This is the kind of crap which made me sell my position in MSFT last year. So, MSN is more popular than yahoo and aol. Hum. You are they trying to kid. I would begin to worry about tomorrows earnings with spin like this coming out of Redmond. This is trash and I bet thats what Larry found after reviewing the documents from the trash.
Analysts cautious on MSN's claim to be No. 1 on Web
By Reshma Kapadia
NEW YORK, July 17 (Reuters) - Analysts cautioned against attaching too much importance to the claim by Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> on Monday that its Internet services, MSN, had become the No. 1 worldwide Internet destination for consumers.
The company said in a statement that 201 million unique users visited MSN, or Microsoft Services Network during June 2000, according to its own internal data that does not double count users, more than used America Online Inc. <AOL.N> or Yahoo Inc. <YHOO.O>.
But analysts said there are several ways to count users, and also that relative standing is not that important.
"It's not that meaningful. Arguing about who is No. 1, 2 or 3 is not as important. It's easy to distort statistics; measurability of the Web is less than ideal despite all the efforts," said Jordan Rohan, analyst at Wit/Soundview.
MSN's network integrates content and services including its free e-mail service MSN Hotmail, which has more than 67 million active accounts, its instant messaging service MSN Messenger and its online personal finance service MSN MoneyCentral. MSNBC and online travel firm Expedia Inc.'s <EXPE.O> site are also part of its network.
"I suspect that there might be some apples and oranges going on here," said David Card, analyst at Jupiter Communications. "It's clear they are a contender; a lot of people don't give them credit for it. Third party data sources do show Microsoft properties with recast figures as wide as AOL and Yahoo, but I don't think reach is that important. (Usage) time is extremely important and AOL has everyone beat there."
Some analysts said MSN's internal numbers may reflect international growth, which many of the independent data firms do not fully track yet.
According to Media Metrix's most recent multi-country report, which measures about 65 percent of the world's Internet users and measures at-home usage only, AOL's properties saw 72.2 million unique visitors in March. Microsoft's sites were next, with 59.6 million unique visitors and Yahoo was a close third with 58.2 million unique visitors.
However, most analysts said Yahoo has the largest international presence and strongest brand name abroad at the moment, with AOL and MSN trying to make inroads.
In May, MSN said it would spend $90 million in Asia to offer new services and expand its marketing. AOL recently launched its service in Mexico and is planning for an initial public offering of its AOL-Latin America Inc. venture at the end of this month.
While Yahoo is seen as a leader on the international front, analysts said MSN is gaining ground in some countries.
"The real question is do they have scale internationally," Rohan said. "No one is going to look at buying Microsoft because of this. They are buying it because of their applications and operating software, not their Web reach."
Shares of Microsoft were last off 1/2 at 78-7/16 while shares of AOL rose 11/16 to 62-1/2 and shares of Yahoo rallied 5-1/4 at 133-1/4.
13:34 07-17-00
Copyright 2000 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. |
