As AOL Looks for Answers, Time Warner Hopes for Deal

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.

Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes said AOL may spin off its legacy dial-up service and acknowledged the AOL.com portal is being eroded by other portals, including Yahoo, a potential future partner. AOL execs say the company will not meet first quarter revenue goals and is unlikely hit its yearly numbers. Sagging dial-up subscriptions and slowing ad sales growth will both hurt. (More AOL stories.)