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The Weather Channel® and WSI Corp. Join Forces to Deliver New Graphical Weather Data Service to Mariners

Leading-edge marine weather observation and forecasting service from industry leaders available onboard via satellite

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Fort Lauderdale, FL, October 29, 2003 - The Weather Channel and WSI Corp. today announced plans to deliver a sophisticated data broadcast weather service via satellite to professional and recreational mariners at sea. Named "The Weather Channel® Marine," the new service will continuously broadcast marine-specific, real-time, graphical weather observation data and forecast information direct to vessels equipped with a special purpose marine antenna, receiver, and proprietary software. The Weather Channel Marine equipment and service will be marketed through a network of authorized marine electronics dealers with the assistance of Radio-at-Sea™, a recognized expert in marine satellite communications, information and entertainment services.

"For years, viewers with recreational and professional marine interests have asked The Weather Channel to develop a marine-specific weather service for use by boaters while underway. We knew we needed a strong partner to ensure our successful entry into the marine electronics industry," said Bill Burke, president and CEO of The Weather Channel Companies. "We found a natural partner in WSI, a company we acquired in 2000. WSI's expertise is in developing mission-critical weather systems and information and forecast services, and they have an outstanding record of service and support with thousands of high-profile and highly demanding commercial customers - including The Weather Channel." he added.

According to Peter Gruol, President of Radio-at-Sea, "We've looked at just about every marine weather application and service available. I am convinced that The Weather Channel Marine will lead the industry in terms of marine weather forecasting and real-time observation, service reliability and customer support. It's provided by two of the most respected names in the weather business - The Weather Channel and WSI Corp."

The Weather Channel Marine will automatically deliver the most reliable, up-to-date marine weather information and near-term marine forecasts, targeted to the precise location of any commercial or recreational vessel equipped with a special purpose marine antenna, data receiver and proprietary software. The graphical marine information offers WSI's full color, animated NOWrad® weather radar, sea state conditions, storm tracking and, most importantly, coastal and offshore forecasts. Forecast precision is aided by marine data gathered from a proprietary network of marine buoys, as well as island and coastal-based aviation weather forecasts.

"This product is ready to roll. It uses the same WSI technology that today delivers WSI's aviation weather to the cockpit - a system that has been tested over land and water, is fully certified by the FAA, and just won the prestigious R&D100 award as one of the most technologically significant products introduced in 2003," said Lynne Wilson, Executive Vice President of WSI's Aviation and Marine Business Group. "The Weather Channel Marine is great service extension that overlays highly specialized marine weather and forecasts onto sophisticated marine and land-based navigational maps - to provide a superior service for mariners," she added.

Pricing and Availability

Commercial release of The Weather Channel Marine is scheduled for December 2003. List price for The Weather Channel Marine equipment and display software is $1995, plus an annual or seasonal subscription fee for unlimited access to the up-to-the-minute graphical weather data-broadcast service. Dealers interested in becoming an authorized dealer may contact Radio-at-Sea at 1-800-556-3911. Customers interested in subscribing or learning more about The Weather Channel Marine products and services may contact WSI Corp. at 1-888-442-8732 or visit www.weather.com/marine.

About The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel, a 24-hour weather network, is seen in over 85 million U.S. households. Its Web site, weather.com, attracts over 450 million page views per month, and is now ranked the 11th largest site on the web. The Weather Channel also operates Weatherscan (local weather 24/7 for digital cable), The Weather Channel Radio Network, The Weather Channel Newspaper Services and is the leading weather information provider for emerging technologies. This includes broadband and interactive television applications, with wireless weather products accessible through high-speed Internet services, phones, pagers, Palm Pilots, and other personal digital assistants. The Weather Channel is owned by Landmark Communications, Inc., a Norfolk, Virginia-based, privately held media company.

About WSI Corporation

WSI Corporation is the world's leading provider of weather-driven solutions for professionals in the aviation, media and energy markets and multiple federal and state government agencies. WSI is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts with offices in Birmingham, England, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Landmark Communications. The company can be found on the World Wide Web at www.wsi.com.

About Radio-at-Sea™

Radio-at-Sea™, a division of Mobile Internet Access, Inc., is a leading provider of satellite radio products delivering information and entertainment services to the maritime industry via satellite data-broadcasting services.

For more information, please contact:

David Laubner
WSI Corporation
(978) 983-6735
dlaubner@wsi.com
Peter Gruol
Radio-At-Sea
(781) 829 6556
info@radio-at-sea.com
Angela Fisher
The Weather Channel
(770)-226-2897
afisher@weather.com

 
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