Prodigy offers free subscriptions to its Interest Group mailing lists

Business Wire, June 20, 1996

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 20, 1996--Prodigy today announced availability of nearly 50 mailing lists linked to the company's popular Internet-based Interest Groups. The free lists are available to Prodigy members or anyone connected to the Internet with an email address.

Net surfers can find out more information and sign up for one or more of the mailing lists at http://www.goodstuff.prodigy.com. Once enrolled, they can participate in electronic discussion groups that focus on everything from astrology and gaming to horse racing and the Olympics. Visitors to the "goodstuff" Web site can also download the software necessary to access the Prodigy service and its nearly 175 Interest Group sites. While mailing lists are free to anyone on the Internet, Interest Groups are available only to Prodigy subscribers.

Mailing lists are forums for electronic discussion that allow people who share common interests to communicate regularly via email. Lists are a great way for people to keep up on the latest news about a given topic, find out what people are talking about, voice their opinions and meet others who share a common passion. Most lists are a discussion group format and open to anyone who subscribes, while others are moderated by one or a few people who manage the correspondence for the entire group.

"The boundaries between the Prodigy service and the Internet continue to fall," said Josh Grotstein, senior vice president of content at Prodigy. "Expanding our Interest Group mailing lists beyond the Prodigy service is yet another step in our continued migration to the Web."

Interest Groups -- available exclusively to Prodigy subscribers -- combine editorial content with interactive communications and links to related Web pages. Interest Group sites are hosted by expert moderators who are especially passionate about their interest areas. These moderators are responsible for maintaining the editorial content as well as ensuring that there are fresh reliable links to related Web pages, Usenet Newsgroups, Bulletin Boards and Chat rooms.

Prodigy Services Co. is creator and distributor of Prodigy, the pioneering consumer online service that's been available nationally since 1990, and the most recognized brand name in the online industry. The Prodigy service offers its members full access to the Web, Usenet Newsgroups, real-time Chat, email, bulletin boards, shareware libraries, a multimedia encyclopedia, news, sports, online banking and brokerage, more than 150 Interest Groups, and other original content. To join, call 1-800-PRODIGY (1-800-776-3449). Software is shipped at no charge, first month's membership fee is waived, and 20 hours are provided to explore all of Prodigy's offerings. The software can also be downloaded from the Web at www.prodigy.com.

Prodigy Services Co. provides many Internet-related products and services, in addition to the Prodigy service. They include independent Web sites such as STiM, a monthly guide to online pop and Web culture; Chat Soup, dedicated exclusively to celebrity appearances on the Net; Baseball Manager, a unique fantasy baseball game that lets players set daily lineups; Living Digital, the first "how-to" Web site for the Internet; and many others. Prodigy also funds promising Internet-based content providers through its Wildflower Partners division. Additionally, Prodigy offers &Partners, a partnership program that provides organizations with the capability to privately brand an Internet access product with its own name, packaging and marketing. -0- Note to Editors:

Prodigy's press releases are available via email. To subscribe to Prodigy's listserv, send a message to list@soho.nyc.prodigy.com with no subject line and the message: JOIN press-release [your e-mail address].

CONTACT: Mike Darcy

Prodigy

914/448-8846

darcy@prodigy.com