AOL Launches Women's Channel

^AOL, Nickelodeon network mogul join up for women's online channel

^By CHRIS ALLBRITTON= ^AP Cyberspace Writer=

NEW YORK (AP) Eyeing the increasing number and buying power of women online, America Online and Geraldine Laybourne, chairman of Oxygen Media, on Tuesday launched AOL's new Women's Channel.

Resembling women's magazines such as Redbook or Town and Country, the new channel offers horoscopes, interviews, chat and discussion boards and advice on relationships, beauty, health and careers.

"In the '50s, women had the backfence for trading tips on child rearing, cleaning, cooking and other issues," Laybourne said in announcing the venture, which is in operation. "But that backfence has virtually disappeared. The new backfence is online."

The agreement is another in a string of deals that emphasized AOL's shift away from producing original programming, known as content, by relying on other companies to create and maintain niche channels on its network. In August, Intuit Inc., which makes the popular finance program Quicken, agreed to provide content for AOL's Insurance Center. And in June, AOL and Hearst New Media announced a partnership similar to the one with Oxygen Media.

Laybourne's reputation and experience in television was influential in making the deal, said Barry Schuler, president AOL interactive services. Laybourne is a former Disney executive and is credited with the success of the children's network, Nickelodeon. Her two-month-old Oxygen Media will take over AOL's ownership interests in the existing women's sites, Electra, Thrive and Moms Online. Those sites will continue to be available through the Women's Channel.

For Aliza Sherman, who created Cybergrrl Inc., a media company geared toward women, Laybourne's partnership with AOL was a "natural fit."

"We're really excited to see someone like Gerry, who is really a pioneer in her 'first media,' bring her experience to the Net for women," said Sherman. "It provides for the legitimacy of our efforts at Cybergrrl."

Sherman said Laybourne becomes a serious player "overnight" with the deal because of her broadcast experience and the acquisition of Electra, Thrive and Moms Online.

"Gerry has a track record of really understanding audiences, of really delivering the stuff they want," said Schuler. "And there's lots of opportunities for TV and online media to work together."

The reason she left Nickelodeon for the Net, said Laybourne, was that she wasn't pleased with the images of women on sitcoms and other television shows.

"I was shocked," she said. "(Today's women) are basically independent, hard working and loaded with a sense of humor."

And they're coming online. AOL's audience of 13 million people is 51 percent women, up from 16 percent in 1994. The net as a whole is 41.2 percent women, according to the 1998 eOverview Report fom eMarketer. By 2002, the number is expected to match AOL's 51 percent.