DISNEY CO. UPGRADES INTERNET SITE.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

In a major expansion of its Internet business, the Walt Disney Co. is upgrading its Disney Online service today as part of its continuing effort to be the leading purveyor of family entertainment.

The changes include revamping the look and setting up four new channels: Today Disney, Family, Kids and Shop. Disney.com already draws 350,000 visits per day, making it by far the leading family oriented site on the Web, according to Disney Online chief Jake Winebaum.

``The temptation was to do 20 channels,'' said Winebaum, the father of two children. ``What we've got is four sites that are really easy to navigate.''

Disney.com was first launched in February 1996 as a promotional site for the Burbank-based company's movies, theme parks and other businesses. It then rolled out a Family.com information site in late 1996. Both sites were aimed at Disney's most crucial customers - parents of children 3 to 12.

``We feel that families are the most underserved part of the population by the Web,'' said Winifred Wechsler, senior vice president for the Disney.com site. ``What we're trying to do is give them a place on the Internet that feels warm and familiar.''

Today Disney.com includes daily updates about the company's movies, TV shows, theme parks, books and Disney trivia. Family includes Family.com with event information and advice from more than 100 local parenting magazines. Kids offers activities and games, many of which have already appeared on the Daily Blast subscription site. Shop is a shopping service allowing the purchase and shipment of customized gifts, as well as booking of vacations to Disney World and Disneyland.

Since Disney.com is free, increased revenues from the upgrades won't be significant, noted analyst Linda Bannister of Edward Jones. ``They're building awareness of their products and services,'' she said. ``They have to be on the Internet.''

Still, Disney did not become the world's largest entertainment concern - revenues for its fiscal year ended Sept. 30 are estimated at $22.7 billion - without keeping both eyes on the bottom line, and analysts believe expanding the site will pay off.

``Disney is a very brand-driven company, so it makes sense for them to be assertive and innovative to promote the site,'' said Stewart Halpern, an analyst with Furman Selz. He noted that online sales operations tend to be relatively high-margin, ``so Disney's expansion of that makes sense.''

Bannister said if there is ever a resolution to the Internet's bandwidth problem - the mind-numbing delays that occasionally occur when phone lines to online services clog up - the opportunities for commerce will be extensive. ``So Disney has to be there and ready if that happens,'' she said.

Besides giving Disney a new shopping area and reinforcing mass awareness of its theme parks, films, TV shows and consumer goods, the expansion will pump up awareness of its 6-month-old, subscription-based Daily Blast, which sells for $4.95 a month and $39.95 a year.

Blast features up to 40 segments changed weekly, such as jokes (``Refrigerator of Horrors''), trivia (``Gertie's Slang''), and contests and games (``Detective in Jar''). Blast also will be upgraded Nov. 17. A new Dmail electronic-mail feature will allow parents to specify where messages can be sent.

Analysts were skeptical when Disney Blast launched in April because few Web ventures had been able to charge for entertainment and news programming, and most were not able to make much money by charging for advertising.

Winebaum said an impressive initial show of customer loyalty - 1.6 visits per day and an average visit of 23 minutes - has eliminated those concerns at Disney Online headquarters in North Hollywood. ``You don't see those kind of figures anywhere except for a few gambling sites,'' he said.