AOL Time Warner unveiled plans Tuesday to revamp its struggling America Online unit, which expects advertising and commerce revenue to fall 40 percent to 50 percent in 2003.
In a highly anticipated meeting with analysts Tuesday, AOL Time Warner cut the advertising and commerce outlook for its AOL division. The advertising and commerce decline will offset growth in subscriptions, resulting in flat revenue in 2003.
To cushion the worries about growth, AOL offered a sneak peek at AOL 9.0, which looks dramatically different from the latest version of its flagship Internet service. AOL also announced a bevy of alliances with its corporate cousins to bolster its content lineup. The online unit plans to feature content from AOL Time Warner properties such as CNN, Time Inc., Warner Music Group, Warner Brothers, New Line and HBO.
Another primary focus of the meeting was broadband. Notably, AOL wants to partner with cable and DSL (digital subscriber line) providers and promote its bring-your-own-Internet-access plan, which charges $14.95 per month. These ideas have been floated before, but haven"t panned out.