Daily News from New York, New York • 36

ID CO CLOSE 1,965.88 -1L54 CLOSE 9,301.15 7312 MRjjjJ3JjJ3 --rarm i Hwi-v'' i v. 4 fj M.HMBBHH 100 US challenge Oxygen early in 2000. "We see an extraordinary opportunity," Laybourne said. "Women today feel independent, they feel good about themselves that's what this channel is all about" The launch of Oxygen marks Laybourne's boldest step yet since leaving Disney, where she served as the company's cable TV chief. When she left the entertainment giant in May, Laybourne said she wanted to start a new kind of media company that would fuse the Internet with television.

Two months ago, Laybourne acquired three women-focused Web sites from America Online: Thrive, Moms Online and Electra. The sites ultimately will be REVIVE AND CONQUER: Geraldine Laybourne (I.) and Oprah Winfrey hope their Oxygen cable channel will be breath of fresh air. bourne's plans yesterday, citing her track record and formidable partners. "What's extraordinary is, she's recognized that women are underserved on television," said Michael Wolf, who heads the media and entertainment division at consultants Booz Allen Hamilton. The Lifetime channel, which used to run hours and hours of repeats, now targets female viewers with original programing like "Any Day Now," "Oh Baby," "Lifetime Profiles" and made-for-TV movies.

But Laybourne said, "Lifetime is hardly a full menu." anil: off fflhie rmgh AOL, Netscape click on 4.2B megamerger a v-v i Channel to By PHYLLIS FURMAN Daily News Business Writer Geraldine Laybourne, the woman who turned Nickelodeon into a cable TV icon, has hooked up with Oprah Winfrey and a powerhouse TV production group to launch a channel directed at women. In a serious challenge to the female-focused Lifetime channel which Laybourne used to supervise she is joining with Winfrey and production company Carsey-Wer-ner-Mandabach, the brains behind "Roseanne" and "The Cosby Show," Laybourne said yesterday. Oxygen Media, the Internet and entertainment company founded months ago by Laybourne, is expected to launch the new network also called allaway By CELIA McGEE Daily News Business Writer It's been touch and go, but a box-headed, swivel-jointed, little droid named Nova is finally inviting golfers to play on a planet called Roton this week. Today, the holiday issue of The New York Times Book Review goes to press with debut illustrations of Roton-dwelling Nova, an eagerly awaited children's book character from publisher Callaway Editions. At the same time, Nicholas Callaway, the company's president and editor in chief, has finessed an arrangement to salvage Callaway Golf Media Ventures, a two-year-old joint venture with father Ely Callaway's legendary golf empire, specializing in publishing.

The writers who had been signed up include George Plimpton, Holly Brubach, Johnny Miller, Ian Frazier, Times Book Review editor Charles McGrath and Lee Ei-senberg. Time magazine's editor for creative development When the world's largest golf equipment manufacturer announced Nov. 11 that a downswing in sales prompted a 24 cut in its work force and the discontinuation of nonessential businesses, word spread in media circles that Callaway's ambitious plans for lavishly produced golf books with contributions by well-known writers also had permanently hit the rough. Not so, the younger Callaway told the Daily News yesterday. "Callaway Editions is buying out Callaway Golfs interest in the media venture," he said.

'They were the majority partner. The legal documents are ddo( to lifetime integrated with the new cable network. Carsey-Werner and Winfrey will become investors in Oxygen Media, which is already funded by Disney's ABC and AOL. Carsey-Werner has been charged with developing programing for the new channel, whose shows will run the gamut from comedies to advice programs. Winfrey, the superstar talk show host who has successfully branched into movie and television production, also will fill airtime on Oxygen, but won't appear regularly.

Oxygen is expected to tap Winfrey's film and TV library, which includes repeats of her talk show. Analysts backed Lay- relief to the numerous writers commissioned by general editor David McCormick, formerly of The New Yorker, to write essays for the first three golf books, "Breaking Ninety," "Journeys" and "Power." Many were waiting to hear the fate not only of the publishing entity but also of their paychecks. As for "Nova's Ark" and Nova, whose creator is the same David Kirk who dreamed up Callaway Edition's continuously best-selling "Miss Spider" series and its multi-media spinoffs, Callaway has some bucolic thoughts. "One of our planned golf volumes is about how to introduce it to children, and I've already talked to David about utilizing Nova for that" he said. "Or even inventing a new character to help bring a new generation to the game." NOVA'S ARK is one of the ways Nicholas Callaway, head of Callaway Editions, plans to introduce a new generation to golf.

35 of Internet ad revenues, Forrester Research analyst Chris Charron said. "It will bring together two of the leading brands in cyberspace and two companies with complementary business strengths and strategies for the interactive medium in the 21st century," said AOL chief Steve Case. In tune with AOL's history of acquisitions, including online competitor CompuServe and software maker Mirabi-lis, Case said it will keep Netscape a separate business for the time being. And Case said Microsoft's Internet Explorer and not Netscape's Navigator will remain the primary Web browser on AOL. Legal experts said that in light of the Microsoft antitrust trial, the deal would likely pass muster.

"It's hard to believe that the agency is going to block this when they're in court every day to say something has to be done about Microsoft's power," said Daniel Wall, an anti-trust lawyer at McCut-chen, Doyle, Brown Ener-sen. Netscape CEO Jim Barks-dale will no longer run the company on a day-to-day basis, but will take a seat on AOL's board of directors. Netscape co-founder Marc Andreesen will remain chief technology officer, then likely will be on the AOL executive staff. AOL President Bob Pittman, a former MTV executive, will run the Netscape division. By KENNETH LI Daily News Business Writer Gulp.

That's the sound of America Online swallowing Netscape Communications in a $4.2 billion deal that was sealed yesterday. Gulp is also the sound from AOL's competitors, as the highly anticipated merger tightens the race to dominate the Internet "AOL flexed its muscles a bit here and everybody got the message," said Dawn Simon, a tech analyst at Brown Brothers Harriman. Analysts said the merger may stimulate further industry consolidation to better compete with the few remaining Internet giants. But some said it would take a deal of huge proportions possibly involving a company like Yahoo! and an electronic commerce partner like Amazon.com to top AOL. "No two players are going to make enough of an impact to counteract the AOL deal," Simon said.

Smaller players such as Excite and Lycos will find life a little harder in the new landscape. "Without further scale, they will have difficulty competing against the likes of AOL and Microsoft," said Scott Appleby, a tech analyst atABN Ambro. Yesterday, AOL also inked a deal with Sun Microsystems to develop electronic commerce programs and Internet software. The force created by the deals will command roughly being finalized right now." The name of the imprint will be Callaway Golfer. It is supposed to launch in spring 2000, one season behind the original schedule.

"There will be a new board of managers going forward," Callaway added, which is likely retain such current members as Callaway himself, Callaway Golf Media Ventures head Ed Brash and golf journalist Larry Dorman, who arrived from The Times. Because Callaway Editions is privately held, Callaway declined to reveal details of the buyout but a source familiar with the situation said, "There'll probably be some money granted by Callaway Golf to pay off current obligations, and the media venture's holdings made available at a discount" The news should come as a.