(FON) EarthLink & Sprint Go Broadband Big Time With GO.com's ABCNEWS.com and ESPN.com, FOXNews.com, FOXSports.com and ZDNet
PASADENA, Calif., Dec 16, 1999 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
EarthLink Secures Four Major Broadband Content Deals for
EarthLink Sprint DSL, Sprint High Speed DSL and Sprint ION
EarthLink (Nasdaq: ELNK) has secured major broadband partnerships with
GO.com's ABCNEWS.com and ESPN.com, FOXNews.com, FOXSports.com and ZDNet
for EarthLink and Sprint's (NYSE: FON) high-speed Internet members.
The partnerships will include content such as access to live video news
and video highlights on demand, and will be available to customers of
EarthLink Sprint DSL, Sprint High Speed DSL and Sprint ION.
The agreements will leverage EarthLink's existing narrowband content
partnerships or Premiere Partnerships to deliver customized content
optimized for broadband services like EarthLink Sprint DSL and Sprint
ION. The new broadband content will be easily accessible through the
EarthLink Sprint Personal Start Page and special broadband content
sections of Sprint's High Speed DSL and Sprint ION services.
"Our Premiere Partners have helped EarthLink offer some of the best
Internet content available to our 1.5 million EarthLink Sprint dial-up
members over the last two years," said Howard Lefkowitz, vice president
of business development and Internet marketing at EarthLink. "The
success of those relationships has paved the way for us to offer
top-notch content to our broadband members, too."
Lefkowitz added: "By crafting these and future deals on behalf of both
EarthLink and Sprint, we achieved a unified content and commerce
offering across the EarthLink and Sprint portals. It's a win for our
members, a win for EarthLink and Sprint, and a win for partners who
have one point of contact -- narrowband to broadband."
"These kinds of agreements are key to enriching customers' online
experiences," said Len Lauer, president of Sprint's Consumer Services
Group. "The combination of exciting and compelling broadband content
and high-speed connections will finally deliver on the Internet's
promise of changing the way people work, play, shop and stay informed."
EarthLink and Sprint are aggressively deploying broadband services to
their members. EarthLink Sprint DSL is currently available in the Bay
Area; Dallas; Los Angeles; San Diego; Charlotte, N.C.; Minneapolis; and
New York. Sprint High Speed DSL, offered by Sprint's Local Telephone
Division, is currently available in Charlottesville, Va.; Orlando,
Fla.; and Las Vegas.
Sprint ION -- a next-generation communications system that integrates
high-speed Internet access with multiple phone lines, local and
long-distance calling -- is currently being offered to consumers in
Denver, Seattle and Kansas City, Mo. All three services are expected to
expand significantly throughout 2000.
Premiere Partner Program
EarthLink's Premiere Partnership program has provided award-winning
content for the company's Personal Start Page through deals with 40
industry-leading companies, including Amazon.com, BigStar.com, CNN,
eBay, E-Stamp, E*Trade, FOXNews.com, FOXSports.com, GO.com's
ABCNEWS.com and ESPN.com, GoTo.com, HotBot/Wired Digital,
InfoSpace.com, MarketWatch.com, MBNA, MessageClick, PayMyBills.com,
Sprint, Strategy.com, Travelscape.com, The Weather Channel, Wherehouse
Music and a number of other leading Internet content and commerce
providers.
The program, a significant incremental revenue driver for EarthLink, is
designed to deliver marketing reach and frequency to Premiere Partners,
familiarize EarthLink Sprint members with Premiere Partner products and
services, and enhance each EarthLink member's Internet experience.
EarthLink reported record incremental revenues of $3 million for the
third quarter of 1999, a 131 percent increase over the same period in
1998. EarthLink is the only pure Internet service provider generating
an increasing amount of significant non-access revenue through its
online marketing channels.
About Sprint
Sprint is a global communications company at the forefront of
integrating long-distance, local and wireless communications services,
and one of the largest carriers of Internet traffic. Sprint built and
operates the United States' first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic
network and is a leader in advanced data communications services.
Sprint has $17 billion in annual revenues and serves more than 20
million business and residential customers.
About EarthLink
"It's Your Internet"
EarthLink is one of the world's leading Internet service providers.
Through its unified EarthLink Sprint Internet access service, the
company makes the Internet relevant and productive to more than 1.566
million individuals and businesses every day.
With headquarters in Pasadena, EarthLink provides a full range of
innovative access, hosting and e-commerce solutions to thousands of
communities internationally from more than 2,300 points of presence.
In September of 1999, EarthLink and MindSpring announced plans to merge
in a transaction that will create the world's second largest Internet
service provider. The new company will be called EarthLink
(Nasdaq: ELNK) and the transaction is expected to close in the first
quarter of 2000.
Information about EarthLink and EarthLink Sprint services is available
by calling 800/395-8425 and through EarthLink's Web site at
www.earthlink.net.
NOTE TO EDITORS: In the company name E*Trade noted in this news
release, there is an asterisk between E and Trade. This symbol may not
appear properly in some systems.
Copyright (C) 1999 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
Distributed via COMTEX.
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