That's AOL Folks (hopefully!!!)

[Sogturtle]

Relevant to Warner cartoons in general...

Relevant indeed to Warner (and MGM cartoons) is the news of the last few days of the ongoing Warner-ization of "AOL-Time-Warner" and the total eclipse of AOL. In effect it started when two top former execs of Time-Warner were picked to replace mega-AOL honcho Bob Pittman. The company has been reorganizing, effectively making the disgusting AOL (my ISP!!) a minor unit within a division of the overall company. And now the AOL books are being CLOSELY examined!! If this continues (as it appears very likely) then AOL will end up just a bad taste (and bad memory) in the mouth of "the colussus" formerly known as Time-Warner. Some commentators are agitating for Time-Warner to spin off AOL already even!!! On the Termite Terrace board I predicted this would happen a full year ago, but this is even faster than I'd dreamed...!!! (God is just you know!)

Now to get them started on the one "franchise" that has continuously made money for them for SEVENTY YEARS, the Warner cartoons... They gotta get going on REAL theatrical cartoons produced DOMESTICALLY. Anybody listening in Warnerland???

[Jimmy Kustes]

Dreams do come true. Hopefully AOL won't start coming back to life.

[J Lee]

Actually, Tim, the AOL debacle does have one mitigating circumstance:

Thanks to the collapse, Ted Turner's net worth is reportedly down by $9.3 billion. Holy frejoles! as Ted's least favorite cartoon mouse might say...

[Pilmedium]

If AOL continues its decline, and loses its grasp over TW, I would be happy. Over 1000 classic cartoons produced by a company should not be held by a (previously?) stronger one. AOL is not the best internet service out there. However, the real question remains: If AOL is a lesser company, will Ted Turner have more power again? :eek:

[Sogturtle]

John and Pilmedium~

Ted Turner's total net worth is now indeed down drastically. Mercifully for US he sold off a LOT of his shares in the company (for cheap) long after the stock price had collapsed, so he is now a MUCH weaker force in the A-T-W mix. Iffffff he actually was the genius that he appears to believe himself to be, then he would have sold virtually his entire pile of stock back when the price was at its peak, paid all his taxes, and then sat back and giggled hysterically while the price collapsed (instead of pouting when they took away his job). Then as the price hit the bottom of the valley he would have swooped in with his mountain of billions of bucks and bought back 6-10 times as much stock. With this manouver he actually would have made himself the biggest single stockholder and actually been able to take over the whole shebang, installing himself as CEO pontifex maximus fuehrer Ted Turner. Thank God this visionary builder is NOT nearly that smart or crafty!!!!

It was reported sometime after the merger that one of the real reasons why Jerry Levin agreed to the entire idea was so as to drastically WEAKEN Ted Turner's position in the company (Ted had become such an unending pain to all concerned). If that was true then the strategy worked (but to risk flushing your own company and its stock price may seem somewhat extreme).

There appears to be almost no chance of AOL coming back to life, Time-Warner may actually spin it off (or merge it into something even less significant). Steve Case appears to be at a total loss, and the ghosts of Jack L., Harry, and Sam Warner have been seen lurking outside the Warner studio gates wearing BIG happy grins... ;)