ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, May 22, 1996 TAG: 9605230003
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: COLUMBUS, OHIO
CompuServe Inc., one of the pioneers of the on-line services industry, has hitched its future to the World Wide Web.
The second-largest on-line service said Tuesday it would give up its customized operation and instead produce, sort and present information in the same manner as the Web. The decision is a sign of the economic pressure the Internet has put on traditional on-line companies.
It sent CompuServe's stock down $1.25 to $26.50, a 4 percent drop. The company last month was spun off from parent H&R Block Inc. But H&R Block still owns 80 percent of CompuServe.
Prodigy Services Co. and Microsoft Corp. have started changing their on-line services to structure information like the Web.
With 4 million subscribers and a 17-year history, CompuServe becomes the biggest and oldest on-line company to yield to the Web's popularity.
The decision means that companies that produce information for CompuServe and the Web will save money by not having to adapt to CompuServe's special software.
America Online, the No.1 on-line service, is hanging on to its proprietary software and information structure. But its stock fell nearly 6 percent, dropping $2.35 to $51.50 on the Nasdaq, on speculation that it too would eventually undertake a major transformation. because of the Web's popularity.
- Associated Press
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