AOL Subscribers Dropping Fast, Still Exploring Sale

from the but-why? dept

Remember the boom times when AOL would issue a press release every few months about them adding another million subscribers? It seems they aren't so proud heading back down the other side of the slope. The latest subscriber numbers for AOL don't look too good, and while Time Warner continues to insist that AOL is not for sale, the rumors are heating up again. The company lost 600,000 subscribers between September 2002 and September 2003. While they've been signing up some new subscribers to their broadband offering, they make a lot less money off of each of those subscribers. They also admit that they expect to lose a lot more subscribers, and some analysts are wondering why they don't seem to have any kind of plan to stop the losses. Meanwhile, others are predicting that someone like Microsoft or Barry Diller's InterActive Corp. may want to step in and buy AOL - but it's probably still a little too pricey for what they'd get.
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