By Philip Tan
Market-watchers often depict AOL Time Warner as a 900-pound gorilla
that sneaked by in the wake of the Microsoft courtroom confusion.
This is with good cause, as AOL Time Warner's modus operandi of absorbing
innovative technology companies dovetails with its uncanny ability
to consolidate its resources. Its own web site sets out to prove that
it is the conglomerate best positioned to profit from and develop
the current media climate.
Chairman Steve Case's opening remarks from 'AOL Time Warner Investor
Day' mentions how "we think the next wave is going to be about
convergence; and the real winners are not the people who, in the gold
rush, sold the pots and pans, but rather the people who owned the
gold"; the 'gold' being the content brands. The words 'Integration'
and 'Convergence' appear repeatedly through his speech that headlines
the Time Warner web site. Indeed, the entire site amplifies this message
through the incessant emphases on AOL Time Warner's business units,
from CNN to Warner Brothers to ICQ. Within the context of their chosen
message: "Connect, Inform, Entertain", the group identifies
itself with its music, film and television artists and shows rather
than with infrastructure building.
A glance at AOL Time Warner's 'Timeline' illustrates its strategy
far better than any mission statement could. A long history of assimilating
established and rapidly growing organizations demonstrates how the
conglomerate continually takes control of new pipes to help it profit
from its existing properties in new ways. Their quarterly reports
stress their ability to leverage incoming revenue to develop and establish
their newer units. There is an odd absence of links to affiliated
sites, but this does help emphasize the units' individuality and ability
to cater to specific, disparate markets. AOL Time Warner has successfully
managed to hide its bewildering size from consumers while being able
to flaunt its wealth of resources for the sake of investors.