Renowned CD-Rom & DVD Pioneer Koji Hase To Oversee Warner Home Video’s Asia Pacific Operations

(May 10, 2002 – Burbank, CA & Tokyo, Japan) - Koji Hase, noted pioneer and world leader in the development and implementation of optical media, is joining Warner Home Video in the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, effective June 1. The announcement was made today by Warren Lieberfarb, President, Warner Home Video (WHV). In his new post, Hase will assume supervisory responsibility for all of Warner Home Video’s operations in the all-important Asia Pacific region, specifically China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and The Philippines. Hase will report directly to Lieberfarb. Hase’s mandate is to expand WHV’s businesses in the burgeoning Asia Pacific region, taking advantage of new business opportunities, the more favorable economic climate in the area and the growing demand and market for world-class quality home entertainment titles. “I have known and worked with Koji Hase for more than a decade and have the greatest respect and admiration for him, his business acumen, his technological expertise and his knowledge of the region,” said Lieberfarb. “Koji was among the first believers in DVD, and was the visionary at Toshiba who worked with us to develop and implement this transforming technology. Asia Pacific is a vital region with great upside potential and untold prospects, I can think of no one more uniquely qualified to lead our efforts there. He will be invaluable to the growth of the region and to the growth of Warner Home Video.” Hase joins Warner Home Video following more than three decades with Toshiba Corporation, most recently as General Manager of the Corporate Brand Management Division. He started at Toshiba immediately upon graduation from the Faculty of Law at Hitotsubashi National University in Tokyo. Hase, a longtime proponent of optical media technologies and the convergence of consumer electronics with computers, communications and entertainment; played a central role in developing Toshiba’s CD-ROM drive business and establishing the company as one of the world’s largest CD-ROM drive suppliers. Looking to advance CD technology, Hase was pivotal in fostering the alliance between Toshiba and Time Warner which led to his partnership with Lieberfarb and Warner Home Video in the creation of the DVD technology. Hase was integral in developing intellectual property as a business and profit center at Toshiba, utilizing the essential DVD patents he was helped create as well as promoting the flash memory alliance initiative, resulting in Toshiba’s current position as the world’s largest producer of NAND Flash Memory. As Chairman of the DVD Forum (the international organization responsible for the advancement of the DVD format) for the past five years, he continues to be a driving force behind the worldwide expansion of DVD, which has grown from zero into a $30 billion a year business in less than five years. Hase’s achievements have been recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Science, garnering an Emmy Award in 1999 for his work in DVD technology; and, most recently, he was a finalist in last year’s UK World Technology Award. Hase will be based at WHV’s Asia Pacific regional offices in Tokyo. Reporting directly to Hase will be Tim Harada, Managing Director of WHV/Japan and Francis Yam, Vice President, Asia, as well as other WHV executives in Warner-affiliated offices and licensees within the region. With operations in 78 international territories--more than the video divisions of any other studio--Warner Home Video commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. WHV’s film library is the largest in the industry, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, pre -1986 MGM classics, Turner Entertainment Co., Castle Rock, HBO and New Line Pictures. # # #