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AOL's Digital City Profitable In January
ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news)'s Digital City network scored an operating profit in January, a first for the No. 1 Internet service provider's online local listings venture, a top AOL executive said Tuesday.
''We had an operating profit for the first time in January. We're the first to get there,'' AOL Studios president Ted Leonsis told reporters after a presentation to an investors conference sponsored by Raymond James & Associates.
Leonsis declined to detail the operating profits, saying AOL does not break out segment performance. Digital City is a local content network and interactive community guide on AOL.
AOL, with 16 million subscribers, plans to expand Digital City and is already ahead of rivals Citysearch and Microsoft Corp.'s Sidewalk, which also provide local listings, restaurant reviews, and links to local vendors and Internet sites, Leonsis said.
''We've got a well-know brand,'' he said. ''Local is the next big thing.''
Leonsis told investors that Digital City is among several brands, including AOL itself and CompuServe, which AOL now owns, that are helping his company become a major media player. He said it had more users online during evening hours than many prominent cable programs had viewers.
AOL, in its last fiscal year ending in June, had $2.6 billion in revenues. Raymond James analyst Phil Leigh forecasts that AOL will have revenues of $4 billion this fiscal year and $5.28 billion in fiscal 2000. |
