AOL Time Warner 'name change'

AOL wants to strengthen its brand

Media giant AOL Time Warner is set to strip the reference to America Online from its name, according to the Washington Post.

Citing company sources, the newspaper said the board of directors plans to approve the name change at a meeting on Thursday.

The company also intends to change its logo and revert to the "TWX" stock-ticker symbol that Time Warner used before its merger with AOL two years ago, the Post said.

AOL Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons reportedly supports the change.

The internet portal and e-mail service claims that the association with its parent firm is creating a negative image amongst its customers.

Any controversy or criticism involving the corporate entity has actually hit our consumer brand Jonathan Miller

In a memo to staff last month, America Online chief executive Jonathan Miller told his staff that AOL had become shorthand for the media giant and that the association had been damaging.

"Any controversy or criticism involving the corporate entity has actually hit our consumer brand," Mr Miller wrote.

"I believe it's time to get our brand back."

America Online has suffered a decline in subscribers recently, as surfers switch to faster services.

Accusations

AOL Time Warner has been subject to a rush of bad publicity after the US financial regulator started an investigation into the firm's accounts.

It has also been hit by numerous shareholder lawsuits that accuse the firm of misleading investors.

Ironically, Time Warner executives have long wanted to rid itself of the AOL start to its name.

Time Warner has rapidly become the dominant force within the firm since the merger of the two firms in June 2000.