Largest Footprint

Published: 23 October 1999 y., Saturday
In a move seen by some analysts as an effort to trump chief rival Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch, AOL announced yesterday that it is expanding its Digital City guides from 60 to more than 200 cities by early next year. Both companies currently offer local entertainment listings, tourist guides, restaurant listings, dating services and ticket ordering. However, according to July figures from Web tracker Media Metrix, Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch pulled out in front of Digital City in popularity by registering 8 million user visits as compared to AOL_s 5 million. Confirming this growing drawing power of local content is the 1999 America Online/Roper-Starch CyberStudy. The report found that 54 percent of users who have been online at least one year check local entertainment offerings. To take advantage of this growth, AOL said that its expansion of Digital City will make it the leader in local content arena, with the largest national footprint of any local content provider. "Digital City_s expansion plans will strengthen our lead as the number one content provider and position us for continued growth as local online content becomes increasingly important to consumers," said Paul DeBenedictis, president of AOL_s Digital City. All the same, AOL_s fierce competitor Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch seems to have similar plans. In July, Ticketmaster Online CitySearch paid Microsoft about $240 million (US$) in stock for competitor Sidewalk.com -- which was about $200 million in the red. A month earlier, it also snagged the nation_s two leading online dating services. Some analysts feel that acquiring these properties was a brilliant maneuver, since personal ads now give CitySearch more than 400,000 active users who pay as much as $25 per month. Personal ads also fuel much of Digital City_s success. By making these acquisitions, Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch was able to build up its holdings to a total of 77 guides, as compared to Digital City_s 60. Additionally, it secured distribution deals with Lycos, MSN and Excite@Home, giving it access to more traffic than AOL
Šaltinis: E-Commerce Times
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

Apple fans abuzz over new iMac

With Apple Computer's next iMac expected to be unveiled as soon as next week, Mac fan sites are buzzing with speculation over the design more »

Veritas opens China shop

Like many of the major IT players, Veritas has stepped up its presence in China courtesy of a separate corporate entity in the country and a new development center more »

China Cracks Down on Internet Porn

China will improve its long-term mechanism to combat Internet pornography, according to a senior official of the Ministry of Information Industry here Thursday more »

search.lt news

search.lt presents newest links more »

Microsoft lets companies block SP2 upgrade

Although Microsoft recommends that consumers turn on Automatic Update to get the latest version of Windows, the company is offering to let companies temporarily block such upgrades more »

Linux 'no threat' to Windows on the desktop

Benefits not enough to warrant a major shift in platform strategy, finds report more »

HP Makes Services Buy, Embraces DAT

HP is acquiring IT services provider Synstar for $297 million in cash to shore up its overseas presence as it battles IBM's Global Services division more »

Wi-Fi phones make a splash

Cell phone makers plan to release so-called Wi-Fi phones ahead of schedule more »

Street Access to the Cyberhighway

TCC Teleplex chief Dennis Novick says pay phones with high-speed Net connections in New York City are only the start of its plans more »

Gates Touts 'Modeling' Era For Software

New software modeling systems are breaking out of academia and making their way into Microsoft's product pipeline, the company's chairman said Thursday more »