"What this does is basically ensure that Africana will be the leading black portal on the Internet," Gates said. "We thought that would take years to realize."
The Money Factor
"From our point of view the most exciting thing is that it gives us a bunch of years of commitment to funding to go on doing the work," Appiah said.
Africana.com does not publish banner ads on its website and had hoped to support itself through sponsorships, using public television as a model. At the time of the sale, AT&T had signed on as their first major sponsor.
Gates said that he had high hopes for this business model and anticipated that with its financial position the site could operate for a period of years.
"We had ample resources on hand," he said. "We weren't in a desperate situation. If no one had responded I would have become worried. But we would not have been worried for 2 or 3 years."
Both Gates and Appiah praised Time Warner for acquiring a company that will not bring them a quick and easy profit.
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