Nearly twice the number of Cingular subscribers in the South

than in any other region; All five winning "Idols" hail from a Southern state

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, June 20, 2006 -- Ever wonder why all of

the "American Idol" winners have thus far hailed from Southern states?

According to information released today by The NPD Group, a leading

consumer and retail information company, the results of text-message voting

on the popular Fox Network talent show, "American Idol," might actually

affect the final voting outcome. After all, Cingular Wireless has a dominant

share of its subscriber base in the South and significantly more of those

subscribers use text messaging, than do Cingular subscribers in other regions

of the U.S.

Based on recent data from NPD's Mobile Consumer Track service, nearly half

of Cingular's subscribers are located in the South, and more than 18 million

(42 percent) Cingular subscribers in the U.S. actively use text messaging. In

fact more than twice as many Cingular subscribers (nearly nine million) in the

South do so, as in any other region. By comparison just over four million use

text messaging in the West, three million in Central states and three million in

the Northeast. According to NPD Wireless Industry Research Director Drew

Hull, this regional skew might have been large enough to affect the voting

outcome.

"Cingular has partnered with the show's producers to provide text-message

voting solely from Cingular phones, so it's certainly possible that Southern

subscribers might have more of a voting edge, than those in other regions in

the U.S.," Hull said. "Had 'American Idol' partnered with another carrier with

a higher percentage of their subscriber base in another region, the results

might have been different."

Following is a breakdown of Cingular subscribers by region, based on data

compiled by NPD for April 2006:

+ South: 46 percent (20 million subscribers)

+ West: 23 percent (10 million subscribers)

+ Northeast: 16 percent (6 million subscribers)

+ Central: 15 percent (7 million subscribers)

"We have to remember that this is a talent contest, and voting is subjective,

so there are many possible reasons -- including pure coincidence -- that

all 'American Idol' winners have come from the same U.S. region," Hull

said. "But based on the comparative consumer penetration into the South, it

is possible that sheer numbers might indeed have an effect on the contest

outcome. Of course, the South could also just have a stronger talent pool of

aspiring singers or more 'American Idol' fans, too."

The U.S. Census Department defines Southern states as Texas, Oklahoma,

Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, Alabama, West

Virginia, D.C., Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia,

Delaware, and Maryland. The list of "American Idol" winners and their home

towns, as listed on American Idol's Web site, is as follows:

+ Taylor Hicks (2006): Birmingham, Alabama

+ Carrie Underwood (2005): Checotah, Oklahoma

+ Fantasia Barino (2004): High Point, North Carolina

+ Ruben Studdard (2003): Birmingham, Alabama

+ Kelly Clarkson (2002): Burleson, Texas

Methodology: Mobile Consumer Track offers the industry's most in-depth and

comprehensive examination of consumer spending and usage of mobile

services and content. It specifically tracks consumer adoption, consumption,

and use of mobile services and downloaded content. Each month NPD

compiles and analyzes mobile consumer information from more than 15,000

completed online consumer research surveys. Surveys are based on a

nationally-balanced and demographically-representative sample of consumers,

and results are projected to represent the entire population of U.S.

consumers.

About The NPD Group, Inc.

Since 1967 The NPD Group has provided reliable and comprehensive consumer

and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,400

manufacturers and retailers rely on NPD to help them better understand their

customers, product categories, distribution channels and competition in order

to help guide their businesses. Information from The NPD Group is available for

the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, consumer technology,

entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, software,

sports, technology distribution channel, toys and wireless. For more