Revenues at MediaBay (formerly known as Audio Book Club) jumped 202% for the third quarter ended September 30, to $11.8 million, while its net loss held even at $1.9 million. Acquisitions as well as expansion of its e-commerce activities were the two major factors behind MediaBay's strong showing. In July, the company launched its portal site, www.mediabay.com. Acquisitions have included the December purchase of the audio division of Columbia House and the June purchase of Doubleday Direct's audio unit. According to MediaBay, its customer base now exceeds 2.1 million names.

For the nine-month period, sales rose 167% to $30.7 million, while MediaBay's net loss increased to $4.5 million from $4.0 million in the same period in 1998.