AOL launches its third core business unit

AOL is set to launch the third arm of its core business unit, MediaGlow, as part of the group’s larger global restructuring plans.

MediaGlow will centralise AOL’s entire publishing efforts, while Platform-A continues to focus on advertising and People Networks, which houses sites such as Bebo and AIM, continues to focus on social media.

The creation of MediaGlow comes as part of AOL’s transformation from a largely subscription based-ISP into an ad-supported publisher and advertising outfit.

AOL claims that MediaGlow will “dramatically expand, reposition and monetise its digital publishing business in 2009”.

Executive vice-president of programming for AOL Bill Wilson, who led AOL’s publishing unit through a “highly successful 2008”, is set to take on the new role of president of MediaGlow.

Wilson said: “We are very excited to push our efforts to a whole new level with the establishment of MediaGlow and are now in a position to take our successful formula global.”

Chairman and chief executive of AOL, Randy Falco, added: “Our vision was to rebuild AOL into three core businesses – publishing, advertising and social media.

“With the launch of MediaGlow, we have completed our goal in less than 18 months. MediaGlow provides us with the ability to extend our publishing success and puts AOL in a strong position for the future,” he said.

AOL plans to open two new studios in New York and Los Angeles to house MediaGlow, which will provide new video production capabilities from HD video to complete editing and encoding.

The studios will be used to shoot original video productions, including AOL Music’s Sessions, Moviefone’s Unscripted and AOL Television’s Outside the Box.

AOL also hopes to create over 30 editorially curated sites in 2009, by expanding AOL News and AOL Sports into a variety of newly created niche-oriented news and sports sites, building on the success of current sites such as Asylum, creating new sites focused on areas such as reality TV and finally, launching a new pop culture site “aimed at kids”.

In addition, MediaGlow will also use the technology of acquired companies Relegance and Sphere to build medium and long-tail focused automated sites in 2009 and 2010, in a bid to grow its “position in publishing”.

AOL Time Warner: 020 7348 8000 www.aoltimewarner.com