Cityscreen initiative taps into Intranet market

Cityscreen is aiming to exploit the growing market of corporate Intra-nets by offering a daily sponsorship-funded electronic magazine service to British companies.

Neil Morgan, managing director of Cityscreen and founder of NMMS, says the service will be based on a Web version of his existing City-screen service distributed on Reut-ers screens to financial traders in the City and worldwide.

“At the moment, only six per cent of companies have Intranet systems but 80 per cent are working to introduce them,” says Morgan.

He believes that the rapid ex pansion of Intranets, which do not offer full Internet access, will generate a lucrative captive market for commercially-backed editorial content.

The syndicated service will be designed to offer links to companies’ in-house communications aimed at encouraging staff to view regularly corporate news on-screen. Design support for the services will be provided by Head New Media.

“We are looking at developing a good ten minute read for people, which will also enable companies to signpost in-house information, such as internal jobs. This is more likely to be seen if hyperlinked to a regularly updated and entertaining magazine,” Morgan says.

The company is about to launch three pilot schemes at unrevealed locations. Morgan puts the existing audience of UK workers with access to Intranets at a modest 100,000. “But in a couple of years Intranet access may match that of the Internet,” he says.

If the pilot schemes prove successful, Morgan will be looking to roll out the syndicated daily service later this year, and seek a range of commercially-funded sponsored content to boost the service’s finances and editorial appeal.

Cityscreen already works with The Guardian Guide, Top Gear, and Sporting Life, as well as Mercedes and Eurostar, in developing content and promotions on its Reuters-based service.