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Network slow to integrate with iVillage, lauded as centerpiece of strategy
A YEAR AGO, NBC Universal announced the $600 million acquisition of women's portal iVillage, closing the deal just in time for NBC's upfront presentation, dubbed "Television 360." But since then, the pace of integrating iVillage with NBC properties has been more akin to dial-up than broadband.
In interviews last year, Beth Comstock, now president of NBC Universal integrated media and the executive who spearheaded the deal, said: "We look at iVillage as the centerpiece to our digital strategy. It gives us scale and a platform and a new forum for engaging with consumers and creating a different kind of experience with our content."
With this year's upfront sales period fast approaching, the next few months will help decide if the portal-launched in 1995 by Candice Carpenter-can ever become NBC's digital crown jewel.
Traffic numbers in the year since NBC acquired iVillage have been stagnant. Despite help from NBC's powerful promotional juggernaut the "Today" show, iVillage has barely bumped up its number of monthly unique users, which has been stuck at around 15 million. It's unclear if new users are arriving as older ones are rejecting changes at the site and leaving.
IVillage should also benefit from the syndicated TV show "iVillage Live," which launched on Dec. 4 and is carried by...