AOL INC. (AOL)

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AOL Time Warner Wants to Expand Film, TV Abroad

By Reshma Kapadia

NEW YORK (Reuters) - AOL Time Warner Inc.(NYSE:AOL - news) head Gerald Levin said Friday he was committed to expanding its entertainment business abroad, benefiting from the cross promotion efforts it has implemented in the United States.

``I don't just want to be an export machine.'' Levin said at a JP Morgan conference in New York.

The Internet media giant, home to movies such as ``Harry Potter (news - web sites) and the Sorcerer's Stone,'' has started making a local film in Germany and has similar projects in the works in France, Italy and Spain.

Although many believe that film is not a high-growth business, Levin said he was determined to make it so by changing the channels of marketing and distribution.

The performance of AOL Time Warner's film and entertainment business has been lackluster in recent quarters, but analysts expect ``Harry Potter'' to give it a solid boost.

The company has aggressively marketed the movie based on J.K. Rowlings' popular books throughout its different properties, which include cable networks TNT, the WB and HBO, as well as the world's largest Internet service and magazines such as People and Time.

Levin said he wants to be able to duplicate the cross promotion machine it has developed in the United States to market movies and artists, for example, through its magazine titles, networks and online service.

Executives at the world's largest Internet and media company have been talking about international expansion since January, when the $106.2 billion merger of Time Warner and AOL was completed, but analysts have been waiting for more aggressive announcements on that front.

AOL Time Warner agreed to buy IPC, Britain's leading consumer magazine publisher, in July and struck a deal with Beijing in October to distribute an entertainment cable TV channel in southern China in exchange for carrying a Chinese-government channel in parts of the United States.

``We want to have a dominant entertainment position in China,'' Levin said, adding that the company there can operate as a music company and an artist management company.

He reiterated that the advertising market was in a deep slump, which he believes does not have a historical parallel.

AOL Time Warner's subscriptions business and its ability to promote its products over different mediums have helped the company's properties outperform the overall market, Levin said. Media companies have taken a beating as ad spending has dried up amid the economic uncertainty.

Levin also reiterated that Mike Kelly's move to chief operating officer of the AOL Internet unit, from his former position as chief financial officer of the entire company, was a promotion, giving Kelly management experience he needed and wanted. He added that he had the habit of making constant changes in people and was going to continue to do so.

Wayne Pace, CFO of Turner Broadcasting System, replaces Kelly as CFO of the group.

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