Credit Barry Diller for playing a role in the creation of the made-for-TV movie, the miniseries, and Bart Simpson's debut on Fox Television.
In his 32-year television career, Diller saw opportunity long before his rivals did, and profited from ventures his colleagues thought were sure to fail. The best example: the Fox Television network. While working at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., Diller helped create a successful fourth network when the industry said there was only room for three.
On Tuesday, Diller challenged convention again. His USA Networks media company -- which owns the Home Shopping Network and Ticketmaster Online -- agreed to buy 61.5 percent of Lycos and to turn the portal into an outlet for direct marketing pitches from HSN and Ticketmaster, among others.
Diller's long-term bet is that the Internet is the best direct marketing tool ever created.
"I got interested in interactivity about seven years ago," which was when he created QVC, another TV shopping network, he said. That venture "was a primitive convergence of television, telephones, and computers." After thousands of people called and ordered trinkets, Diller thought, "Oh my God, this changes everything."
"I think we're at a period of new convergence of information, entertainment, and direct selling," Diller said at a press conference Tuesday morning.
Of course, it's far from certain that Diller's hunch is right this time, analysts said. Even if the new company, USA/Lycos Interactive Networks, generates billions in revenue from trinket sales, it is still fundamentally a low-margin business -- nothing compared to the profitability of a real tech company like Intel or Microsoft.
Lycos "really diluted the pure Internet play" with the agreement, said a disgruntled institutional fund manager who owns Lycos shares.
