There have been problems at Time Warner Inc. since the two corporations became one in 1990. Along came AOL eleven years (2001) later to form one big disfunctional family. Things became so bad in 2003 that the company dropped the "AOL" from its name and oh, by the way, also removed Steve Case as executive chairman in favor of Richard Parsons. AOL remained part of the company but not even in name only. On December 27, 2007 new Time Warner CEO, Jeffrey Bewkes said it's possible that the company would spin-off Time Warner Cable and sell-off AOL and Time Inc., leaving Turner Networks, Warner Bros., HBO and New Line Cinema...
Time Warner has made the possibility of selling-off AOL a reality with the announcement that they are indeed putting the company up for grabs. Make no mistake, AOL is still profitable. Cost reductions amounting to $1.7 billion makes it so. This is not the first spin-off for Time Warner but it is the biggest. And who might the would-be suitors be? Google owns 5% of AOL but won't bite until the Microsoft-Yahoo deal either succeeds or fails, Barry Diller, CEO of InterActiveCorp. previously expressed interest in AOL but is now hedging, Rupert Murdoch at News Corp. says, not me. Could Microsoft-Yahoo! be interested? Forbes.com reports that possibility would be a longshot, so much depends on whether or not the Microsoft takeover of Yahoo happens. The guessing will continue even after that issue is resolved...
Here's what happened to the lack of growth for AOL - like me, AOL was probably the first Internet service provider you subscribed to (and still might) but you paid a yearly subscription fee, something that became cheaper elsewhere and dial-up went the way of high-speed broadband. Time Warner also came up with better, high-speed services like Road Runner and Time Warner Cable. AOL reduced their subscription fees in August of 2006 and according to AOL, the vast majority of previous subscribers have remained loyal and have stayed. Increasing operating costs have really taken a huge chunk out of AOL, so much so that they're willing to 'dump' it. For the right price, that is...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1940] Premiered on this date: Walt Disney's "Pinocchio" has its world premiere at the Center Theater in Manhattan. Here's the trailer for the movie: http://youtube.com/watch?v=SddBJzr1nmM ...1964] The Beatles land on American soil for the first time and the 'British Invasion' begins. The Beatles were brilliant in their JFK press conference: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jYciRQDkYD4 ...1974] Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" debuts in movie theaters...1979] "Supertrain", the TV anthology debuts on NBC-TV but don't ever mention it to Fred Silverman. Here's the shows' open: http://youtube.com/watch?v=gUERtAe73NI ...1979] The Clash invade America. I was fortunate enough to fly several Epic executives out on one of William Paley's jets to see the Clash open at the University of California at Berkeley and take part in the ill-fated Rolling Stone Magazine photo when the 'real bad boys of rock and roll' walked out of the photo...
- 1949] The solid gold Yankee Clipper: Joe DiMaggio becomes the first $100,000 player...
- 1959] 'Happy Trails': Thousands attend Buddy Holly's funeral in Lubbock (TX). Here are some rare tapes of Holly in action: http://youtube.com/watch?v=zYT4v1AUAuI ...1999] King Hussein of Jordan dies from cancer at 63. His son replaces him...
- 1965] The Name Game: Cassius Clay becomes a Muslim and adopts the name, Muhammad Ali...
- 1966] Who's your daddy?: "Crawdaddy" magazine is published for the first time. It was designed to compete with Rolling Stone...
- 1985] Swimsuit edition: 'Sports Illustrated' releases its annual 'Swimsuit' edition which somehow manages to be not only the largest regular edition but 'most read' edition and here's a preview of the soon-to-be published 2008 edition: http://youtube.com/watch?v=dEKQ95OyuMk ...
- 1985] Start spreading the news: "New York, New York" becomes the official anthem of New York City. When the Yankees win they play Frank Sinatra's version: http://youtube.com/watch?v=S0kpjyAFoxk , when they lose, it's Liza Minelli's version, which should make her feel read good...
- 1988] Wedding Bells: Robin Givens and Mike Tyson get married. The marriage will end in a split-decision with Robin winning by getting the hell out of the marriage...
- 1995] Gotcha!: Ramzi Yousef, alleged mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan...
- 2005] Guilty as charged: Defrocked priest Paul Shanley is convicted of repeatedly raping and fondling a boy at his church in the Boston Archdiocese during the 80s. Shanley is sentenced to a 12 to 15 years in the sex scandal...
Music Memories:
- 1961] Recorded on this date: "My True Story" - Jive Five: http://youtube.com/watch?v=esniUyxyzeE&feature=related ...
- 1969] Debuts on this date: "This is Tom Jones" http://youtube.com/watch?v=XkMKRxn5x14 . The variety show will air weekly on ABC-TV until January, 1971...
- 1979] Number One on this date: "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" - Rod Stewart...
Commentary:
Bob Sherwood comments on the format change at CD 101.9, from smooth jazz to the classic rocker, WRXP, "New York's Rock Experience": "I listened to it more than any other station in the area and found a number of artists whose material I purchased - at retail! - and now that avenue of pleasure is dried-up. At least we're assured that we can have 'Stairway to Heaven', 'Layla' and something by the Beatles on a 24/7 basis. When one's in a 10-minute spot sweep, one or the other will be playing one of the preceding." Bob refers to the other 2 (WAXQ and WXRK) classic rockers. There will be others that miss the old format, you can be sure...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Endy Chavez (30), Ashton Kutcher (30), Chris Rock (42), Garth Brooks (46), James Spader (48), Emo Philips (52), Gay Talese (76) and Oscar Brand (88)...
Timeline Countdown: 3 days until Red Sox pitchers & catchers report, 7 days for the rest of the teams, 43 days until spring and 48 days until opening day...
