The honeymoon is over. Yahoo! Inc is to discontinue the directory service it launched for Netscape Communications Corp last April, the companies confirmed in brief statements yesterday. The statements end speculation that arose after Netscape dropped Yahoo! from its list of premier search engine providers (CI No 3,419). Yahoo! will be made a distinguished provider with the remainder of the $5m it paid to market its directory through Netscape. Now that Netscape’s NetCenter is shaping up as a portal to rival Yahoo!’s, the two businesses make more logical rivals than partners. The question is whether Netscape can tolerate the ambitions of its chief search engine partner, Excite Inc, shaping up as a significant portal player in its own right.
