Infoseek Corp.and Bell Atlantic signed a three-year
agreement to enable small- and medium-sized businesses to conduct commerce on
the Web.
The companies said the deal also provides consumers who visit the GO Network and Bell Atlantic’s BigYellow with a more fulfilling shopping
experience. Financial specifics were not disclosed.
The companies said the agreement “is the first to pair a major Internet
portal with
the large sales force of a leading shopping media company to provide an
shopping solution,” including storefront and e-commerce site creation,
hosting, shopping directory links, Internet marketing resources and
distribution.
In a revenue-sharing arrangement, Infoseek, home of the GO Network, selected
Bell Atlantic’s BigYellow as its exclusive online Yellow Pages shopping
directory for GO Network. In addition, Bell Atlantic will serve as Infoseek’s
exclusive yellow
pages sales agent for electronic storefronts and e-commerce enabled sites on
the GO Network.
Web sites sold by Bell Atlantic will now be featured on the shopping areas
and pages within the GO Network. Also, Bell Atlantic customers will have
access to information to manage their sites through the GO Network Small
Business Center. Bell Atlantic creates, hosts and links Web sites for
businesses under the Web@Once brand.
“Combining the integrated commerce platform of GO Network with the experience
Bell Atlantic brings in helping businesses attract customers and establish an
online presence provides businesses with essential online solutions,” said
Harry Motro, president and CEO of Infoseek.
“This partnership is a big win for shoppers and merchants,” said Mat Stover,
president of Bell Atlantic Directory Group. “BigYellow enables people to find
shopping information for more than 11 million businesses across the United
States. In addition, our Bell Atlantic sales people and affiliated channels
will provide merchants with additional shoppers from GO Network and added
e-commerce functionality. For small and medium-sized businesses that have
not yet established a Web presence, our partnership will offer the best way
to get started.”
GO Network was launched in January 1999 by Infoseek in partnership with The
Walt Disney Company and is the online home of brands such as ABCNEWS.com,
ESPN.com, Disney.com and Family.com for kids and family, Infoseek for search,
and Disney.com and ABC.com for entertainment.