LiveBridge Professional Services Division Saves Toronto Star Newspapers $1 Million Annually Through Contact Center Consolidation

[April 15, 2004]

LiveBridge Professional Services Division Saves Toronto Star Newspapers $1 Million Annually Through Contact Center Consolidation

PORTLAND, Ore. --(Business Wire)-- April 15, 2004 -- Contact Center Acquisition and Consolidation Strategy Results in Cost Savings and Efficiencies Throughout Canada

LiveBridge, Inc. a global contact center services company, today announced the results of a professional services engagement with Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd. (TSNL), a division of Torstar Corporation (TSX:TS.B), a broadly based media company with widespread newspaper interests in Canada and a leading global publisher of women's fiction.

Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. engaged LiveBridge as a professional services business partner in order to evaluate and implement a consolidation process that is expected to lead to an annual estimated savings of $1 million through improved processes, technology integration and efficiencies.

"LiveBridge accomplished what we all felt was an enormous task with excellent planning and execution," said Sandy MacLeod, vice president of circulation for TSNL. "Not only did they provide the due diligence required to manage the legal transition and evaluation of multiple sites, but they uncovered unforeseen opportunities with economic incentives from the provincial government worth up to $1 million. Their flawless execution of our critical business processes provided us with a significant cost savings and enabled us to provide a smooth and seamless transition for our customers."

As part of the consolidation process, LiveBridge evaluated two different options including purchasing an existing vendor and building a new center from the ground up. The ultimate decision was made to proceed with the purchase, operate and transfer model.

LiveBridge recommended a specific retention and management plan, a transition process and technology infrastructure--including a hosting service to conserve Toronto Star funds--to provide additional benefits and flexibility that offered a significantly lower cost of ownership and minimized up-front investment.

"We're extremely pleased that this purchase, operate and transfer model worked so successfully for the Toronto Star," said Bryan Gross, vice president of strategic development for LiveBridge. "Our recommendation to acquire a separate vendor as an anchor for consolidating all of the operations also produced significant cost savings."

The LiveBridge Professional Services division was formally announced by the company in November 2003. The division offers a suite of service offerings including operational efficiencies, contact center tools, vendor selection and management, site selection and design, facility management and technology hosting. The division uses a proprietary Execution Report Card that outlines the process, strategy, implementation and evaluation phases of each professional services engagement. The analysis process includes the initial assessment, gap analysis and benchmarking. The company has already completed consulting, assessment and benchmarking projects for several companies in North America.

About The Toronto Star

Founded in 1892, the Toronto Star is Canada's largest daily newspaper, reaching more than 2.6 million readers weekly. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. For more information, see www.thestar.com.

About LiveBridge

Founded in 1988, Portland, Ore.-based LiveBridge is a global customer interaction services company. LiveBridge serves Fortune 1000 companies in finance, telecommunications, media and consumer product industries with contact center services using an advanced technology platform and award-winning quality assurance processes. LiveBridge maintains numerous customer contact service centers worldwide that provide multilingual customer contact services 24/7. Services include sales and marketing campaigns, call management services, financial transactions, account maintenance, customer service and support, technical support, service dispatch, scheduling, information and directory assistance. The company's professional services division offers operational efficiencies, contact center tools, vendor selection and management, site selection and design, facility management and technology hosting. For additional information, please call 503-652-6000 or visit: www.livebridge.com.

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