WebMD Health (WBMD)

commentary, conference coverage, expert columns and CME activities, are written by authors from widely respected clinical and academic institutions and edited and managed by our in-house editorial staff.

 

Our public portals generate revenue primarily through the sale of advertising and sponsorship products, as well as CME services that are described below. We do not charge user fees for access to our public portals. We develop sponsored programs that target specific groups of health-involved consumers, clinically-active physicians and other healthcare professionals and place these programs on the most relevant areas of The WebMD Health Network so that our advertisers and sponsors are able to reach, educate and inform these target audiences. Our advertisers and sponsors consist primarily of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies and consumer products companies whose products relate to health, wellness, diet, fitness, lifestyle, safety and illness prevention.

 

Our private portal applications enable employees and health plan members to make more informed benefit, treatment and provider decisions. We provide a secure, personalized user experience by integrating individual user data (including personal health information), plan-specific data from our employer or health plan clients and much of the content, decision-support technology and personal communication services that we make available through our public portals. These applications are typically accessed through a client’s Web site or intranet and provide secure access for employees and plan members. We also provide personalized telephonic health coaching. We market our private portal products through both our direct sales force and through selected distributors. We generate revenue from our private portals primarily through the licensing of our products to employers and health plans, either directly or through our distributors. Our private portals do not display or generate revenue from advertising or sponsorship.

 

Our public portals and our private portals constitute our Online Services segment. In addition to our online presence, we have a Publishing and Other Services segment that provides complementary offline health publications. Our offline publications also increase awareness of our brand among consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals. These publications include WebMD the Magazine, a consumer publication that we distribute free of charge to physician office waiting rooms and The WebMD Little Blue Book, a physician directory. For additional information regarding the results of operations of each of our segments, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations by Operating Segment” in Item 7 below and Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.

 

 

We are a leading provider of health information services to
consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals,
employers and health plans through our public and private online
portals and health-focused publications. The online healthcare
information, decision-support applications and communications
services that we provide:

 

 

The WebMD Health Network includes www.WebMD.com
(which we sometimes refer to as WebMD Health), our
primary public portal for consumers, and www.Medscape.com
(which we sometimes refer to as Medscape from WebMD),
our primary public portal for physicians and other healthcare
professionals, as well as other sites through which we provide
our branded health and wellness content, tools and services.
The WebMD Health Network does not include our private
portals for employers and health plans, which are described
below. In 2008, The WebMD Health Network had an average
of approximately 51 million unique users per month and
generated approximately 4.7 billion aggregate page views
and WebMD-owned sites accounted for approximately 96% of the
unique users and approximately 98% of the page views.

 

WebMD Health and our other consumer portals help
consumers take an active role in managing their health by
providing objective healthcare and lifestyle information. Our
content offerings for consumers include access to health and
wellness news articles and features, and decision-support
services that help them make better informed decisions about
treatment options, health risks and healthcare providers.
Medscape from WebMD and our other portals for healthcare
professionals help them improve their clinical knowledge and
practice of medicine. The original content of our professional
sites, including daily medical news,

commentary, conference coverage, expert columns and CME
activities, are written by authors from widely respected
clinical and academic institutions and edited and managed by our
in-house editorial staff.

 

Our public portals generate revenue primarily through the sale
of advertising and sponsorship products, as well as CME services
that are described below. We do not charge user fees for access
to our public portals. We develop sponsored programs that target
specific groups of health-involved consumers, clinically-active
physicians and other healthcare professionals and place these
programs on the most relevant areas of The WebMD Health
Network so that our advertisers and sponsors are able to
reach, educate and inform these target audiences. Our
advertisers and sponsors consist primarily of pharmaceutical,
biotechnology and medical device companies and consumer products
companies whose products relate to health, wellness, diet,
fitness, lifestyle, safety and illness prevention.

 

Our private portal applications enable employees and health plan
members to make more informed benefit, treatment and provider
decisions. We provide a secure, personalized user experience by
integrating individual user data (including personal health
information), plan-specific data from our employer or health
plan clients and much of the content, decision-support
technology and personal communication services that we make
available through our public portals. These applications are
typically accessed through a client’s Web site or intranet
and provide secure access for employees and plan members. We
also provide personalized telephonic health coaching. We market
our private portal products through both our direct sales force
and through selected distributors. We generate revenue from our
private portals primarily through the licensing of our products
to employers and health plans, either directly or through our
distributors. Our private portals do not display or generate
revenue from advertising or sponsorship.

 

Our public portals and our private portals constitute our Online
Services segment. In addition to our online presence, we have a
Publishing and Other Services segment that provides
complementary offline health publications. Our offline
publications also increase awareness of our brand among
consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals. These
publications include WebMD the Magazine, a consumer
publication that we distribute free of charge to physician
office waiting rooms and The WebMD Little Blue Book, a
physician directory. For additional information regarding the
results of operations of each of our segments, see
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations — Results of
Operations by Operating Segment” in Item 7 below and
Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in
this Annual Report.

 

 

The WebMD Health Network consists of the public portals that we own, such as www.WebMD.com (which we sometimes refer to as WebMD Health), our primary public portal for consumers, and www.Medscape.com (which we sometimes refer to as Medscape from WebMD), our primary public portal for physicians and other healthcare professionals, as well as third party sites through which we provide our branded health and wellness content, tools and services. The WebMD Health Network does not include our private portals for employers and health plans, which are described below. In 2007, The WebMD Health Network had an average of more than 41.8 million unique monthly users and generated over 3.6 billion aggregate page views.

 

WebMD Health and our other consumer portals help consumers take an active role in managing their health by providing objective healthcare and lifestyle information. WebMD content offerings for consumers include access to health and wellness news articles and features, and decision-support services that help them make better informed decisions about treatment options, health risks and healthcare providers. Medscape from WebMD and our other portals for healthcare professionals help them improve their clinical knowledge and practice of medicine. The original content of our professional sites, including daily medical news, commentary, conference coverage, expert columns and CME activities, are written by authors from widely respected academic institutions and edited and managed by our in-house editorial staff.

 

Our public portals generate revenue primarily through the sale of advertising and sponsorship products, as well as CME services which are described below. We do not charge user fees for access to our public portals. We develop programs that target specific groups of health-involved consumers, clinically-active physicians and other healthcare professionals and place these programs on the most relevant areas of The WebMD Health Network so that our advertisers and sponsors are able to reach, educate and inform these target audiences. Our advertisers and sponsors consist primarily of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies and consumer products companies whose products relate to health, wellness, diet, fitness, lifestyle, safety and illness prevention.

 

Our private portal products enable employees and health plan members to make more informed benefit, treatment and provider decisions. We provide a secure, personalized user experience by integrating individual user data (including personal health information), plan-specific data from our employer or health plan clients and much of the content, decision-support technology and personal communication services that we make available through our public portals. These applications are typically accessed through a client’s Web site or intranet and provide secure access for employees and plan members. We also provide personalized telephonic health coaching. We market our private portal products through both our direct sales force and through selected distributors.

 

We generate revenue from our private portals primarily through the licensing of our products to employers and health plans, either directly or through our distributors. Our private portals do not display or generate revenue from advertising or sponsorship. Our public portals and our private portals constitute our Online Services segment.

 

In addition to our online presence, we have a Publishing and Other Services segment that provides complementary offline health publications. Our offline publications also increase awareness of our brand among consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals. These publications include The WebMD Little Blue Book, a physician directory, and WebMD the Magazine, a consumer publication that we distribute free of charge to physician office waiting rooms.

 

For additional information regarding the results of operations of each of our segments, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations by Operating Segment” and Note 8 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.

 

 

We are a leading provider of health information services to
consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals,
employers and health plans through our public and private online
portals and health-focused publications. The online healthcare
information, decision-support applications and communications
services that we provide:

 

 

The WebMD Health Network consists of the public portals
that we own, such as www.WebMD.com (which we sometimes
refer to as WebMD Health), our primary public portal for
consumers, and www.Medscape.com (which we sometimes refer
to as Medscape from WebMD), our primary public portal for
physicians and other healthcare professionals, as well as third
party sites through which we provide our branded health and
wellness content, tools and services. The WebMD Health
Network does not include our private portals for employers
and health plans, which are described below. In 2007, The
WebMD Health Network had an average of more than
41.8 million unique monthly users and generated over
3.6 billion aggregate page views.

 

WebMD Health and our other consumer portals help
consumers take an active role in managing their health by
providing objective healthcare and lifestyle information. WebMD
content offerings for consumers include access to health and
wellness news articles and features, and decision-support
services that help them make better informed decisions about
treatment options, health risks and healthcare providers.
Medscape from WebMD and our other portals for healthcare
professionals help them improve their clinical knowledge and
practice of medicine. The original content of our professional
sites, including daily medical news, commentary, conference
coverage, expert columns and CME activities, are written by
authors from widely respected academic institutions and edited
and managed by our in-house editorial staff.

 

Our public portals generate revenue primarily through the sale
of advertising and sponsorship products, as well as CME services
which are described below. We do not charge user fees for access
to our public portals. We develop programs that target specific
groups of health-involved consumers, clinically-active
physicians and other healthcare professionals and place these
programs on the most relevant areas of The WebMD Health
Network so that our advertisers and sponsors are able to
reach, educate and inform these target audiences. Our
advertisers and sponsors consist primarily of pharmaceutical,
biotechnology and medical device companies and consumer products
companies whose products relate to health, wellness, diet,
fitness, lifestyle, safety and illness prevention.

 

Our private portal products enable employees and health plan
members to make more informed benefit, treatment and provider
decisions. We provide a secure, personalized user experience by
integrating individual user data (including personal health
information), plan-specific data from our employer or health
plan clients and much of the content, decision-support
technology and personal communication services that we make
available through our public portals. These applications are
typically accessed through a client’s Web site or intranet
and provide secure access for employees and plan members. We
also provide personalized telephonic health coaching. We market
our private portal products through both our direct sales force
and through selected distributors.

 

We generate revenue from our private portals primarily through
the licensing of our products to employers and health plans,
either directly or through our distributors. Our private portals
do not display or generate revenue from advertising or
sponsorship. Our public portals and our private portals
constitute our Online Services segment.

 

In addition to our online presence, we have a Publishing and
Other Services segment that provides complementary offline
health publications. Our offline publications also increase
awareness of our brand among consumers, physicians and other
healthcare professionals. These publications include The
WebMD Little Blue Book, a physician directory, and WebMD
the Magazine, a consumer publication that we distribute free
of charge to physician office waiting rooms.

 

For additional information regarding the results of operations
of each of our segments, see “Management’s Discussion
and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations — Results of Operations by Operating
Segment” and Note 8 to our Consolidated Financial
Statements included in this Annual Report.

 

healthcare professionals, as well as third party sites through which we provide our branded health and wellness content, tools and services. The WebMD Health Network does not include our private portals for employers and health plans, which are described below. In 2006, The WebMD Health Network had an average of more than 31 million unique monthly users and generated over 3 billion aggregate page views.

 

WebMD.com and our other consumer portals help consumers take an active role in managing their health by providing objective healthcare and lifestyle information. WebMD content offerings for consumers include access to health and wellness news articles and features, and decision-support services that help them make better informed decisions about treatment options, health risks and healthcare providers. Medscape from WebMD and our other portals for healthcare professionals help them improve their clinical knowledge and practice of medicine. The original content of our professional sites, including daily medical news, commentary, conference coverage, expert columns and CME activities, are written by authors from widely respected academic institutions and edited and managed by our in-house editorial staff.

 

Our public portals generate revenue primarily through the sale of advertising and sponsorship products, including CME services. We do not charge user fees for access to our public portals. Our advertisers and sponsors are able to reach, educate and inform target audiences of health-involved consumers and clinically-active physicians through The WebMD Health Network. We work closely with our customers to develop programs to reach specific groups of consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals and give them placement on the most relevant areas of our portals. Our advertisers and sponsors consist primarily of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies and consumer products companies whose products relate to health, wellness, diet, fitness, lifestyle, safety and illness prevention.

 

Our private portals enable employees and health plan members to make more informed benefit, treatment and provider decisions. We provide a secure, personalized user experience by integrating individual user data (including personal health information), plan-specific data from our employer or health plan clients and much of the content, decision-support technology and personal communication services that we make available through our public portals. Our applications are typically accessed through a client’s Web site or intranet and provide secure access for employees and plan members. We also provide personalized telephonic health coaching through Summex, a company we acquired in June 2006. We market our private portal products through both our direct sales force and through selected distributors.

 

We generate revenue from private portals primarily through the licensing of our products to employers and to health plans, either directly or through our distributors. Our private portals do not generate revenue from advertising or sponsorship. Our public portals and our private portals constitute our Online Services segment.

 

In addition to our online presence, we have a Publishing and Other Services segment that provides complementary offline health content including publications and in-person medical education. Our offline publications also increase awareness of our brand among consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals. These publications include The Little Blue Book, a physician directory, ACP Medicine and ACS Surgery: Principles of Practice, our medical reference textbooks, and WebMD the Magazine, a consumer publication launched in early 2005 that we distribute free of charge to physician office waiting rooms.

 

For additional information regarding the results of operations of each of our segments, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations by Operating Segment” and Note 7 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.

 

below. In 2005, The WebMD Health Network had an average of over 24 million unique monthly users and generated over 2.3 billion aggregate page views.

 

WebMD.com and our other consumer portals help consumers take an active role in managing their health by providing objective healthcare and lifestyle information. WebMD content offerings for consumers include access to health and wellness news articles and features, and decision-support services that help them make better informed decisions about treatment options, health risks and healthcare providers. Medscape from WebMD and our other portals for healthcare professionals help them improve their clinical knowledge and practice of medicine. The original content of our professional sites, including daily medical news, commentary, conference coverage, expert columns and CME activities, are written by authors from widely respected academic institutions and edited and managed by our in-house editorial staff.

 

Our public portals generate revenue primarily through the sale of advertising and sponsorship products, including CME services. We do not charge user fees for access to our public portals. Our advertisers and sponsors are able to reach, educate and inform target audiences of health-involved consumers and clinically-active physicians through The WebMD Health Network. We work closely with our customers to develop programs to reach specific groups of consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals and give them placement on the most relevant areas of our portals. Our advertisers and sponsors consist primarily of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies and consumer products companies whose products relate to health, wellness, diet, fitness, lifestyle, safety and illness prevention.

 

Our private portals enable employees and health plan members to make more informed benefit, treatment and provider decisions. We provide a secure, personalized user experience by integrating individual user data (including personal health information), plan-specific data from our employer or health plan clients and much of the content, decision-support technology and personal communication services that we make available through our public portals. Our applications are typically accessed through a client’s Web site or intranet and provide secure access for employees and plan members. We market our products through both our direct sales force and through selected distributors and resellers. We generate revenue from private portals through the licensing of our products to employers, such as American Airlines, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, PepsiCo, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation and EMC Corporation, and to health plans, such as Cigna, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Wellpoint, Inc., either directly or through our distributors. Our private portals do not generate revenue from advertising or sponsorship. Our public portals and our private portals constitute our Online Services segment.

 

In addition to our online presence, we have a Publishing and Other Services segment that provides complementary offline health content. Our offline publications also increase awareness of our brand among consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals. These publications include The Little Blue Book, a physician directory, ACP Medicine and ACS Surgery: Principles of Practice, our medical reference textbooks, and WebMD the Magazine, a consumer publication launched in early 2005 that we distribute free of charge to physician office waiting rooms. Also, with the acquisition of the assets of Conceptis Technologies, Inc. (which we refer to as Conceptis) in December 2005, as discussed below, we also conduct in-person CME.

 

For additional information regarding the results of operations of each of our segments, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations by Operating Segment” and Note 7 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report.