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News
Diller's next move: all Net
February 9, 1999: 6:16 p.m. ET

Will Lycos deal push cable, network TV business into 21st century?
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Barry Diller is nothing if not a dealmaker du jour. With his bid to take control of Lycos Inc., he wants to become the dealmaker du tomorrow.
     Diller -- the man who brought you Bart Simpson, the Monday night movie and the Home Shopping Network -- on Tuesday turned his sights squarely onto the Internet with the Lycos deal, and in the process made a bold bid to build the much-talked-about entertainment and online retailing complex of the 21st century.
     His USA Networks Inc. (USAI), a cable and broadcast company that also sells goods online, on television and over the telephone, agreed to take control of Lycos, one of the most popular portals, or gateways, to the Internet.
     Lycos (LCOS), which has been snapping up smaller Internet sites to boost its audience, had been talking to a host of big-name suitors. But it decided to join up with USA Networks because of what Diller was willing to include in the new company: Ticketmaster (TMCS), Home Shopping Network and other assets.
     The hope is that the companies can profit not by selling advertising -- as has been the case for traditional and new media companies -- but by promoting and selling goods directly to consumers over the Internet.
     Can he succeed?
     "He's proved himself pretty adept at predicting the next big trends in the entertainment and online industries," said analyst Alan Alper at Gomez Advisors Inc., a research firm specializing in consumer e-commerce issues.
     "He's got the pieces in place and (while) there are no guarantees here, he does have a track record of success."
     Even Diller admits the bet is a bold one.
     "We're at the very beginning of all this architecture," he told CNNfn. Still, he said: "There is no excuse now for us not to be a dominant player as the world continues its transition towards interactive systems."
     Diller has wanted to merge Internet and more conventional media assets for some time. But looking to the future is nothing new for a man widely regarded as one of the most innovative people in the entertainment industry.
     While a vice president at ABC in the 1960s and '70s, he pioneered the made-for-TV movie, an innovation in the industry that changed Americans' view of television.
     During his 10 years as head of Paramount Pictures, the studio produced and distributed "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and other movies that transformed the studio into one of the hottest names in Hollywood.
     In the 1980s, he helped build the Fox network and introduced America to "The Simpsons," "Married With Children" and the tabloid news show "A Current Affair."
     After leaving Fox in 1992, Diller moved into the home-shopping business and finally back into television in earnest.
     Eventually he cobbled together a hybrid of cable networks and 13 broadcast stations in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago and other top markets, including Home Shopping Network, and then threw Ticketmaster, with its growing online business, into the mix.
     For all his complex dealmaking -- during the way he failed in bids to buy Paramount and CBS -- the deal to buy Lycos is one of his most complex yet. It may also be his most forward-looking.
     --by staff writer Steven Radwell Back to top

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.