IVillage
Encyclopedia
iVillage, Inc. is a media
company that is owned by NBCUniversal. The site focuses on categories targeted at women, including Food, Health, Entertainment, Family, Beauty & Style. Additional businesses and brand extensions within iVillage Networks include iVillage UK, NBC Digital Health Network, Astrology.com and GardenWeb. In addition, iVillage has a strategic partnership with BlogHer, a participatory news, entertainment and information network for women online. iVillage has approximately 34 million unique visitors per month (comScore
, April 2010), making it the largest content-driven community for women on the web.
in 1995 by Candice Carpenter, an early veteran of America Online, along with co-founders Nancy Evans and Robert Levitan. In 2008, it moved its headquarters to Englewood Cliffs, NJ and in 2009, headquarters were moved back to New York City.
The company's first content site was "Parent Soup", a community
channel on America Online. That site featured one of the earliest ecommerce shopping cart and product promotion systems, featuring products made by manufacturers who would enter strategic relationships with the company that site visitors could then buy at a "company store." The company soon opened up other communities such as "AboutWork", "Better Health & Medical", and "Life Soup". By the end of 1998 there were fourteen communities, one million registered users, and three million visitors per month.
In 1999 the company underwent one of the most successful initial public offering
s in history, despite never having earned a profit. The initial offering price on NASDAQ
was $23, nearly double the expected $13 pricing. Stock price climbed to nearly $100 in the first day of trading and reached over $130 per share within days, but soon began to decline. Most of the original management and staff left the company. Within two years, following the dot com crash, the stock price fell under $1 per share, the company was threatened with delisting
, controversies had arisen over financing irregularities and company management, and the company had never had a profitable quarter and was near bankruptcy. In 2001, under new management, the company merged with its main competitor, women.com.
In May, 2006 NBC Universal, Inc. acquired iVillage. Currently, Jodi Kahn is the Executive Vice President of iVillage Networks and Angela Matusik is Chief Content Executive.
produced by NBC Universal
. NBC commissioned a set at the Universal Orlando Resort
in Florida
. In September 2007, production was moved to Chicago
Illinois
, and the show was retitled In the Loop with iVillage
. The five original hosts were replaced by comedian Kim Coles
; The Apprentice (US Season 1) winner Bill Rancic
and The Apprentice (US Season 1) contestant Ereka Vetrini
. After one final season, the show was officially canceled.
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
company that is owned by NBCUniversal. The site focuses on categories targeted at women, including Food, Health, Entertainment, Family, Beauty & Style. Additional businesses and brand extensions within iVillage Networks include iVillage UK, NBC Digital Health Network, Astrology.com and GardenWeb. In addition, iVillage has a strategic partnership with BlogHer, a participatory news, entertainment and information network for women online. iVillage has approximately 34 million unique visitors per month (comScore
ComScore
comScore is a Internet marketing research company providing marketing data and services to many of the Internet's largest businesses. comScore tracks all internet data on its surveyed computers in order to study online behavior....
, April 2010), making it the largest content-driven community for women on the web.
History
The company was established in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1995 by Candice Carpenter, an early veteran of America Online, along with co-founders Nancy Evans and Robert Levitan. In 2008, it moved its headquarters to Englewood Cliffs, NJ and in 2009, headquarters were moved back to New York City.
The company's first content site was "Parent Soup", a community
Online community
An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...
channel on America Online. That site featured one of the earliest ecommerce shopping cart and product promotion systems, featuring products made by manufacturers who would enter strategic relationships with the company that site visitors could then buy at a "company store." The company soon opened up other communities such as "AboutWork", "Better Health & Medical", and "Life Soup". By the end of 1998 there were fourteen communities, one million registered users, and three million visitors per month.
In 1999 the company underwent one of the most successful initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
s in history, despite never having earned a profit. The initial offering price on NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
was $23, nearly double the expected $13 pricing. Stock price climbed to nearly $100 in the first day of trading and reached over $130 per share within days, but soon began to decline. Most of the original management and staff left the company. Within two years, following the dot com crash, the stock price fell under $1 per share, the company was threatened with delisting
Delisting
Delisting can mean:*Delisting , the removal of a stock from a stock exchange*Delisting , the removal of medical coverage for a certain operation by Canadian medicare...
, controversies had arisen over financing irregularities and company management, and the company had never had a profitable quarter and was near bankruptcy. In 2001, under new management, the company merged with its main competitor, women.com.
In May, 2006 NBC Universal, Inc. acquired iVillage. Currently, Jodi Kahn is the Executive Vice President of iVillage Networks and Angela Matusik is Chief Content Executive.
Television show
iVillage Live was a TV show and webcastWebcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
produced by NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
. NBC commissioned a set at the Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort is a theme park resort in Orlando, Florida. It is wholly owned by NBCUniversal and its affiliates. The resort consists of two theme parks , Universal CityWalk , and three Loews Hotels...
in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. In September 2007, production was moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and the show was retitled In the Loop with iVillage
In the Loop with iVillage
In the Loop with iVillage is an American television program. The program served as a brand extension of the NBC Universal-owned iVillage website, which focuses on advice and issues of interest to women, and was hosted by actress and comedian Kim Coles, season one The Apprentice winner Bill Rancic,...
. The five original hosts were replaced by comedian Kim Coles
Kim Coles
Kimberley "Kim" Coles is an American actress and comedian.-Career:Coles has appeared on many television shows, including Frasier , Six Feet Under, Celebrity Mole and The Geena Davis Show...
; The Apprentice (US Season 1) winner Bill Rancic
Bill Rancic
William "Bill" Rancic is an American entrepreneur who was the first candidate hired by The Trump Organization at the conclusion of the first season of Donald Trump's reality television show, The Apprentice...
and The Apprentice (US Season 1) contestant Ereka Vetrini
Ereka Vetrini
Ereka Vetrini is an American television personality. She was a contestant on the first season of The Apprentice in 2004....
. After one final season, the show was officially canceled.