More on AOL's decision to end pop-up ads
Some more details on the use and end of pop-up ads on AOL from this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
The move to stop selling such ads is part of AOL Time Warner Inc.'s campaign to revitalize its online service after years of benign neglect. During the dot-com boom, the company became intensely focused on selling ads, but now that advertising has dried up, the company is trying to invigorate its service so its 35 million customers won't defect. Among other measures, Tuesday it launched its new 8.0 software.
The loyalty of its customers is increasingly crucial to America Online as it faces mounting competition from Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. and high-speed Internet providers, as well as internal pressure from its parent to stop crimping the entire company's profits. The unit's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, this year are expected to be $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, down from $2.9 billion last year.
America Online began selling pop-up ads in 1995. The ads are the first thing subscribers see when they log on and the last thing they see before they log off. They are often pitches for items such as computer accessories and language lessons -- and don't make up the core of America Online's advertising revenues.