AOL chief executive Jonathan Miller tried to convince Time Warner directors Thursday that the world's biggest Internet service provider is still a growth business, and the board's response was "engaged" and "fairly positive," according to a person familiar with the situation.
Miller's presentation to the Time Warner board lasted about an hour Thursday morning. Analysts have said Miller needs to convince Time Warner that the AOL unit is worth keeping despite the sharp drop last year in subscribers for its dial-up online service. Miller's strategic plan calls for AOL to make some of its content available free to non-AOL subscribers so that it can pull in more visitors to its Web site in a bid to boost ad revenue, the source said.
AOL lost more than 3 million subscribers last year to its dial-up service, but Miller is expected to say that AOL can manage that decline by growing its advertising, broadband and international businesses. AOL's higher-priced broadband service added 1.8 million subscribers last year. Miller, 47, who previously worked for hard-charging Barry Diller at USA Networks, joined AOL in late 2002 with a mandate to resuscitate the business.
News source: CNN
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