NEW YORK, July 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CKX, Inc. (Nasdaq: CKXE) today announced that it was added to the Russell 1000(R) Index, the Russell 2500(TM) Index, the Russell Midcap(R) Index, the Russell Midcap(R) Growth Index, the Russell Small Cap Completeness(TM) Index and the Russell Small Cap Completeness(TM) Growth Index, according to the final membership lists released by the Russell Investment Group on July 1, 2005. The Russell 1000(R) Index measures the performance of the 1,000 largest companies in the Russell 3000(R) Index and is constructed to provide a comprehensive and unbiased barometer for the large-cap segment of the U.S. equity market.

"This is an important achievement for CKX at this early stage in our development and reflects the fact that investors are interested in our growth strategy and accomplishments to date," said Robert F.X. Sillerman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CKX. "We believe that being a member of the Russell indexes will increase our visibility to the investment community and facilitate greater fund interest in our stock."

CKX recently raised $253.0 million in a public stock offering and was added to the Russell 3000 Index(R) in June 2005.

Russell indexes are widely used by investment managers and institutional investors for index funds and as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. More than $2.5 trillion in assets currently are benchmarked to them. Investment managers who oversee these funds purchase shares of member stocks according to that company's weighting in the particular index. The Russell 1000(R) Index offers investors access to the extensive large-cap segment of the U.S. equity universe representing approximately 92% of the U.S. market.

About CKX, Inc.

CKX, Inc. is engaged in the ownership, development and commercial utilization of entertainment content. To date, we have focused on acquiring globally recognized entertainment content and related assets, including the rights to the name, image and likeness of Elvis Presley, the operations of Graceland and proprietary rights to the IDOLS television brand, including the American Idol series in the United States, the Pop Idol series in the United Kingdom and local adaptations of the IDOLS television show format which, collectively, air in over 30 countries around the world. We plan to continue to make strategic acquisitions of, or partner or align with, companies or individuals that control various forms of established entertainment content, which may include intellectual property rights in music, film, television programming, written works and characters, rights to names, images and likenesses, video games, corporate brands and other related assets For more information about CKX, Inc., visit our corporate website at http://www.ckx.com.

SOURCE CKX, Inc.

CONTACT: Media, Sean Cassidy, +1-212-981-5233, or Ed Tagliaferri, +1-212-981-5182, both for CKX, Inc. -0- Jul/13/2005 12:30 GMT

Last Updated: July 13, 2005 08:30 EDT