Wednesday's
Roll Call alerted CD to some goings on at AOL LLC. As Google Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have been sucking up advertising dollars, AOL has been buying companies trying to join the party. Most recently, they
acquired Goowy Media Inc., a widget development and analytics tools company; and
Quigo, a leading site- and content-targeted advertising company, which is part of AOL's
Platform-A advertising business. That advertising division recently gained a
new president, Lynda Clarizio. They've also been trying the joint venture route, recently teaming with media company
Next New Networks,
CBS Radio and
Citysearch, to name a few. But these efforts haven't won't help AOL meet its revenue goals for the first quarter.
According to the New York Times, CEO Jeffrey Bewkes of Time Warner, AOL's parent company, acknowledged weakness in the business and said he was open to combining AOL with another company. While Bewkes (pictured) contemplates strategic alternatives for AOL, he also has his mind on the Time Warner Cable Inc. unit. The Wall Street Journal
reported Bewkes signaled he is leaning in favor of spinning off the cable unit, telling investors Tuesday a split between the two companies could be beneficial for both. He said the cable unit's structure may not fit with the overall company. -
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