Barry Diller’s First Post-Split Launch At IAC: A Virtual World For Kids (IACI)

Nick | Aug 28, 2008 | Comments 0

After this month’s split-up into five units, IAC (IACI) becomes a more Web-focused company, and new startups are a big part of the strategy.

To wit: the NY Post reports today that Barry Diller is launching a spinoff of two-year-old virtual world Zinky.com. “Zwinky Cuties” is aimed

squarely at Disney’s Penguin Club, which is a big hit with 6 to 12-year-old girls.

This one is a straightforward bet: Disney CEO Bob Iger singles out Penguin Club, acquired last year, as one of Disney’s more successful digital businesses. Zwinky.com has 16 million registered users and IAC says it has been turning away plenty of kids attempting to register who don’t meet the age cutoff of 13.

Like Penguin Club, Zwinky Cuties will be subscription-based, and will charge users (really, their parents) $5.95 a month. It launches Sept. 16.