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Technology Stocks : America On-Line (AOL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Vendit™ who wrote (29518)	8/17/1999 11:35:00 AM
From: Bazmataz	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 41369

AOL lagging the others, again... AMZN and EBAY are sure showing greater strength here and for the past few days. What will it take for AOL to gain strength again? Anyone??? B

To: Vendit™ who wrote (29518)	8/17/1999 10:57:00 PM
From: puborectalis	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 41369

America Online President Bob Pittman played it cool this morning while his company announced that it has captured more than 18 million subscribers and had taken an equity position in TiVo, a privately held maker of software that lets consumers cobble together their own TV lineups and schedules. At a Kagan Seminars conference in New York, Pittman deflected questions about the real issues of the day for AOL: How the company's negotiations are going with AT&T (T) to gain access to Ma Bell's high-speed cable lines and how AOL plans to deal with the issue of free Internet access in the U.S. Perhaps that's why investors seemed leery of the stock Tuesday. While other Internet stocks rebound strongly, AOL shares fell slightly and hung around $94. Pittman did say that the company will begin offering free Internet service beginning this month. To get it, all you have to do is move to the United Kingdom. As it seeks to grow throughout Europe, where the Internet is still something of a novelty for consumers, AOL is copying the popular Freeserve (FREE) by offering its service without monthly charges. Interestingly, Pittman said the company will market services under the Netscape Online brand overseas. This doesn't mean AOL is suddenly taking on losses in order to build market share -- consumers in the U.K. pay a fee for every local call to their phone company, and a portion of that usually goes to the Internet service provider. (ISPs also can get more advertising and e-commerce revenue with the "free" service.) Pittman, like any executive before a hive of reporters, steered away from specifics. He spent some time discussing AOL TV, the in-process service the company hopes to sell to cable operators. This topic got audience members curious about prospects for a deal between AOL and AT&T, the nation's largest cable provider. AT&T is currently locking AOL out of its network, forcing its subscribers to use service from Excite At Home (ATHM). Pittman wouldn't characterize discussions with AT&T or Excite At Home. He chose instead to ladle the crowd with honey, telling them in his confident drawl that "economics always win, and smart people always figure it out." Pittman is hoping AOL TV, a customized software package that emphasizes instant messaging and shopping, will bring AOL and the cable companies together. "TV is [something] everybody watches together," Pittman said, "and Instant Messenger is perfect for that." The TiVo deal was the concrete announcement concerning AOL TV. With the investment, AOL pledges to collaborate with TiVo on future interactive-TV offerings. After the panel, Pittman exuded confidence that the nation's cable operators will want their AOL TV -- even if the operators have allegiances to other interactive properties. He said operators will be better off having multiple services rather than just one. But Pittman wouldn't flesh out a schedule for the new services. "You tell me when the market's ready," he told us as he walked out of the hotel. AA