Lycos Continues Dramatic Climb in Audience Reach, Now At 46.5 Percent of Web Audience; In Dead Heat for the #1 Portal Position

Business Wire, Jan 20, 1999

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 1999--Lycos, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCOS), the second most visited hub on the Internet and owner of the largest Web community, today announced the audience reach of the Lycos Network has grown to 46.5 percent, according to the latest Media Metrix report. Up 15.4 percent since August (trend period stated by Media Metrix), the Lycos Network now attracts 26.3 million visitors monthly and is the fastest-growing Web portal -- now only 1.7 percent reach points from being the most popular portal on the Internet.

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 Audience Reach
 -------------------- ---------------- ---------------- -------------
 Property             Aug-98           Dec-98           % Change
 -------------------- ---------------- ---------------- -------------
 Lycos Network        40.3             46.5             15.4
 -------------------- ---------------- ---------------- -------------
 Yahoo Sites          47.5             48.2             1.5
 -------------------- ---------------- ---------------- -------------
 Excite Network       29.5             29.2             -1.0
 -------------------- ---------------- ---------------- -------------
 Infoseek/Go Network  21.3             22.1             3.8
 -------------------- ---------------- ---------------- -------------
  Source: Media Metrix

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"The Lycos Network has been growing rapidly for the past 10 months and this month's market share data is further testament to the endorsements consumers have been giving our network model," said Bob Davis, president and CEO of Lycos, Inc. "The Web and its growth are all about choice and quality programming -- we give our users both."

The Lycos Network is a multibrand model designed to attract the broadest Web audience by offering a variety of Web sites under one umbrella. All of the Lycos Network's four top 20 Web sites, Lycos.com, Tripod, Angelfire and HotBot, grew significantly over the last five months of 1998, fueled by integration of the properties and circulation of traffic throughout the Network. Each of these sites also leads its category in growth.

About Lycos, Inc.

Founded in 1995, Lycos, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCOS) is a leading Web media company and owner of the Lycos Network, the second most visited hub on the Internet reaching 46.5 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 and Suck.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.

(c)1999 Lycos, Inc. - 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.