Gary Dretzka
Leonard Klady
David Poland
Ray Pride

January 13, 2004

 

Press Release

Starbucks Offers Customers a Window into the
2004 Sundance Film Festival
through T-Mobile HotSpot Service

As a sponsor of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, Starbucks is giving
customers access to the Sundance Online Film Festival and exclusive
behind-the-scenes footage

SEATTLE; January 8, 2004 - Starbucks Coffee Company (Nasdaq: SBUX) is celebrating the spirit of independent filmmaking and reinforcing its commitment to the arts as an Official Sustaining Sponsor of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival running January 15 ? 25, 2004 in Park City, Utah.

In addition to being the official coffee at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, Starbucks is giving its customers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the people, the passion and the inspiration of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival through the T-Mobile® HotSpot Wi-Fi Internet service, which is available in more than 2,700 Starbucks stores nationwide.

"Starbucks is very excited to be a sponsor of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival," said Don MacKinnon, vice president of Music and Entertainment for Starbucks. "We are working closely with the Sundance Institute to sponsor this year's festival, as well as bring the excitement of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival experience directly to customers in our stores."

Throughout the month of January, customers who visit their favorite participating Starbucks location with a Wi-Fi (802.11b)-enabled notebook computer or Tablet PC can experience the passion and inspiration of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival firsthand. By simply launching the Internet browser on their device, customers can watch exclusive filmmaker interviews, behind-the-scenes video clips and film trailers for free prior to logging on to the T-Mobile HotSpot wireless broadband Internet service.

For customers who log on to the T-Mobile HotSpot service, Starbucks and T-Mobile are offering a free day-pass to the Sundance Online Film Festival ? the online extension of the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. By using the free day-pass, Starbucks customers can access this year's Sundance Online Film Festival where they can cast a vote for their favorite animation and short subject films while in the comfort of any participating Starbucks location. Independent film aficionados and consumers alike do not have to be in Park City to experience this year's festival. They only need to find the nearest T-Mobile HotSpot-enabled Starbucks to access the exclusive content. The multimedia content is powered by HP, which is the preferred technology provider for Starbucks.

"Sponsoring this year's film festival allows us to continue to add value to the T-Mobile HotSpot service in our stores by giving our customers the ability to interact with amazing digital entertainment," said MacKinnon. "Starbucks has a rich tradition of supporting independent film and has long been a sponsor of film festivals large and small throughout North America. Now that Starbucks offers the T-Mobile HotSpot service in our stores, we can share our enthusiasm for independent film directly with our customers."

More information on the 2004 Sundance Film Festival content available at participating Starbucks locations can be found on www.starbucks.com/sundance. The T-Mobile HotSpot service is backed by high-speed T-1 connections that are reliable and fast enough to accommodate the full spectrum of applications from checking e-mail to viewing rich multimedia and video. T-Mobile HotSpot window signs are visible near the entrance of all participating Starbucks locations. A complete list of stores can be found by visiting the Starbucks store locator on www.starbucks.com/hotspot and selecting "Wireless HotSpot Stores" as the Store Type.

Starbucks Coffee Company is the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world, with more than 7,500 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. The Company is committed to offering the highest quality coffee and the Starbucks Experience while conducting its business in ways that produce social, environmental and economic benefits for communities in which it does business. In addition to its retail operations, the Company produces and sells bottled Frappuccino® coffee drinks, Starbucks DoubleShot coffee drink, and a line of superpremium ice creams through its joint venture partnerships. The Company's brand portfolio provides a wide variety of consumer products. Tazo Tea's line of innovative premium teas and Hear Music's exceptional compact discs enhance the Starbucks Experience through best-of-class products. The Seattle's Best Coffee® and Torrefazione Italia® Coffee brands enable Starbucks to appeal to a broader consumer base by offering an alternative variety of coffee flavor profiles.

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