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INTERNET AND DIRECT MARKETING The Walt Disney Company’s wide-ranging Internet businesses were consolidated last year under two major strategic initiatives: the start-up of the GO Network and the acquisition of Infoseek. The Walt Disney Company agreed to purchase the remainder of Infoseek last July, and in November, the wholly-owned Infoseek was combined with Disney’s Internet and Direct Marketing businesses to establish a new business group called GO.com. A new class of common stock was issued to reflect the performance of this new Internet business. Also last year, Steve Bornstein was named chairman of GO.com. Bornstein, with an extensive background in the television arena as one of the founders of ESPN and the recent president of ABC, brings the vision and expertise needed to guide GO.com as the Internet evolves into a true entertainment medium. GO NETWORK Last January, Disney and Infoseek launched the GO Network. GO has all the services that Web users have come to expect in a portal site, including e-mail, a search engine, chat rooms, auctions, stock updates, maps and weather -- information from around the block or around the world. The GO Network also brings together all of the company’s web sites into one user-friendly interactive hub. At GO.com, some of the most popular sites on the Internet, such as ESPN.com, Disney.com, ABC.com and ABCNEWS.com, are united with the Infoseek search engine and other outstanding features. This depth and breadth set GO.com apart from other services now available online. In the coming years, the advent of broadband transmission of full-motion video should transform the Internet into a powerful new medium that blends the best of the computer world and the world of television. GO has already undertaken a variety of convergence efforts that meld today’s television and computer offerings into new forms of entertainment. DISNEY.COM As the company’s flagship Web site, Disney.com is the top-ranked family entertainment destination on the World Wide Web. Disney.com’s “The Zeether” is a special area created just for kids, which offers games, interactive storybooks, activities, celebrity chats and multimedia D-mail. ZoogDisney.com allows kids to interact with the Zoog Disney telecasts on the Disney Channel, offering polls, games and activities that bring together the on-air and online worlds. Individual Disney business units can also be accessed through this site. Disney.com posts the latest news and information on the company, including the annual fact book and this report. ESPN.COM GO.com also has the top-ranked sports network on the Web, with the popular ESPN.com and the official sites of such major sports leagues as NFL.com, NBA.com, WNBA.com and NASCAR.com. ESPN.com provides up-to-the-minute news, scores and statistics for all major sports events. In addition, ESPN.com began hosting one of the most ambitious convergence projects to date last fall by working with the NFL, ABC and ESPN to provide “Enhanced TV” coverage of 39 NFL games, including all Sunday night and Monday night contests. “Enhanced TV” brings interactive content through the Internet that is synchronized with game telecasts, giving fans a richer sports viewing experience than ever before. ABCNEWS.COM
ABCNEWS.com combines the editorial acumen of ABC News with cutting-edge streaming technologies to provide comprehensive 24-hour coverage of national, international and local news, as well as in-depth sports, entertainment, business, science and health coverage. Last fall, ABCNEWS.com successfully introduced the first regularly scheduled live, Internet-only news program. Hosted by Sam Donaldson, SamDonaldson@ABCNEWS.com airs three times a week. Thus far, guests have included former President George Bush, Governor Jesse Ventura and actor and community activist Edward James Olmos. ABCNEWS.com also has micro-sites such as Mr. Showbiz, an irreverent source of entertainment news, and Wall of Sound, which covers the music world. |
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