ABC.Com Launches Online Store; Merchandise from ABC Daytime Programming, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and ABC-TV Specials to be Featured

Business Wire, Dec 3, 1999

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 3, 1999--

ABC.com (http://abc.go.com), the official Web site of the ABC Television Network and part of GO.com (NYSE: GO), has launched an online store featuring merchandise from ABC's most popular programming including ABC Daytime, the successful "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and primetime specials. Visitors also can purchase CD's, books and videos related to their favorite ABC shows and specials.

"Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable making purchases online and ABC fans have expressed interest in buying items tied to their favorite shows," said Brian Bowman, vice president and general manager, ABC.com. "We are pleased to offer our visitors the convenience of online shopping and the opportunity to enhance their relationships with their favorite ABC shows."

In just the first eight days of the November 1999 sweep, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" had already reached almost half of the total of the TV audience of the United States. To serve fans of the incredibly popular show, the ABC.com Store will have several "Millionaire" products available, including the CD-ROM version of the game, a baseball hat and two t-shirts. ABC.com sold some "Millionaire" merchandise during the run of the show, resulting in one of the site's most successful commerce promotions.

In addition, ABC Daytime fans will be able to order the official "All My Children" Crystal Ball keepsake. On "All My Children," the Crystal Ball has become an annual holiday event, attended by Pine Valley's most illustrious residents. This year for the first time, guests will receive invitations to Edmund Grey's (John Callahan) renowned ball in the form of a diamond-shaped crystal keepsake. Viewers can join in the celebration by purchasing a glass replica of the crystal invitation seen on "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" through ABC.com for $17.99 (plus applicable shipping costs).

Also, ABC.com will offer in its store the very same mugs the ladies on "The View" sip from everyday. Mugs in both green and yellow will be available for fans of the show.

ABC.com has undertaken several e-commerce efforts leading up to the launch of the ABC.com Store. This past summer, ABC Daytime and ABC.com teamed up for the highly successful e-commerce initiative in which ABC Daytime fans were able to order the official 1999 Nurse's Ball T-shirt, as seen on "General Hospital" and "Port Charles." Viewers were able to purchase the T-shirt, which was featured within programming and was the subject of on-air promotion, for a limited time on ABC.com or via an 800-number for the length of the promotion. While the T-shirts were available online and offline, nearly 60% of the purchases were sold on ABC.com. Although this is the second time T-shirts have been available to fans, this initiative marked the first time the shirts were offered via e-commerce. In the spirit of Valentine's Day 1999, the ladies of "The View" shared with viewers their book, CD and video gift picks for celebrating the most passionate day of the year. In conjunction, ABC.com made those items mentioned by "The View" hosts available for purchase via the Internet, which was the first-ever Web commerce partnership tie-in for ABC.

ABC.com is part of GO.com (NYSE: GO), a newly formed Internet company that is the result of a merger between Infoseek Corporation and The Walt Disney Company's online unit, Buena Vista Internet Group (BVIG). GO.com oversees many of the Web's most popular sites and services, including the go.com portal, ABC.com, ABCNEWS.com, Disney.com, Disneystore.com, ESPN.com, ABCSports.com, NFL.com, NBA.com, NASCAR Online, Family.com and Mr. Showbiz.