MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
July 17 – July 24, 2008 Edition
Borders.com Launches
New Audiobook
Download Service
ANN ARBOR, Mich.,/7/15/2008—Borders Audiobook Downloads—a new audiobook download service—was launched today on Borders.com, offering an initial 15,000 titles, including fiction and non-fiction bestsellers, classics, self-help and children’s books, among other categories. Each week, hundreds of new titles will be added to the online catalog of audiobook titles, augmenting the vast selection of audiobooks on CD that are available in Borders stores and online. At launch, more than 5,000 of the listed titles were available in MP3 format, a digital format that is universally compatible with all MP3 players, including iPods. Leading digital audiobook distributor OverDrive provides both the inventory and the underlying technology for the new Borders.com service.
To introduce the service, now through July 19, customers can download free of charge Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild” in MP3 format. In addition, Borders will offer 15 popular titles at a discounted price of $9.95 through July 22, including such works as William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, and Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.
In addition to offering the new audiobook download service on Borders.com, a similar service is available in Borders’ new concept stores where the audiobook download service is provided via self-serve computer stations within specially designated Digital Centers in the stores. Borders will have 14 concept stores nationwide by the end of 2008 and has 10 of the new stores in operation now. “With the launch of Borders Audiobook Downloads on Borders.com, the availability of the download service in our concept stores, and the option to buy audiobooks on CD, we are giving customers what no other book retailer does—the ability to enjoy this great form of entertainment in a variety of formats including the universally compatible MP3 format,” said Kevin Ertell, senior vice president of e-business for Borders Group. “We look forward to growing our audiobook catalog so that customers always have access to the best selection of audiobooks available.”
“Borders is redefining the retail experience for booklovers with their new audiobook download service,” said Steve Potash, president and CEO of OverDrive. “We’re proud to team with this industry leader to provide a cutting edge service that allows anytime, anywhere access to thousands of bestselling titles for use with iPods and other MP3 players.”
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP), is a leading retailer of books, music and movies with more than 28,000 employees. Through its subsidiaries, the company operates more than 1,100 stores primarily under the Borders® and Waldenbooks® brand names and recently launched Borders.com for online shopping. Web site: www.borders.com
