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NBC enters a Web portal
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June 9, 1998: 11:45 a.m. ET
Broadcaster buys 5 percent stake in CNET, forms venture to run Snap!
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - In the first marriage of its kind between a national broadcast network and a Web-based media service, NBC said Tuesday it had agreed to purchase a minority stake in "Snap!", an Internet portal service owned by CNET Inc. that lets users find and organize just about anything in cyberspace.
Under the terms of the deal, NBC will purchase a 4.99 percent equity interest in CNET and team up with the San Francisco-based Internet media company to operate Snap! as a joint venture.
NBC will also acquire an unspecified minority stake in Snap!, with the option to increase its holding to 60 percent.
Shares of CNET (CNWK) rose 6-1/16 to 39-1/16 in early trade Tuesday, while GE (GE) stock slipped 1/8 to 84-5/16.
Marty Yudkovich, NBC's president for interactive media, declared in a statement Tuesday that the CNET deal stood at "the crossroads between traditional media and Internet."
"What NBC and CNET are doing together will bring the power of branding, promotion, mass media sensibilities and strong advertiser relationships to the crucial Internet portal business," said Marty Yudkovitz, the president of NBC interactive media.
Yudkovitz added: "There is so much choice in the Internet and new media world, it needs to be organized and directed. That calls for a place for consumers to start from."
NBC has been an Internet trailblazer in the television industry since August 1995, when the network launched its popular entertainment site, NBC.com, on the World Wide Web.
More recently, the network linked up with Microsoft to create MSNBC.com, a 24-hour news site that draws on the resources of NBC News and MSNBC cable news.
Wide-ranging Web sites
Tuesday's announcement, however, marks the first foray by a television broadcaster into the fast-growing market for Internet content, directory and search services. CNET Inc., the San Francisco-based parent company of "Snap!", provides information about computers, digital technology and the Internet through numerous Web sites and television.
CNET's wide-ranging Web sites include News.com, Cnet.com, computers.com, gamecenter.com, builder.com, download.com, search.com and ComputerESP.com. The company also produces several television programs that run on the USA Network, the Sci-Fi channel and in national syndication, reaching an estimated 8 million viewers.
The Snap! Internet portal revolves around a growing cluster of Web sites designed to let users quickly track down information on topics that run the gamut from Arts and Humanities to Shopping, Sports and Travel. The site, which is similar to other Internet search engines like Yahoo! and Excite, also features content from more than 75 Web publishers.
NBC, a unit of General Electric, owns and operates the NBC television network and 13 television stations. The company also maintains NBC Interactive Neighborhood, an Internet community service targeted to local viewers.
Bob Wright, NBC's president and chief executive officer, said he believes the partnership with CNET will serve as a sort of revolving door between the companies' respective media for millions of information seekers. At present, Wright said, more than three-quarters of the country is yet to get online.
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