nettime-nl: Netscape in slew of content deals

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   portals en content komt op!
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Netscape in slew of content deals
By Paul Festa
October 15, 1998, 11:50 a.m. PT
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C27594%2C00.html?sas.mail

Netscape Communications today announced partnerships with content providers
for its Netcenter portal site, a day after announcing enhancements to its
international sites.

    As reported yesterday by CNET News.com, the partners are the Rolling
Stone Network, Entertainment Tonight Online, the Children's Television
Workshop, Headbone Interactive, MaMaMedia, and Yucky.com.   

  Other partners  include Women.com, Ask Jeeves,  BabyCenter, Hoffman +
Associates, and Nickolai.com, Netscape said today. The  partners will help
fill out Netcenter's new "Entertainment" and "Kids and  Family" channels.

  

  After watching its dominance in the browser market diminish in the face
of a concerted challenge from Microsoft, Netscape this year decided to
enter the portal business that has made competitor Yahoo one of the most
successful sites on the Web.  

  Netscape has been making up for its late entry into the market by
devoting its front door to Netcenter, integrating it with the Navigator
browser (which still enjoys a plurality market share), and forming content
and technology partnerships with dozens of firms, including  CNET: The
Computer Network, publisher of News.com.

    But analysts give the company mixed marks for its portal push,
particularly in the consumer market at which today's content deals are
aimed. For example, some note that Netcenter's user base is weighted
heavily toward people who use the site from work, which will complicate any
consumer focus. A study released today shows Navigator staving off Internet
Explorer's workplace challenge, increasing its share to 60 percent of
surveyed U.S. firms.

    More than a quarter of Netscape's revenues come from Netcenter through
licensing deals and advertising. The company is expected to rely even more
heavily on the portal in the future.

    Today's content deals follow announcements made yesterday concerning
Netcenter's efforts to broaden its international reach. Netscape is adding
local content, Netscape-branded search powered by Excite, and locally
provided search and directory information to versions of Netcenter for
Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain,
 and the United Kingdom. Netcenter also is working with Lycos-Bertelsmann
to offer local content channels.  

  Other countries, regions, and cities with Netcenter sites include Brazil,
Canada, China, Hong Kong, Italy, Korea, Latin America, and Taiwan.

    "We're enhancing international sites with new content and services to
make them into portals," said Steven Reade, a managing director with
Netcenter. "We have had sites internationally, but thus far we haven't had
the portal services that we've had in the U.S. since launching Netcenter
2.0 at the end of June."

    Other services headed for the international sites include Web-based
email  and personalization.

                     


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