Diller to launch local city guide sites

Barry Diller, who heads up InterActiveCorp, will launch a new network of local sites next week called “AskCity” that promise to offer a new model for web search. The sites will combine the assets of Ask.com, CitySearch, Evite and TicketMaster, among other IAC properties. It’s yet another example of a pure play moving aggressively into the local space, and the trend will only intensify. In my humble opinion, unless local media companies (especially TV stations in the top 20 markets) step up with new, innovative online products in the next 12-18 months, they risk losing 20-40 percent of their total staff over the next 5 years. Sticking with just news, weather, traffic and news video won’t bring in nearly enough revenue to compensate for TV’s declines. It’s that simple, folks.