Talk about inaccurate. Look at the bold type:
REDMOND, WASHINGTON, U.S.A., 1998 NOV 25 (NB) -- By Matt Hines,
Newsbytes. Microsoft Corp. [NASDAQ:MSFT] announced today that it
has signed an agreement making successful Web outlet Amazon.com
[NASDAQ:AMZN] the premier music retailer on the MSN shopping channel,
the MSN.COM portal page, and other selected properties in its
network of Internet sites. Shares in Amazon.com immediately swelled
on Wall Street, gaining $8 5/8.
This is the second deal that MSN has signed with a music retail
outlet. Microsoft announced a pact with K-Tel International Inc.
earlier this month but officials said that today's deal is more
significant. While K-Tel's agreement makes it a "tenant" partner
with links in a specific music center, Amazon.com will gain exposure
as a premier partner across the entire MSN network.
Shares in K-Tel
soared when it announced its MSN deal as well. The firm jumped
$9.625 on Wall Street immediately after its original MSN
announcement but has fallen over the past several weeks.
Microsoft spokesmen said that Amazon.com's premier status will earn
it high visibility in a number of ways. As the exclusive music provider
on the MSN.COM portal page, Amazon.com will have a "Buy Music Quick"
link as well as a rotating contextual merchandising message.
Amazon.com will also take the anchor position on the MSN shopping
channel for the music and video area, Microsoft said. The firm will
offer users direct links to Amazon.com for finding and buying CD, DVD
and VHS titles. In addition, Amazon.com will have promotional offerings
consisting of advertising banners, text placements and graphical links
across the network.
"We welcome Amazon.com as our Premier Music Merchant on MSN Shopping
and the MSN.COM portal and as an advertiser across MSN," said
Charlotte Guyman, general manager of the online sales and marketing
team at Microsoft. "We think MSN offers Amazon.com the best of both
worlds -- tremendous reach off the home page and the targeted shopping
audience provided by MSN Shopping."
Microsoft's Web network should also benefit from the presence of
Amazon.com as well. The site has been pointed to by many as a rare
example of a profitable Web-based retail operation. Its site
opened in July 1995 and is now considered to be the world's
largest book store. Amazon.com claims to inventory over 3 million
books, music CDs, audio books, videos, DVDs and computer games at
present.
Amazon.com is located online at amazon.com
The MSN network can be found online at msn.com
Reported By Newsbytes News Network, newsbytes.com |
