Stories related to: AOL

Apple’s new iPhone will provide free, CD-quality radio from 200 stations in 25 genres—even if that does cut into iTunes' music business, Saul Hansell blogs in the New York Times . But Apple knows that it will "fare best if it makes the iPhone as useful as possible, and that means exploiting the device’s ability to stream music, talk and video." More »

Yahoo needs to sell to Microsoft, or it’ll wind up a cautionary tale, writes Dennis Berman in the Wall Street Journal. Yahoo currently trades at 48 times earnings—for comparison, GE trades at 15 times earnings, and Google at 33, even though both are growing faster than Yahoo’s sad 9% rate. Lagging in growth isn’t a recipe for success: just ask AOL. More »

The Securities & Exchange Commission has filed civil fraud charges against eight former AOL executives for allegedly inflating AOL's advertising revenues before its merger with Time Warner, the Wall Street Journal reports. The men are accused of giving firms money to buy ads on AOL that they didn't want or need in "round-trip' transactions. More »

The Microsoft/Yahoo deal looks dead, and at least one company is celebrating: Google. Both companies are exploring other deals, but none will be as potent as MicroHoo might have been, BusinessWeek reports. That’s good news for a certain search giant. “Its two main competitors are separate and floundering,” said one analyst. “We think Google's the winner.” More »

At least seven lawsuits already have been filed against Yahoo for its handling of Microsoft’s bid to acquire the Internet portal and lawyers say the company is likely to face more, reports Reuters. Microsoft withdrew a $33-per-share offer Saturday—a 70% premium above Yahoo’s share price three months ago when Microsoft launched its bid—after Yahoo demanded $37. More »

High-fives broke out at Yahoo yesterday after Microsoft revoked its buyout bid, but founder Jerry Yang and colleagues may want to hold off on celebrations, the New York Times reports. Analysts expect the stock to tank tomorrow, shareholders are mulling legal action, key workers may walk, and an alliance with Google could prove disastrous. More »

It's been a while since AOL was associated with rising numbers, but a jump in traffic to its content sites shows the company's transition to an ad-supported business is on track, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company redesigned its news, sports, and health sites and created some new ones after its 2006 decision to make its service free. More »

Once, advertisers bought web ads the way they bought TV spots: by buying space on popular sites to increase brand visibility. Now the mentality has changed, the New York Times reports: Buyers want targeted buys that produce lots of clicks for their buck. Increasingly, that means they’re turning away from pricey portals like Yahoo to specialized ad networks. More »

A deal that would have Google operate Yahoo’s core search ad business may be closer now that the two have successfully tested the system, reports the Wall Street Journal. An agreement would increase Yahoo’s cash flow by as much as $1 billion annually, and give it additional leverage to fight a hostile Microsoft takeover bid—or at least boost its sale price. More »

Google has hired controversial former dot-com banker Frank Quattrone to advise the company on its increasingly complicated role in Yahoo’s takeover drama, the New York Times reports. It’s Quattrone’s first high-visibility gig since his obstruction-of-justice conviction was overturned last year. Google CEO Eric Schmidt is a longtime associate of Quattrone’s. More »

Yahoo's board meets today to examine the options for avoiding a hostile takeover by Microsoft, the Wall Street Journal reports. Experts think a Microsoft grab is still the most likely scenario, but the situation has grown increasingly complicated in the midst of discussions of an AOL-Yahoo merger, Yahoo's proposed trial of Google ads, and rumors of News Corp. joining Microsoft's side. More »

Google, Yahoo and a bevy of Internet biggies have joined to fight a proposed New York state law that would limit their ability to collect information about people's web habits for advertisers, reports the Wall Street Journal . The coalition says the law would endanger the future of online advertising and “the availability of free content on the Internet.” More »

Two groundbreaking Internet deals are in the works, both related to Microsoft's desire to take over Yahoo, the Wall Street Journal reports. In one, Yahoo is considering combining its online operations with Time Warner's AOL. In the other, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is in talks to join Microsoft in its bid to acquire Yahoo.  More »

For the first time since Microsoft made an unsolicited—and unwelcome—$44.6 billion bid to take over Yahoo Jan. 31, executives for the two companies sat down this week to discuss what a post-merger company might look like, reports the Wall Street Journal. No negotiations took place, the Journal notes. Microsoft officials pitched their vision, and Yahoo officials mostly listened. More »

AOL will buy Bebo.com for $850 million in an attempt to enter the social networking market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bebo has 22 million unique visitors a month, well behind MySpace's 109 million, but the site’s strong European presence will give AOL access to key youth demographics outside the US. The move comes amidst reports of internal turmoil and a possible sale of the Time Warner subsidiary. More »

Netscape Navigator is still the browser of choice for 0.14% of Internet users, which doesn’t sound like a lot, until you realize that’s over a million people. They, and other late adopters like them, are becoming a rare breed in today’s world of automatic updates, but they play a key role for the tech industry they spurn, the New York Times reports. More »

AOL’s efforts at launching an Internet ad-sales business—dubbed Platform A—continue to stumble, the New York Times reports. Parent Time Warner Monday fired another exec and yesterday said it’s willing to combine AOL with another company to jump-start the moribund division it’s already spent $1 billion on. Ex-AOLers say the one-time Internet giant is self-destructing. More »

Long gone are the days of Internet anonymity. Big Web companies know all about you, says a study commissioned by the New York Times . The Internet giants track users’ behavior across sites, gathering details on a typical person several hundred times a month. That information lets them target content and—most lucratively—advertising, leaving traditional media companies in the dust. More »

Yahoo may postpone its annual meeting to delay a proxy battle with Microsoft, reports the New York Times . The move would temporarily fend off a hostile takeover bid by the computer giant, and buy Yahoo some time to weigh its options, including a negotiated deal with Microsoft and a merger or joint venture with Time Warner’s AOL. Microsoft’s bid currently is worth $41.2 billion. More »

AOL is moving its HQ to New York, cutting nearly half of its 5,700 DC-area jobs, and leaving serious questions about the Washington, DC area’s tech industry in its wake. AOL’s declining fortunes have already hurt the sector, but local techies and VCs have fought back with numerous startups, reports the Washington Post . More »