Lycos Passes Yahoo With 51.8% Audience Reach; Becomes Most Visited Portal on the Web

Business Wire, April 21, 1999

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 1999--

Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq:LCOS), today announced that the Lycos Network has surpassed the Yahoo sites to become the most visited hub on the Web with 51.8 percent audience reach, according to the latest Media Metrix report for March 1999. The Lycos Network, the fastest-growing Web portal, now attracts 31.9 million unique visitors monthly. The properties in the Lycos Network grew a total of 34.9 percent in unduplicated reach since April 1998, driven both by the dramatic growth of the individual sites and the circulation of traffic throughout the Network. The other leading portals declined in audience reach during the same period.

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Audience Reach
----------------- ------------ ------------ ---------- ---------------
                  March 1999   April 1998   % Change   Unique visitors
                                                       (in millions)
----------------- ------------ ------------ ---------- ---------------
Lycos Network     51.8         38.4(a)       34.9      31.9
----------------- ------------ ------------ ---------- ---------------
Yahoo Sites       50.8         52.1         -2.5       31.3
----------------- ------------ ------------ ---------- ---------------
Excite Network    30.6         32.8         -6.7       18.9
----------------- ------------ ------------ ---------- ---------------
Source: Media Metrix
(a) Reflects combined unduplicated reach of all current Lycos Network
    properties.

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"An incredibly talented and focused team and our innovative multibrand network strategy helped Lycos reach our aggressive goal to be the most visited Web portal," said Bob Davis, president and CEO of Lycos, Inc. "We have spent a lot of time listening to our users and building products to attract a broad, diverse and loyal audience. By continuing to build successful brands and then circulating traffic throughout the Network, we believe we can maintain substantial growth rates."

Lycos also announced that among heavy Internet users, the Lycos Network is the most popular Web destination in the world, ahead of Yahoo, AOL and Microsoft, according to Media Metrix. Heavy users are defined by Media Metrix as Web users who spend more than 10 hours per month online.

Tripod and Angelfire, the two organically-growing community sites in the Lycos Network, showed sustained and dramatic audience increases over the last year. Angelfire grew 48.4 percent and Tripod grew 40.4 percent since April 1998, far outpacing their leading competitor, according to Media Metrix. These two Lycos sites are home to more than 5 million members, comprising the world's largest online community.

Lycos, Inc., introduced a multibrand model to the Internet in 1998 by assembling a number of leading Web brands, including Lycos.com, Tripod, Angelfire and HotBot, under one umbrella. The network model is designed to attract and circulate the broadest Web audience by offering users the widest variety of Web services and content.

About Lycos, Inc.

Founded in 1995, Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq:LCOS), is a leading Web media company and owner of the Lycos Network, the most visited hub on the Internet reaching 51.8 percent of Web users. The Lycos Network is a unified set of Web sites that attracts a diverse audience by offering a variety of services, including leading Web navigation resources, homepage building and other Web community services and a comprehensive shopping center. The Lycos Network is composed of premium sites: Lycos.com, Tripod, WhoWhere, Angelfire, MailCity, HotBot, HotWired, Wired News, Webmonkey, Suck.com and MyTime.com. Lycos.com (http://www.lycos.com), "Your Personal Internet Guide," is dedicated to helping each individual user locate, retrieve and manage information tailored to his or her personal interests. Headquartered near Boston in Waltham, Mass., Lycos, Inc. is a global Internet leader with a major presence throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.

On February 8, 1999, Lycos, Inc. entered into agreements with USA Networks, Inc. (USAi) and Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch, Inc. (TMCS). Under the agreements, Lycos, TMCS and USAi's Home Shopping Network, Ticketmaster and Internet Shopping Network/First Auction will be combined to form a company to be named USA/Lycos Interactive Networks, Inc. The formation of USA/Lycos is subject to the approval of the Lycos stockholders and customary regulatory approvals.

Note to Editors: Lycos(R) is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon University. All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of Lycos or their respective owners. All rights reserved.