Tim...
Please read
AOL to promote Microsoft's Slate magazine
SEATTLE, Sept 16 (Reuter) - Microsoft Corp.'s high-profile online magazine Slate will try to win more readers under an agreement with America Online Inc. announced Tuesday.
Under the one-year deal Slate, edited by Michael Kinsley, will become an ``anchor tenant'' of America Online's revamped News Channel Newsstand, to be launched next month. Anchor tenants, which also will include The New York Times, will have a continuous presence as icons on the main Newsstand menu, an AOL spokeswoman said.
Slate will pay an undisclosed fee to America Online, which in turn will guarantee a minimum number of viewer impressions over the term of the contract, said Microsoft marketing manager Paige Prill.
I have no problem reading. Do you? You seemed to miss the portion I bolded for you when you went searching through the press releases.
Secondly, I said that MSFT thought the money was in WebTV and content, which is why they have decided to spend their money on, you guessed it, WebTV and content. They are NOT looking to MSN as their future, which is pretty obvious. As I said before, they could gather eyeballs for MSN anytime they wanted to if they thought there was money in it. AOL doesn't care if there is money in it. Their mission, made so abundantly clear by stock sales, is to keep the stock price juiced.
Do you honestly feel that MSN is simply sitting around?? Do they discuss how not to gain subs? Gather eyeballs anytime they wanted to! If that were true they would already have more subs than AOL. If they didn't think there was money in it, why bother? We are all in it to make money. That is the weakest support I have ever heard of...we're not going to make any money guys, but lets sink a few hundred million into a venture anyway...
As for having great content, I did not say that Microsoft had great content. I said that the have decided to spend some of their cash hoard creating it. And, given that cash hoard, I do believe they have a far better shot pulling it off than AOL.
Why would MSN continue to spend money on something that won't make any in your view? If you placing your bets on Bill, please tell me why he is spending money on a business he won't make money on. Because he is a cash cow and likes to throw money out the window?
Like I said, when WebTV begins shipping in volume, I and everyone else will take notice. 100,000 boxes ain't going to cut it. Period. I never said there was no potential - there just has to be evidence of it.
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