service line growth, may be significantly and materially impacted by
certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, failure to meet
operating objectives or to execute the operating plan, competition, and other
economic factors. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in the
Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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At the Company:
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Constance Melrose Harold Miltsch
Vice President, Investor Relations Chief Marketing Officer
[email protected] [email protected]
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(212) 725-6550 (212) 725-6550
EarthWeb and the EarthWeb logo are registered trademarks of EarthWeb Inc. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
