BusinessWeek.com reports that AOL is removing the "walled garden"
approach to its huge collection of Time Warner content. Until now
Time Warner has been reluctant to give away much content for free
and only AOL subscribers were able to access some content from Time
Warner's magazines. The BusinessWeek.com article says that's all about to change:
Time Warner (TWX ) has decided that it's go-for-broke time at AOL,
as the beleaguered online division launches a last-ditch gamble for
survival. To generate growth even as its Internet service loses
subscribers, the online company is launching one of the most radical
strategic shifts in years -- throwing open its content for free in a
bid to cash in on a gusher of online-ad revenues.
According to the BusinessWeek article the aol.com relaunch will occur in July.
The refurbished aol.com is taking a different approach than the other
big portals, such as Yahoo! (YHOO ) and Microsoft's (MSFT ) MSN, which
hit their stride before broadband usage took off. AOL's site, to
launch in July, will put streaming video and audio content front and
center -- including exclusive live concerts, celebrity interviews,
and film shorts.
AOL's strategy should help drive more traffic to the aol.com
website. Bloggers frequently link to free content. Some
newspapers like the New York Times even set up
specific links so bloggers can link to them. However, AOL
will have to hope its email, communication and security features
keep AOL subscribers from leaving for free web services and content.
