Top 100 Computer Companies
Company News
AOL Surpasses 17 Million Members
DULLES, VA, April 14, 1998 --
America Online, Inc. [NYSE: AOL], the world's leading interactive services company, today
announced that worldwide membership of its AOL service has exceeded 17 million. AOL
members currently are averaging 55 minutes online daily, nearly a 10-minute increase over
a year ago. AOL now supports more than 1.1 million members using the service at the same
time during peak hours-- roughly double the prime time cable television audiences of CNBC
and CNN. This marks a 63% increase in simultaneous users compared to last year. Similarly,
the service's other key usage metrics show the same strong growth compared to one year ago
(reported on an average daily basis): 1999 1998 E-mails Sent 56 million 28 million Instant
Messages 432 millio 200 million Stock Quotes 121 million 75 million Web URLs Served 2.6
billion 800 million
Bob Pittman, America Online's President and Chief Operating Officer, said: "Our
strong brand momentum and increased value to members continue to drive AOL's rapid
membership growth. Our prime time audience now matches or exceeds many major cable TV
networks. AOL members continue to increase their average daily time online -- doing more
e-mailing, sending more Instant Messages, checking more stock quotes and making more
online purchases, among other things-- as AOL becomes more central to our members'
everyday lives." Mr. Pittman added: "We are grateful that so many people have
opted to join AOL, and we are committed to continually enhancing the AOL experience for
our members. Over the past several weeks, we have added such new member benefits as our
new Kids Only channel, our even more comprehensive Tax Area, and a new women's weekly
online talk show hosted by Meredith Vieira, and we're on track to add even more member
benefits, like online calendaring and our customized eBay site." About America Online
Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in
interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services. America
Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 17
million members, and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members; several leading
Internet brands including ICQ and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM
portals; and the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers. Through its strategic
alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end
e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy.
|