Time Warner

AOL to Cut One-Third of Staff; Voluntary Layoffs to Begin Dec. 4

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 8:51am.
New York - Needing to drastically trim costs as it prepares to separate from parent company Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), AOL said on Thursday that it plans to trim its workforce by about one-third -- approximately 2,300 workers -- through a combination of voluntary and involuntary layoffs. The company said that the goal of the restructuring is to reduce its annual operating costs by $300 million.
tags: AOL | Layoffs | Time Warner |

Time Warner to Spin Off AOL Dec. 9 With $3.5 B Valuation

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 17, 2009 - 11:39am.
Dulles, Va. - Media giant Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) announced on Monday that it plans to spinoff its AOL unit on Dec. 9. Shareholders of Time Warner will be given one share of AOL stock for every 11 shares of Time Warner they own. Time Warner said in a statement that the spinoff "will result in the complete legal and structural separation of the two companies." After the transaction, AOL will have a market value of about $3.5 billion, based on current share prices.
tags: Deals | AOL | Time Warner | Spin-Off | TMZ |

Details Emerge About AOL's Massive Workforce Reductions

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 20, 2009 - 9:50am.
New York - A day after AOL announced plans to cut one-third of its workforce -- up to 2,500 employees -- details are beginning to emerge about specifics of the plan.
tags: AOL | Layoffs | Time Warner |

AOL Reportedly Cuts 100 Jobs as Prelude to Mass Layoffs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 10, 2009 - 9:30am.
New York - AOL was expected to cut about 100 jobs on Tuesday, in what several industry blogs are calling just a prelude to mass layoffs expected to occur once the company completes its spin out from parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) next month. The moves reportedly are part of CEO Tim Armstrong's "Project Everest" initiative, which aims to trim costs throughout the company.

AOL Names Susan Lyne to New Board of Directors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 6, 2009 - 10:36am.
New York - Nearly two weeks after unveiling its new board of directors, AOL on Friday announced one new member. The company, which expects to complete its spin out from parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) by the end of this year, named Susan Lyne, the CEO of online luxury retailer Gilt Groupe, as the board's tenth member. Lyne also has served as the president and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and previously served in various positions at Walt Disney Company, rising to president of ABC Entertainment. Chaired by CEO Tim Armstrong, the board also will include Michael Powell, Fredric Reynolds, James Wiatt, Richard Dalzell, Karen Dykstra, William Hambrecht, Patricia Mitchell and James Stengel.

AOL Sees Revenue, Operating Income Plummet in Third Quarter

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2009 - 8:45am.
New York - With its spinout from parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) likely less than two months away, AOL continues to struggle financially, according to figures released on Wednesday.

Report: AOL Aims for Mid-December Spin-Out from Time Warner

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 30, 2009 - 7:06am.
Dulles, Va. - Following months of preparations, AOL plans to complete its spin-off from parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) in mid-December, Silicon Alley Insider reported. The blog cited three separate sources, including an AOL insider involved in the planning, while qualifying that an exact date hasn't yet been announced internally.
tags: Deals | AOL | Time Warner | Spin-Off |

Preparing for Spin-Off, AOL Names New Board of Directors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 26, 2009 - 10:17am.
New York - Taking another step toward its separation from parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), AOL on Monday named nine members to serve on its board of directors.

AOL Hires Former Google Exec to Build Ad Platform

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 2, 2009 - 7:25am.
New York - AOL said that it has hired former Google (NASD: GOOG) executive Shashi Seth as its senior vice president of global advertising products, charged with building the company's ad platform as it prepared to split with parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX).

Report: Time Inc. Looking to Create a Hulu for Magazines

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 2, 2009 - 7:03am.
New York - Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Time Inc. is pitching a new Hulu-like joint venture for magazines, that would be distributed on new digital platforms like the Amazon Kindle and forthcoming tablet computers, All Things D reported. The joint venture would reportedly operate independently from its publisher-investors, and provide a single interface where consumers could manage their digital magazine subscriptions from any device.

CNN Releases $1.99 Interactive News App for iPhone

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 29, 2009 - 8:49am.
Atlanta - Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) CNN on Tuesday released a new interactive news application for Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iPhone. The $1.99 application includes a live video stream, and "showcases news of the day through text, video and photos. It also features live breaking news video, push notification, localization and personalization tools, user-generated content capture and upload functionality through iReport."

tags: Mobile | Video | Apple | News | CNN | Time Warner | iPhone |

Life Magazine Adds 1,860 Issues to Google Archives

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 24, 2009 - 7:48am.
New York - More than 1,860 issues of Life magazine have been added to Google's (NASD: GOOG) digital archives as part of the company's massive book-scanning project.

Two Executives Let Go By AOL, Including Newly Named COO

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 16, 2009 - 9:27am.
New York - Just two months after being named the company's new COO, Kim Partoll reportedly has been let go by AOL, according to multiple media sources.
tags: Moves | AOL | Time Warner |

Broadcasters, Advertisers Team to Study Audience Ratings

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 10, 2009 - 9:06am.
New York - A consortium of 14 broadcasters, ad agencies and advertisers announced on Thursday that they are joining forces to explore new ways to measure audiences across traditional and new media. Founding members of the Council for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) include Time Warner (NYSE: TWX); News Corp. (NYSE: NWS); Viacom (NYSE: VIA); NBC Universal (NYSE: GE); Disney-ABC (NYSE: DIS); CBS (NYSE: CBS) Paramount; Discovery (NASD: DISCA); Starcom MediaVest; Mediabrands; WPP (NASD: WPPGY); Omnicom (NYSE: OMC); Unilever (NYSE: UL); AT&T (NYSE: T); and Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG).

AOL Taps Former Yahoo Exec to Lead Email and IM Group

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 9, 2009 - 9:07am.
New York - Looking to expand the reach of its email and instant messaging services, Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) AOL has hired former Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) executive Brad Garlinghouse as its president of Internet and mobile communications.
tags: Moves | Yahoo | AOL | Time Warner |

Verizon to Trial TV Everywhere for FiOS TV Subscribers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 27, 2009 - 10:25am.
New York - Verizon (NYSE: VZ) announced on Thursday that it has launched a trial of a TV Everywhere service for subscribes of its FiOS digital TV service, which would give them free access to their pay-TV channels online. The trial will include content from Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) TNT and TBS; Verizon said the trial "will soon include content from other providers." Using their Verizon Online login information, FiOS TV customers will gain access to the online programming at the networks' websites.

Time Warner Cable Plans TV Everywhere Trials

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 27, 2009 - 8:22am.
New York - Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) announced on Thursday that it is working with numerous networks on upcoming trials of TV Everywhere, a service that will let cable subscribers access many of their pay-TV channels for free online.

As Spin-Off Nears, AOL Names Arthur Minson as New CFO

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 27, 2009 - 7:22am.
Dulles, Va. - Just weeks ahead of its planned spinout from parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), AOL on Thursday named former Time Warner Cable executive Arthur Minson as its new executive vice president and CFO.

Time Warner in Deal to Post Video Clips on YouTube

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 19, 2009 - 12:21pm.
New York - Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) announced on Wednesday that it has signed a deal with Google's (NASD: GOOG) YouTube to place a variety of clips from its movies, TV shows and news programming on the video site. Under the deal, Warner Bros. Entertainment and TBS will be able to program videos on YouTube using a Time Warner embeddable player, create separate channels for its key brands, and control and sell ads on the clips -- splitting revenue with YouTube.

Record Number of U.S. Internet Users View Online Videos in June

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 17, 2009 - 10:38am.
Reston, Va. - More people watched online videos in June than during any other month since the birth of the Internet, according to new figures from Internet audience measurement firm comScore.