Date: 30th January 2001

Disney To Stop Go.Com


The Walt Disney Co. has become the latest media outfit to toss in the towel after taking a beating in attempting to establish a viable business on the Internet. It said on Monday that it will shut down its Go.com Internet portal after losing about $395 million on its Internet projects last year. It also said that it plans to take a one-time charge in the second quarter of about $840 million in connection with the shutdown. About 400 employees will be pink-slipped; Walt Disney Internet Group currently employs about 3,600 people. In an interview with today's (Tuesday) New York Times, Disney Chairman Michael Eisner commented: "The advertising community has lost faith in the Internet and specifically in portals. ... We were waiting for something at the end of the rainbow that was looking less and less worth waiting for."

Source: Studio Briefing