New York - AOL (NYSE: TWX) could emerge as the big winner of this weekend's failed mega-deal between Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and Yahoo (NASD: YHOO), with both companies potentially seeking to acquire the Time Warner unit in their efforts to better compete with Internet ad leader Google, The Wall Street Journal reported. "Both companies may turn their attention to the struggling Internet business, providing Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes with a possible exit strategy," The Journal reported.

New York - In a move expected by analysts, media conglomerate Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) will completely spin off its cable TV company, CEO Jeffrey L. Bewkes announced in a statement on Wednesday. "A complete structural separation of Time Warner Cable, under the right circumstances, is in the best interest of both companies' shareholders," said Bewkes. "We're working hard on an agreement with Time Warner Cable, which we expect to finalize soon."

Dulles, Va. - Another sharp drop in subscription revenue took its toll on AOL's bottom line during the first quarter, parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) said on Wednesday. The company, which has been trying to establish itself as an online advertising power, lost 647,000 subscribers during the three-month period, and was down to 8.7 million subscribers as of March 31.

New York - Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Warner Bros. Television Group on Monday announced plans to launch two new broadband, ad-supported sites, TheWB.com and KidsWB.com, the former of which will feature both The WB Networks' most popular series and other programming, as well as original series created specifically for the site. The company said that charter advertising and promotional partners on the sites include Mattel, McDonald's and Johnson & Johnson, while distribution and marketing partners include Comcast Cable, Fancast.com, AOL and various mobile carriers.

Dulles, Va. - Following a year of revamping all of its major programming channels, AOL (NYSE: TWX) said that the sites in March hit all-time highs in terms of both unique visitors and page views, according to data from comScore Media Metrix. During the month, page views on AOL's programming sites grew 28%, and are up 35% from a year ago.

London - U.K.-based video game publisher SCi, which owns Eidos and the "Tomb Raider" franchise, has received a $119 million investment from Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Warner Bros. and real estate investor Robert Tchenguiz through a private share placement.

New York - Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) AOL is laying off around 100 employees from its new Platform-A advertising unit, which was created through the blending of several acquisitions, including Adverstising.com, Tacoda, Quigo, Third Screen Media, Lightningcast and Adtech, Silicon Alley Insider reports.

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Following what is said to have been a successful week-long test, Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) is now seeking to partner with Google (NASD: GOOG) to provide ads alongside its search results, the Wall Street Journal reported. The tie-up with Google would be a key element to a prospective deal where Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) would merge with Yahoo, and take a stake in the company, according to Reuters.

New York - News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) is in negotiations with Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) to join its hostile takeover bid for Yahoo (NASD: YHOO), while Yahoo, which has rebuffed Microsoft's advances, has itself been holding talks with AOL and News Corp., The New York Times reported on Thursday. Should News Corp. join Microsoft in its offer, Yahoo would likely see a higher bid made than Microsoft's current offer, in a deal that would combine Yahoo with Microsoft's MSN and News Corp.'s MySpace.

Burbank, Calif. - TMZ, the celebrity gossip site joint venture between Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) AOL and Telepictures Productions, announced on Thursday the launch of a new ad-supported mobile site, powered by Quattro Wireless. The site will offer news, text alerts, photo galleries and dozens of videos. TMZ said it will also launch an on-deck mobile website with mobile network operator AT&T during the second quarter.

DMW’s CEO & Publisher provides a wrap-up of the top stories of the week. Who’s hot, who’s not and what’s the industry buzz?

The Microsoft - Google battle was back in the headlines this week with both companies announcing acquisitions in the online advertising space and increased speculation about the future of Yahoo. On the acquisition front, Google (NASD: GOOG) announced on Tuesday that it has received approval from the European Commission for its $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, the final step to completing the transaction. Google chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt applauded the announcement noting that "with DoubleClick, Google now has the leading display ad platform.”

Sunnyvale, CA – According to the Wall Street Journal, senior executives of Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) met on Monday to discuss Microsoft’s takeover over the internet giant. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two since Microsoft’s unsolicited bid on January 31, the WSJ says.

New York - AOL (NYSE: TWX) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Bebo, a social media network, for $850 million in cash. Bebo is particularly strong outside the United States, especially in Britain, and has a global membership of more than 40 million.

Dulles, Va. - The head of media giant Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) said that he is open to a deal combining AOL with another company, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. CEO Jeffrey Bewkes told the paper that he favors "whatever configuration makes it the strongest and the most valuable." AOL reportedly has been in discussions about a possible combination with Yahoo (NASD: YHOO), which has been attempting to fend off a hostile takeover by Microsoft (NASD: MSFT).

Dulles, Va. - AOL (NYSE: TWX) has announced the launch of Open AIM 2.0, a new incarnation allowing developers greater access to its AIM instant messaging network and giving them freedom to integrate the technology into their websites. Web-based messaging providers meebo and eBuddy were the first to sign on to the new program. It also will give participants a way to generate income through AIM Money, a new advertising revenue sharing platform expected to debut in April. Since launching its original Open AIM program in 2006, AOL said that more than 235,000 third-party developers have signed on to create everything from plug-ins that allow users to send money, to bots that send users notifications when their friends post new pictures and videos.

Dulles, Va. - Looking to boost its Web traffic, as well as its appeal to potential advertisers, AOL (NYSE: TWX) is planning to launch at least a dozen new websites by midyear, Bloomberg reported.

Atlanta - Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) CNN plans this week to launch iReport.com, a new site that will feature citizen journalism photos and videos submitted by CNN viewers. CNN said it has received over 100,000 submissions since launching its iReport feature in 2006, including nearly 10,000 in January alone, but has used less than 10% of all submissions in its broadcasts or on its website. Unlike the iReport submissions that CNN has utilized thus far, the content uploaded to iReport.com site will be not be subject to fact-checking.

DMW’s CEO & Publisher provides a wrap-up of the top stories of the week. Who’s hot, who’s not and what’s the industry buzz?

In the days following Microsoft’s (NASD: MSFT) announcement of its unsolicited $44.6 billion takeover bid for Yahoo (NASD: YHOO), much of the news focused on the battle between Google and Microsoft to color the other’s motives as anti-competitive. As reports surfaced that Yahoo may try to avoid being acquired by Microsoft by giving control of its search advertising to Google in exchange for a large revenue share (although nothing has made public by either Google or Yahoo on this), Microsoft reportedly began lobbying government officials to block any such deal between the two on antitrust grounds setting the stage for what is likely to be a long and public battle between Google and Microsoft over control of the Internet.

Los Angeles - Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) HBO is offering free streams of the first fifteen episodes of its new series "In Treatment" on its website, in an attempt to help generate a following for the show -- the first HBO series that airs five nights a week, according to The Hollywood Reporter.