US : Egami Media announced the signing of a nonexclusive agreement to distribute its exclusive content through Foreal, Inc. via video ringtones to third-generation (3G) mobile phones throughout Japan and Southeast Asia.

Foreal will service Egami's exclusive programming with turnkey sales, marketing and distribution services to official mobile phone content providers, via branded premium prepaid cards ("Chaku Purika") and by direct-to-consumer downloads on the Foreal website.

According to Mobile Media Japan, the conversion to 3G mobile phones capable of utilizing video ringtones is well under way. As of January 2005, approximately 25 million of the 84 million registered mobile phones were 3G. The majority of the mobile phone subscriber base in Japan is expected to convert to 3G technology by the end of 2005. Egami and Foreal are well positioned to take advantage of this growth as the demand for video content via ringtones increases.

Egami's exclusive video content will be featured within all of Foreal's promotional and marketing efforts, initially with the "Chaku Purika" program, which loosely translates as "Delivered Prepaid Card" and facilitates consumer downloading of video ringtones through the Internet. This premium program is estimated to reach more than 12 million consumers through 20,000 retail outlets by the end of 2005. These premium cards will be co-branded with corporate sponsors and used as a consumer marketing tool promoting products or services.

"The opportunities in Japan and Southeast Asia are exciting for our new subsidiary, Egami Media," said Martin W. Greenwald, Image's President and CEO and Egami's Chairman of the Board. "The explosive growth of 3G phones and the strong demand for video ringtone content in Japan present a great opportunity for Egami. Foreal's multi-pronged approach to content distribution, especially through the Chaku Purika prepaid card program, will provide the consumer with easy access to content by visiting any one of thousands of retail locations or their website."

Greenwald continued, "This strategic deal with Foreal is another step in the evolution of Egami's mission statement, which is to supply programming to businesses serving the consumer. Our launch into the Asian market is important as a potential source of revenue and as a test drive for consumer acceptance of Egami's library of video ringtones. This will hopefully provide us with valuable market intelligence as we look to introduce our programming to other markets worldwide. To this end, Egami will continue to aggregate programming and find exciting and lucrative paths of distribution."

As 3G mobile phones become the standard in other parts of Southeast Asia, Foreal will expand the distribution of Egami's exclusive video content accordingly. Meanwhile, Egami will aggressively pursue content appropriate for these territories and channels of distribution. Additionally, Egami is exploring similar opportunities in North America and Europe as 3G mobile phone technology and consumer support gain similar footholds.

"We are thrilled to be working with Egami as well as the management team of its parent company, Image Entertainment, one of the premier independent content providers in North America," said Jonathan Platt, CEO of Foreal Inc. "Egami's repertoire of exclusive programming and their aggressive content acquisition strategy encompass genres like music, lifestyle and television that fit perfectly with our strategic business alliances and distribution outlets, which total more than 20,000 retail locations."

About Egami Media:

Egami Media, Inc. is a subsidiary of Image Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ:DISK), a leading independent licensee, producer and distributor of home entertainment programming in North America. Egami focuses on the aggregation and wholesale exploitation of digital rights to a wide array of video content. Egami has acquired all of Image's current and future digital rights and will independently acquire digital rights to third party content on a going forward basis.

About Foreal:

Foreal, Inc. is a provider and aggregator of master content for RealTONES and VideoTONES, the mobile communication industry's newest and fastest growing service in ring (back) tones utilizing the original performances by artists. Utilizing its expertise, Foreal has implemented a robust sales and marketing program by which to distribute content to virtually all official content providers and to the largest mobile carriers in Japan and Asia. Foreal also boasts a unique promotional program that will direct a high volume of mobile traffic to its various content sites. Coupled with this unique premium opportunity, Foreal is encouraged by the positive, high level response as well as the potential for growth in this burgeoning industry.