Harris Interactive Reports Third Quarter Results

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — May 2, 2008 — Harris Interactive^® (NASDAQ:HPOL) released financial results for its third quarter and fiscal 2008 year-to-date, which ended March 31, 2008.

Q3FY08 consolidated revenue was $57.3 million, up 11% when compared to the same period last year. Acquired companies (Asia, France, Canada and Germany) fiscal third quarter pro forma organic revenue was $11.7 million, up 26%. However, due to revenue declines in the US and UK, consolidated pro forma organic revenue dropped 4%.

Operating loss was $(1.9) million, compared with operating income of $1.4 million reported for the same period last year. The net loss for the quarter was $(2.1) million, or $(0.04) per fully diluted share, compared with net income of $1.2 million or $0.02 per fully diluted share for the third quarter of fiscal 2007. "Lower than anticipated revenue, higher fixed costs, $1.9 million in charges related to cost-reduction actions, an increased effective tax rate and higher interest expenses all added up to a loss in the quarter," stated Ronald E. Salluzzo, CFO. "Even though we have reduced our costs significantly on an annualized basis over the last six months, those actions were not completed quickly enough to counter the entire revenue shortfall. We expect the steps we’ve taken will save approximately $9 million of costs in FY09."

Adjusted EBITDA, calculated by adding back $1.0 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense, was $1.6 million or 2.8% of revenue, down 58% when compared with $3.9 million of adjusted EBITDA, or 7.6% of revenue reported for Q3FY07.

Consolidated bookings were $61.3 million, up 7% when compared with $57.6 million of bookings reported for the same period a year ago. North American bookings increased 17%, while European bookings were down 20%. "Excluding healthcare, we have positive revenue-to-sales ratios in all of our North American custom research groups," said Salluzzo. "Currently, we are seeing very solid bookings in the UK, which, when combined with expected strong performances from France and Germany, should produce improved European bookings growth for the fiscal fourth quarter."

Year-to-date revenue was $175.2 million, up 13% when compared with the same period last year. Pro forma organic revenue dropped 1%. "On a year-to-date basis, pro forma organic revenue growth in Asia, Europe and a number of our North American business units was not enough to offset the substantial revenue decline in our US Healthcare business, resulting in a slight decline in consolidated organic revenue," said Salluzzo.

Operating income for the fiscal-year-to-date was $3.1 million, down 62% when compared with operating income of $8.1 million last year. Net income was $1.0 million, or $0.02 per fully diluted share, down 82% when compared with the same period in fiscal 2007.

Adjusted EBITDA, adding back $3.1 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense, was $13.7 million or 7.8% of revenue, down 14% when compared with $15.9 million of adjusted EBITDA, or 10.3% of revenue reported for the same prior year period.

Fiscal year-to-date consolidated bookings were $180.6 million, up 8.6% versus last year.

As of March 31, 2008, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $31.2 million, up from $29.1 million reported a year ago, and down from $33.3 million of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities reported as of December 31, 2007. The Company had $31.2 million of outstanding debt at March 31, 2008.

"We believe that revenue growth in our healthcare research practice will not return until calendar 2009. However, we have right-sized our expenses and expect to hold the line on costs for the remainder of FY2008, which should set us up well for a good start to FY09," stated Salluzzo. "An expected sequential improvement in Healthcare performance should drive organic pro forma revenue growth in Q4, resulting in revenue of between $237 and $240 million, adjusted EBITDA of between $17 and $19 million, and fully diluted EPS of between $0.01 and $0.03," Salluzzo ended.

The Company will conduct a conference call to discuss these results on Friday, May 2, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. ET. Gregory T. Novak, president and CEO will host the teleconference. Formal remarks will be followed by a question and answer session. To access the conference call, please dial toll-free 888.680.0890 in the United States and Canada, or 617.213.4857 internationally. The participant passcode is 31741547.

A live webcast of the conference call and supporting slides will also be accessible via the investor relations section of the Company's website at www.harrisinteractive.com/ir, where an archived replay of the webcast will be available for 30 days following the call. No telephone replay of the conference call will be provided. This media release, including financial schedules, will be available at our website www.harrisinteractive.com/ir prior to the call.

This media release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking information. We caution you that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed. Additional detailed information concerning a number of factors that could cause actual results to differ is readily available in the "Risk Factors" section of the most recent Annual Report on form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research, powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit http://www.harrisinteractive.com/.

Contact Dan Hucko
SVP, Corporate Communications – Investor Relations
Harris Interactive Inc.
585.214.7470
800.866.7655 x7470

dhucko@harrisinteractive.com

Harris Interactive Key Operating Metrics – Quarterly
^{Updated 5/2/08}

Harris Interactive Key Operating Metrics – Trailing Twelve Months
^{Updated 5/2/08}

Bookings – The contract value of revenue-generating projects expected to take place during the next four fiscal quarters for which a firm client commitment has been received during the current period, less any adjustments to prior period bookings due to contract value adjustments or project cancellations during the current period.

Ending Sales Backlog – Prior period ending sales backlog plus current period bookings less revenue recognized on outstanding projects as of the end of the period.

Average Billable Full-time Equivalents (FTE’s) – The hours of available billable capacity in a given period divided by total standard hours for a full-time employee. This represents an average for the periods reported.

Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) – Accounts receivable as of the end of the applicable period (including unbilled receivables less deferred revenue) divided by our daily revenue (total revenue for the period divided by the number of calendar days in the period).

Utilization – Hours billed by project personnel in connection with specific revenue-generating projects divided by total hours of available capacity. Hours billed do not include marketing, selling, or proposal generation time.

Bookings to Revenue Ratio (B/R) – This ratio is determined by dividing total bookings for the period by total revenue. Ratios above 1.0 are indicative of a growing sales backlog.

NOTE: The metrics presented herein should be evaluated in conjunction with all other reports and documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission during each of the fiscal periods noted above.

*Non-cash stock-based compensation expense represents the cost of stock-based compensation awarded by the Company to its employees under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123(R), "Share-Based Payments" ("SFAS No. 123(R)").