AOL hatches interactive-video unit
Published: 17 Aug 2001 08:30 BST
AOL Time Warner on Thursday said it created a new division to spearhead the media giant's interactive-cable initiatives.
The division will allow the company to manage efforts to meld parts of its cable and Internet businesses. One important element of the AOL-Time Warner merger was the company's ability to introduce interactive services through its cable network, the second largest in the country after AT&T.
Joseph Collins, chief executive of Time Warner Cable, was named chairman of the Interactive Video division, as it is being called. Collins will report to AOL Time Warner chief executive Gerald Levin.
Glenn Britt, president of Time Warner Cable, will replace Collins as chief executive of the division, reporting to AOL Time Warner co-chief operating officer Bob Pittman. Tim Rutledge, senior vice president of Time Warner Cable, will become president, reporting to Britt.
Under Collins, the Interactive Video division will focus on introducing high-speed Internet services on Time Warner Cable, enhanced versions of AOLTV, video-on-demand and cable IP telephony.
AOL Time Warner added that it would launch its multiple Internet service provider services on its cable network in September. The company already has agreements with its AOL division and rival ISPs such as Earthlink to offer high-speed versions of these services to subscribers.
Collins is a Time Warner veteran who has headed Time Warner Cable since 1989 and ran Time's cable company before its merger with Warner Communications. Prior to that, Collins was president of HBO from 1984 to 1988.
More recently, Collins was the focal point of controversy when Time Warner Cable blacked out Walt Disney's ABC network after a business dispute. Time Warner's actions caused public outrage by millions of cable subscribers around the country.
More damaging, the move prompted federal regulators to examine the proposed AOL-Time Warner merger more carefully and opened a window of opportunity for Walt Disney to wage a lobbying crusade against the deal.
The Federal Trade Commission issued a consent order last year that imposed conditions to approving the deal. AOL Time Warner must offer a rival ISP before offering AOL on its cable system, and then offer two additional ISP services within 90 days of launching AOL. In September, Time Warner Cable is likely to launch Earthlink first and then AOL immediately afterward.
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