AOL TV Is Yet Another Interactive TV Failure
from the try-try-again dept
Over the years, it seems that no one ever really learns from all the "interactive TV" failures that have come before them, because people keep trying again and again. The latest failure is an effort by AOL, called AOL TV, which will no longer take on new subscribers. Part of the deal was to offer AOL-branded TiVos, but a lot of that relationship dissolved a couple years ago. In the end, it appears AOL never really did much with the program anyway. They basically announced a relationship with TiVo and a few other device makers to create some sort of AOL TV device - but never followed through. They did little in the way of figuring out what people really wanted, and even less in the way of marketing what little they offered. My guess is that AOL continued to struggle with its "dual identity" problem, with parts of the company fighting against any sort of TiVo-like push, since it could harm the broadcasting and TV production parts of the company. Yet another case where AOL-Time Warner in-fighting allowed them to miss an opportunity.
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