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CNN Live At Daybreak
AOL Time Warner Mulls Dropping AOL From Name
Aired August 12, 2003 - 06:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time to get a little business buzz right now. AOL Time Warner, the parent company of this network, is considering a name makeover.
For more on that, let's head live to New York and the Nasdaq site and Carrie Lee.
What's this about?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Carol, it is about a big name change. AOL may go AWOL from the AOL Time Warner corporate name. Now American Online is part of the AOL Time Warner and that is where the issue lies. America Online is the Internet service provider and executives there say that they are looking for a name change. They are concerned that negative publicity regarding the corporate parent is hurting this Internet service provider.
Now sources tell CNN that AOL execs believe that a name change may be beneficial because the corporate name often gets confused with the America Online service. The corporate name is often shorted to AOL, which is also commonly a nickname for the America Online unit.
Now AOL Time Warner, of course, is the parent network of CNN. The move could be considered at a board meeting later in September. And AOL Time Warner is also reportedly considering changing its stock ticker symbol, which is currently AOL. We do know that TWX, as far as an option for ticker symbols, is still open. We'll see if that comes in to light. But clearly, Carol, the companies didn't merge until January of 2001, a lot of talk about synergies then. My how things have changed now that we're in late 2003.
COSTELLO: Yes, synergy is not a -- well, I guess it's a dirty word now, isn't it, at least here?
LEE: Yes, a lot is happening. There have been some problems with subscriptions at America Online. Also, a lot of accounting issues surrounding the company. So there have certainly been a lot of issues. It will be very interesting to see what the board decides in late September.
COSTELLO: All right, Carrie Lee, many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired August 12, 2003 - 06:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time to get a little business buzz right now. AOL Time Warner, the parent company of this network, is considering a name makeover.
For more on that, let's head live to New York and the Nasdaq site and Carrie Lee.
What's this about?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Carol, it is about a big name change. AOL may go AWOL from the AOL Time Warner corporate name. Now American Online is part of the AOL Time Warner and that is where the issue lies. America Online is the Internet service provider and executives there say that they are looking for a name change. They are concerned that negative publicity regarding the corporate parent is hurting this Internet service provider.
Now sources tell CNN that AOL execs believe that a name change may be beneficial because the corporate name often gets confused with the America Online service. The corporate name is often shorted to AOL, which is also commonly a nickname for the America Online unit.
Now AOL Time Warner, of course, is the parent network of CNN. The move could be considered at a board meeting later in September. And AOL Time Warner is also reportedly considering changing its stock ticker symbol, which is currently AOL. We do know that TWX, as far as an option for ticker symbols, is still open. We'll see if that comes in to light. But clearly, Carol, the companies didn't merge until January of 2001, a lot of talk about synergies then. My how things have changed now that we're in late 2003.
COSTELLO: Yes, synergy is not a -- well, I guess it's a dirty word now, isn't it, at least here?
LEE: Yes, a lot is happening. There have been some problems with subscriptions at America Online. Also, a lot of accounting issues surrounding the company. So there have certainly been a lot of issues. It will be very interesting to see what the board decides in late September.
COSTELLO: All right, Carrie Lee, many thanks.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
