British Telecommunications Plc is expected to buy a direct stake in the 50-50 joint entertainment and network services venture formed by MCI Communications Corp and News Corp Pty Ltd yesterday. The services of the new venture will be entirely Internet-based and We are creating the next generation of on-line Internet services, says Scott Kurnit, who joined MCI from Prodigy Services Co a few weeks back. Our on-line services will deliver a totally different kind of Internet experience – full, friendly, and effortless access – closely linked with lively and innovative content. Currently, on-line service providers offer Internet access that is not well-integrated with all their other on-line activities, while Internet access providers have few content or service offerings, noted Kurnit. We are developing brand new programming for these new on-line services, said Anhea Disney, who joins the new venture from News Corp. It will be as engaging as any magazine is to read or any television show is to watch, but our programming will be produced specifically for the on-line environment. It will be so deeply engaging that people will want to keep coming back again and again. The venture will include all of the current on-line interactive operations of each of the companies – MCI tosses in its Information Services/Entertainment Co, FYI On-line services, MCI’s supersite on the World Wide Web, and MCI Mail. News Corp delivers up Delphi Internet Services Corp and Kesmai Corp, a pioneer in multi-player interactive on-line games. The venture will provide a range of interactive products and services, including a comprehensive guide to the Internet, an on-line news service, a variety of games, an on-line space for children, and specialised programming developed jointly with News Corp companies such as TV Guide, Fox Broadcasting, Twentieth Century Fox, fX, HarperCollins and its worldwide news properties, plus non-affiliated partners. The offerings will all share common capabilities of interactive chatting, electronic bulletin boards, opinion polling, and the ability to personalise the service for easy and rapid access to topics of individual interest. MCI contributes 250 and New Corp 400 employees to the unnamed joint venture.
