AOL Time Warner Set To Drop AOL From Name
AOL Time Warner is to drop AOL from its name in a symbolic move to distance the corporation from its ill-fated merger at the height of the dotcom boom.
It is understood the move will be discussed at today’s board meeting and the group will revert back to the TWX stock ticker symbol that Time Warner used before its merger with AOL.
The AOL Time Warner merger has quickly become a by-word for over-stretched synergies creative accounting and the worst excesses of the dotcom boom. The deal was the biggest corporate merger in history, valued at $165 billion and precipitated a 70% fall in the group’s share price
It is understood the group has already begun talking to several branding and strategy companies about a complete rebranding project which could cost it millions of dollars.
Analysts have attributed the decision to the shift in the balance of power within the company, which was cemented by the appointment of Time Warner veteran Dick Parsons, as chief executive, replacing Steve Case, who headed up the America Online division (see AOL Time Warner Puts Faith In Old Media).
However, it is understood that AOL has been pushed to have its brand removed from the AOL Time Warner name as the group is now synonymous with the largest media conglomerate in the world, as opposed to innovation on the web.
Analysts also believe the move reflects the publics growing unease with the growth of huge media monopolies and their stranglehold across media platforms. This fact was recently highlighted by the press outcry against Clear Channel, which reportedly systematically organised pro-war demonstrations across its huge network of local radio stations.
The high profile of massive media machines such as AOL Time Warner and Clear Channel is also increasingly weighing on the credibility of the media outlets they have acquired. For example in the UK, the music industry is rife with speculation and rumours that IPC’s NME is peddling an agreed AOL Time Warner line on certain artists. Although these rumours are unsubstantiated and flimsy, they reveal the increasing erosion of trust between consumers and big media brands
In fact, it appears the tide is turning away from the era of mega-corporations signalled by the AOL Time Warner merger. Earlier this week the US senate approved a resolution to repeal almost all the new regulations that would make it easier for the nations largest media companies to become even bigger.
The vote is only the second time in history that the senate has used a parliamentary procedure known as a “resolution of disapproval” to veto an action by regulators and has massive implications for the media marketplace.
AOL Time Warner: 020 7348 8000 www.aoltimewarner.com
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