OverDrive Adds Bestselling Japanese eBooks for Libraries and Schools Worldwide

CLEVELAND, OH--(Marketwired - May 12, 2014) -  OverDrive, the world's leading digital platform for libraries and schools, today announced a strategic alliance with top Japanese publisher aggregator MediaDo. The alliance, called OverDrive Japan, will enable distribution of popular and bestselling Japanese content, including manga and adult fiction, through the OverDrive network of libraries and schools worldwide. In addition, the new venture extends the OverDrive platform and catalog of more than 1 million eBook and audiobook titles to Japanese libraries and schools.

OverDrive Japan is designed to deliver on the following initiatives:

1) MediaDo's content to be distributed through OverDrive's network. OverDrive will make available to its worldwide network of libraries and schools MediaDo's Japanese eBook titles aggregated from 200 or more publishers. These titles enhance OverDrive's broad catalog of popular and bestselling titles in all subjects and in 52 languages.

2) Develop and expand digital library business in Japan. MediaDo and OverDrive will provide OverDrive's industry-leading platform system services and deliver Japanese and overseas eBooks to public, school, government, and corporate users inside and outside of Japan.

3) OverDrive's content offered in Japan. Japanese libraries and schools will have access to OverDrive's digital catalog of more than 1 million titles including eBooks, audiobooks and videos from more than 5,000 publishers, and lend them to authenticated users.

"We are honored to join MediaDo in forming OverDrive Japan," said Steve Potash, OverDrive's CEO. "Japanese content has proven popular throughout the world, and we are delighted to lead the world in making it available to libraries and schools around the world, initially in the Japanese language and ultimately in English and other languages via translation."

As one of the leading aggregators of premium published materials in Japan, MediaDo supplies and delivers eBooks from many publishers including majors such as Kodansha and Shogakukan. MediaDo has played an important role in the rapid growth of the domestic eBook market in Japan. MediaDo has already secured nearly 9,000 Japanese eBooks for distribution through OverDrive's network of libraries and schools around the world, including classic literary works and prominent manga titles.

Yasushi Fujita, MediaDo's CEO, said, "We are extremely pleased to form a strategic alliance with the world's No. 1 digital lending system platform company, OverDrive, and are excited to work with them to making the best lending system available in Japan. In addition to strive for making eBook reading most convenient to users in Japan, we are looking forward very much to provide 'cool Japan content' together with OverDrive to all the readers in the world."

OverDrive Japan aims to develop digital library services in Japan by integrating both MediaDo's and OverDrive's system infrastructures. This continues the accelerating global trend of eBook usage worldwide, and builds on OverDrive's industry-leading knowledge and experience serving 28,000 libraries and schools in 36 countries with digital content in 52 languages.

About OverDrive
OverDrive is a leading multichannel digital distributor of eBooks, audiobooks, music and video. We supply a secure lending platform for 28,000 libraries, schools and retailers worldwide with support for all major computers and devices, including iPhone®, iPad®, Android™ phones and tablets, and Kindle® (U.S. only). Recent enhancements to OverDrive's platform include multilingual user interface support, Streaming Video, in-library touchscreen stations for browsing and instant sampling of eBooks or audiobooks, and OverDrive Read, the company's EPUB and HTML5 browser-based reading experience. OverDrive is rated the best eBook app for libraries and schools by users on all app platforms. OverDrive was also named to the EContent 100 as a company that matters most in the digital content industry and is a member of the 2012 Technology Fast 500. Founded in 1986, OverDrive is based in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. www.overdrive.com.

About MediaDo

Established in 1999, having started mobile internet business in 2000, then inaugurated music content distribution in 2004 and eBook distribution in 2006. MediaDo developed a unique versatile digital content distribution platform in Japan including eBooks, music and video. MediaDo's "CAS (Content Agency System)" consisted of the eBook distribution and eBook retail store CMS has become most prominent in the industry. Currently, digital content entrusted by more than 200 publishers are being distributed by MediaDo to a number of eBook retailers including "LINE Manga", NTT Docomo's "d book", Recruit's "Ponpare eBook Store". MediaDo has made an initial public offering in November 2013 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers market. http://www.mediado.jp/english/