Planet Direct Signs Over 50 New ISPs; Web Service Now Offered By Over 300 Affiliate Partners.ANDOVER, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 8, 1998--Planet Direct, a comprehensive, personalized Web service and wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of CMG CMG Coastal & Marine Geology (USGS) CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (stock symbol) CMG Companion (of the Order Of) St Michael and St George CMG Computer Measurement Group Information Services See Information Systems. , Inc., today announced it has signed over 50 new Internet Service Providers (ISP (1) See in-system programmable. (2) (Internet Service Provider) An organization that provides access to the Internet. Connection to the user is provided via dial-up, ISDN, cable, DSL and T1/T3 lines. ) affiliate partners in key U.S. markets to offer its personalized Web service for subscribers. Over 300 ISPs, reaching more than 3-million Internet users, now offer Planet Direct's personal Web service. Among the new partners are Cybergate, the largest ISP provider in Florida and ExecPC, Wisconsin's largest ISP provider. Expanding its presence, Planet Direct is now represented by a consortium of ISPs who collectively control 60% or more of the local consumer ISP market in over 20 states including: Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. "We are pleased to continue adding strategic ISPs to our affiliate program, growing Planet Direct's reach, while empowering the local ISPs to provide useful, personally relevant and easy-to-use content. According to a recent report by Ziff Davis Market Intelligence `The local ISPs as a group have about a third more customers than the biggest single service provider, AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. . Small local ISPs are the provider of choice in almost 12 million households,'" said Hans G. Hawrysz, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , Planet Direct. "Increasingly, local ISPs are recognizing the value of offering a Web experience that is personalized and seamlessly delivered with access to the Internet." Industry Leading ISP Partnerships ExecPC, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is the largest ISP in the Midwest with nearly 70,000 users. Cybergate, in Deerfield, is the largest ISP provider in Florida with 47,000 subscribers. Other new ISP affiliate partners include: One Net of Cincinnati, Ohio as well as Iquest and Fort Wayne Internet, both in Indiana. Planet Direct has existing relationships with such industry-leaders as Erols, Concentric, Frontier Communications, US Internet and Telephone Data Systems (TDSNet). Since its company debut, Planet Direct has been offering ISP partners a powerful business proposition for delivering useful, personally relevant Internet content to subscribers. Planet Direct offers ISPs focused on a particular geographic area an even greater value proposition because of the service's unique ability to integrate city, state and local content at all levels of the service; content can even be submitted by ISPs. CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). Jump Starts Planet Direct Value Network for ISPs In March, Planet Direct introduced its ISP Value Network as a free, value-added business program for ISPs. As part of the program, Planet Direct created a multi-platform Subscriber Startup CD-ROM, developed for Planet Direct's distribution partners. Several ISP Partners have taken advantage of this new turnkey program, the only multi-platform CD-ROM program on the market that integrates the Microsoft(R) Internet Explorer Administration Kit Microsoft provides the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK), as an add-on to Internet Explorer to let an organization customize IE for their needs,. IEAK can be used by organizations to customize the settings for the browser, integrate add-ons, change branding of the browser (IEAK IEAK Internet Explorer Administration Kit (Microsoft) ), a multimedia interactive Internet tutorial and Internet access with content that is personalized to a subscribers name and locality upon initial launch. "We think the Planet Direct startup CD-ROM is a terrific tool," said Thomas Orr, vice president Business Development at Feist feist also fice n. Chiefly Southern U.S. A small mongrel dog. [Variant of obsolete fist, short for fisting dog, from Middle English fisting, Internet of Wichita, Kansas. "It makes the Internet experience personally relevant, easy to use and enjoyable from the moment a new subscriber launches. Over time, we suspect this kind of experience will stay the 30% churn the industry as a whole annually experiences." The CD-ROM, produced in partnership with 3M, enables Planet Direct ISP partners to seamlessly create their own co-branded start disc for subscribers, bundling Planet Direct's personal Web service and Internet access into a single registration step. About Planet Direct Planet Direct, a wholly owned subsidiary company of CMG Information Services, Inc., (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :CMGI CMGI Commonly Maintained Grounds Infrastructures CMGI College Marketing Group Information (Services) ), is a personal Web service that tailors members' online experience to their interests and local community while providing necessary, everyday information such as news, weather, financial data, calendars, and topical interest areas. Planet Direct integrates brand name content with enhanced links to popular content sites and other services, all presented logically and intuitively to provide consumers with quick access to personal interests in a community atmosphere. Planet Direct is available free, online at http://www.planetdirect.com, as well as through over 300 Internet Service Providers nationwide and affinity groups like Discover Card. About CMG Information Services CMG Information Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMGI) is an incubator and developer of Internet companies. In addition, CMGI operates direct marketing companies and venture funds focused on the Internet. Microsoft, Intel and Sumitomo hold minority positions in CMG Information Services. The CMG Internet Group is made up of seven majority-owned subsidiary companies including Planet Direct, NaviSite, Engage Technologies, Accipiter, ADSmart, InfoMation, and The Password. The company's CMG @Ventures investment affiliate has significant interests in Lycos, Inc. (NASDAQ:LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) A technology used to make microdisplays for rear-projection TVs and head-mounted displays (HMDs). Each LCoS chip hosts a grayscale LCD shutter sandwiched between a cover glass and a mirror. ), blaxxun, Vicinity, GeoCities, Parable LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , Reel.com, Planet All, KOZ, Silknet, Chemdex, Speech Machines, Softway Systems, Select Technologies, Critical Path and Mother Nature. CMG also includes CMG Direct, SalesLink and InSolutions as wholly owned subsidiaries in the direct marketing, fulfillment and turn-key arenas. Corporate headquarters is located at 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 01810. Telephone: 978-684-3600. Fax: 978-684-3674. Additional information is available on the company's Web site, http://www.cmgi.com. All trademarks, tradenames, registered trademarks, or registered tradenames are property of their respective holders.
CONTACT: Terri Henry-Ford Laura Beck
Planet Direct Copithorne & Bellows
978-684-3807 617-450-4300
tford@planetdirect.com laura.beck@cbpr.com
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