Advertising Poker on ESPN

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October 13, 2004 09:01 AM US Eastern Timezone

Texas Hold ‘Em by Phil Hellmuth Debuts Cutting Edge TV Campaign; Summus Teams with ESPN to Bring Poker Fans to Their Phones

RALEIGH, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct. 13, 2004–In one of the wireless industry’s first, Summus (USA) (OTCBB:SUMU), a leading provider of mobile media applications that optimize the consumer wireless experience, today announces a direct-to-consumer television campaign promoting Summus’ new interactive multiplayer Texas Hold ‘Em wireless poker game, which will initially debut on ESPN2 this Sunday, Oct. 17.

By targeting avid poker fans, the 12 commercial slots will air on both ESPN (Oct. 26th, 8-10pm) and ESPN2 (Oct. 17th, 20th) and feature Phil Hellmuth, a nine-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) champion. Snappy and energetic, the 30 second commercial, which showcases the latest in wireless innovations, will inspire millions of poker aficionados to test their skills by downloading the game’s newest version.

By leveraging its true, real-time interactive multiplayer game engine, Summus’ Texas Hold ‘Em game includes one of the industry’s most powerful 3D user interfaces, along with text chat, search capabilities to find friends, and a mobile community-building feature called “invite a friend.” Not only will players enjoy the best real time experience of playing poker when compared to any other virtual platform, but most compelling, they will also be able to locate Phil Hellmuth’s poker table, thereby providing everyone who subscribes a unique opportunity to go head-to-head against the champion. In order to rank themselves amongst the vast community of mobile poker players, game subscribers can log in to the game’s interactive Web site (http://HellmuthHoldem.com) and learn more about the game and How to Buy!

“Summus believes TV advertising of wireless gaming applications is a primary medium to directly capture the mainstream mobile user audience in the same way that the industry has attracted the mass market of voice users,” said Gary Ban, CEO of Summus. “The strategic direct-to-consumer marketing approach behind this launch will significantly increase the growing popularity of wireless gaming. This new version of the game only further extends our position as the market leader in developing true, interactive multiplayer games, and is thus a major stepping stone for continued revenue growth in 2004 and beyond.”

The commercial, created by Raleigh, NC-based communications firm Capstrat, is slotted for the ESPN network broadcast, which is the most synergistic distribution channel given its affiliation with the WSOP. To further promote and reinforce the new product launch, Summus is also spearheading an aggressive online campaign at http://www.GameSpy.com, http://www.Maximonline.com and http://www.SportsIllustrated.com.

About Phil Hellmuth

Hellmuth, with nine World Series of Poker (WSOP) wins – earning $775,000 at his first championship in 1989, and two titles during 2003 – is the leader on the WSOP money list with over $3.5 million in earnings. At his first win in 1989 Hellmuth became the youngest WSOP champion ever, at age 24.

About Summus

Summus is a leading provider of mobile media applications that optimize the consumer wireless experience. Summus partners with leading content brands to develop compelling and unique wireless applications and content for the mobile phone, focused within the most popular areas of growth, including photo-messaging, multi-player games, news/information and personalization. Summus currently offers an ever-growing list of 28 mobile phone applications deployed through 22 major wireless carriers in the U.S. and abroad. Summus designs and develops these applications with the industry’s most intuitive navigation that is designed for a consistently superior user experience. For more information, see http://www.summus.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties concerning Summus’ business, products, and financial results. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted. More information about potential risk factors that could affect our business, products, and financial results is included in Summus’ annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, and in reports subsequently filed by Summus with the Securities and Exchange Commission(“SEC”). All documents are available through the SEC’s Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval system (EDGAR) at http://www.sec.gov or from Summus’ web site at http://www.summus.com. Summus hereby disclaims any obligation to publicly update the information provided above, including forward-looking statements, to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Contacts

Summus, Inc. (USA)
Cindy Stranad, 919-807-5600
Toll Free: 877-463-3253
Fax: 919-807-5601
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.summus.com