Lycos Bought by Diller's USA Networks

Here comes Barry Diller. The man credited with creating the TV mini-series and the Fox network is suiting up for portal combat. This morning it was announced that Diller's USA Networks will acquire Lycos, Yahoo's last independent competitor in the search site race. But can a guy whose idea of programming has more to do with "Roots" than root directories make it work?

The complicated deal rolls up Lycos with Diller's Home Shopping Network -- hey, the original e-commerce -- and the recently formed Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch company. The new company, called USA Lycos Interactive Network, will keep Lycos CEO Robert Davis as president but will install Diller as chairman. MORE>>