AOL is an American web portal and former online service provider, currently based in New York City. Formerly a prominent player in the early internet era, providing dial-up access, email, and instant messaging services, AOL has since transitioned into a media company. The brand is now marketed by Bending Spoons, an Italian conglomerate, signifying a shift in ownership and strategic focus.
In January 1983, Steve Case was hired as a marketing consultant for Control Video, marking his initial involvement with the company that would become AOL.
In May 1983, Jim Kimsey became a manufacturing consultant for Control Video, a company nearing bankruptcy. This was a crucial step in the company's restructuring.
In 1983, AOL began as Control Video Corporation (CVC), founded by William von Meister. Its sole product was an online service called GameLine for the Atari 2600 video game console.
In 1983, PlayNet, Inc. was founded by Howard Goldberg and Dave Panzl. The Quantum Link software was based on software licensed from PlayNet, Inc..
In November 1985, Quantum Link (Q-Link) went online after PlayNET licensed its software to it. This marked an early step in the evolution of what would become AOL.
In 1985, Quantum Link (Q-Link) launched as a dedicated online service for Commodore 64 and 128 computers. The Quantum Link software was based on software licensed from PlayNet, Inc.
In 1985, William von Meister left Control Video Corporation. This departure marked a shift in leadership and direction for the company.
In 1987, Steve Case was promoted to executive vice-president. This advancement highlighted his growing influence within Quantum Computer Services.
In 1988, AOL offered the first online courses, pioneering the concept of online education.
In 1988, a new IBM PC client was launched. This indicated the company's expansion to cater to IBM PC users, broadening its user base and service offerings.
In 1989, the service was renamed to America Online (AOL). This rebranding marked a significant step in the company's development, setting the stage for its future growth and dominance in the online services market.
In 1990, AOL offered the first real-time homework help service (the Teacher Pager), predating homework help bulletin boards. They also launched the first omnibus service for teachers (the Teachers' Information Network).
In February 1991, AOL for IBM PC compatibles running MS-DOS was launched using a GeoWorks interface, expanding AOL's accessibility to a wider range of users.
In 1991, AOL launched the first service by children, for children (Kids Only Online), and the first online service for parents (the Parents Information Network).
In 1991, Steve Case became CEO when Jim Kimsey retired. This transition marked a new era of leadership for the company.
In September 1993, AOL added Usenet access to its features. This addition contributed to the phenomenon commonly referred to as the "Eternal September".
In 1993, when AOL gave clients access to Usenet, they hid at least one newsgroup in standard list view: alt.aol-sucks, leading to distaste from the existing user base for AOL and its clients.
In November 1994, AOL purchased Booklink for its web browser to give its users web access, indicating AOL's efforts to integrate web browsing capabilities.
By 1995, AOL had about three million active users. This milestone demonstrated AOL's rapid growth and increasing popularity as a leading online service provider.
In 1995, AOL purchased search engine WebCrawler. This acquisition aimed to enhance AOL's search capabilities.
In 1995, AOL was headquartered at 8619 Westwood Center Drive in the Tysons Corner CDP in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia.
On March 31, 1996, the short-lived eWorld was purchased by AOL. This acquisition further expanded AOL's services and reach.
In October 1996, AOL was quickly running out of room for its network at the Fairfax County campus, indicating the need for expansion.
In October 1996, market conditions forced AOL to offer unlimited access, leading to a shift in focus from content creation to advertising to maintain profitability.
In December 1996, AOL changed from an hourly fee to a flat monthly rate of $19.95. This shift led to a surge in users and connection issues.
After unlimited access was implemented, AOL considered scrapping the community leader program entirely but continued it with a reduced number of community leaders, with scaled-back roles in creating content from 1996.
In 1996, AOL replaced Booklink with a browser based on Internet Explorer, reportedly in exchange for inclusion of AOL in Windows. This collaboration aimed to enhance AOL's browser capabilities.
In 1996, AOL used a system of 33,000 volunteers, referred to as community leaders, to moderate its chat rooms, forums and user communities, receiving free access in exchange for moderating the chat rooms and creating or overseeing up to 90% of AOL's content.
On August 07, 1996, AOL experienced a total outage starting at 1:00 AM PST that would last nineteen hours and took over six million people offline. This major outage highlighted the challenges of rapid growth.
After the deal closed in March 1997, AOL launched its own branded search engine, based on Excite, called NetFind.
In 1997, about half of all US homes with Internet access had it through AOL. AOL became the dominant online service internationally with more than 34 million subscribers.
In February 1998, AOL acquired CompuServe Interactive Services (CIS) via WorldCom (later Verizon), which kept Compuware's networking business. This acquisition consolidated AOL's position in the online services market.
In November 1998, AOL announced it would acquire Netscape, best known for their web browser, in a major $4.2 billion deal.
In 1998, AOL purchased Netscape for US$4.2 billion. This acquisition expanded AOL's capabilities and influence in the internet market.
On March 17, 1999, the deal for AOL to acquire Netscape closed, finalizing the major acquisition.
In May 1999, two former volunteers filed a class-action lawsuit alleging AOL violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by treating volunteers like employees.
In December 1999, AOL acquired MapQuest for $1.1 billion, expanding its service offerings.
By 1999, there were over 15,000 volunteers in the AOL community leader program.
In 1999, NetFind was renamed AOL Search. This rebranding aimed to align the search engine with the AOL brand.
In January 2000, AOL and Time Warner announced plans to merge, forming AOL Time Warner, Inc. This merger was one of the largest in history.
By 2000, AOL was providing internet service to over 20 million consumers, dominating the market of internet service providers (ISPs).
On January 11, 2001, the deal between AOL and Time Warner closed, forming AOL Time Warner, Inc. The new company was led by executives from both AOL, SBI, and Time Warner.
In August 2001, the website "No More AOL CDs" was started by two IT workers to collect one million disks with the intent to return the disks to AOL.
In 2001, AOL purchased the media conglomerate Time Warner in the largest merger in US history at the height of its popularity. This marked a peak in AOL's influence before its subsequent decline.
In 2002, Jonathan Miller became CEO of AOL. This leadership change occurred during a period of significant market shifts.
In October 2003, AOL was sued by the Ohio Attorney General for improper billing practices.
In 2003, Jason Smathers, an AOL employee, was convicted of stealing 92 million America Online screen names and selling them to a spammer.
In 2004, along with the launch of AOL 9.0 Optimized, AOL also made available the option of personalized greetings which would enable the user to hear his or her name while accessing basic functions and mail alerts, or while logging in or out.
On June 8, 2005, AOL ended its community leader program.
On June 25, 2005, AOL discontinued access to Usenet, providing community-based message boards in lieu of Usenet.
In August 2005, Jason Smathers was sentenced to 15 months in prison for stealing and selling America Online's 92 million screen names. He was also recommended to pay $84,000 in restitution.
On August 24, 2005, America Online agreed to pay $1.25 million to the state of New York and reformed its customer service procedures, no longer requiring customer service representatives to meet retention quotas for bonuses.
On December 20, 2005, it was revealed that Google would purchase a 5% share of AOL for $1 billion. This investment signaled a partnership between the two tech giants.
In early 2005, AOL stated its intention to implement a certified email system called Goodmail, aimed at providing a visual indication for trusted sources and avoiding spam filters for companies with pre-existing business relationships with users.
On April 3, 2006, AOL announced it would retire its full name, America Online. The official service name became AOL, and the Time Warner subdivision's name changed to AOL LLC.
The dearaol.com campaign lost momentum, with the last post to the now defunct dearaol.com blog—"AOL starts the shakedown" being made on May 9, 2006.
On May 31, 2006, the collection of search keywords for over 650,000 users ended. This data was later released on August 4, 2006.
On June 8, 2006, AOL introduced AOL Active Security Monitor, a tool to assess PC security and suggest security software from AOL or Download.com.
On June 13, 2006, Vincent Ferrari documented his account cancellation phone call in a blog post, revealing difficulties in canceling his AOL account and sparking widespread criticism of AOL's customer service practices.
On July 19, 2006, AOL's entire retention manual was released on the Internet.
On August 3, 2006, Time Warner announced that the company would be dissolving AOL's retention centers due to its profits hinging on $1 billion in cost cuts, estimating a loss of over six million subscribers in the following year.
On August 4, 2006, AOL released a compressed text file containing 20 million search keywords for over 650,000 users on one of its websites for research purposes.
In August 2006, AOL announced free email accounts and software previously exclusive to paying customers, provided users accessed AOL or AOL.com through non-AOL access methods, aiming to cut costs and retain members.
In October 2006, Carphone Warehouse acquired AOL UK's ISP operations to leverage its 100,000 LLU customers, becoming the UK's largest LLU provider.
On November 16, 2006, Randy Falco took over from Jonathan Miller as the CEO of AOL.
In December 2006, AOL agreed to provide restitution to Florida consumers to settle a case filed against them by the Florida Attorney General.
In December 2006, AOL closed its final U.S. call center, shifting customer support to service centers in India and the Philippines.
Prior to 2006, AOL frequently sent unsolicited mass direct mail of floppy disks and CD-ROMs containing their software, attracting criticism for the environmental cost of the campaign.
Prior to 2006, AOL received criticism for its community policies, terms of service, customer service, and especially its direct mailing of CD-ROMs and 3.5-inch floppy disks containing its software, with AOL CDs recognized as PC World's most annoying tech product.
On January 26, 2007, AOL 9.0 VR (Vista Ready) was released. It was no longer considered badware due to changes AOL made in the software.
In August 2007, the "No More AOL CDs" project was shut down, having collected an estimated 410,176 CDs.
On September 17, 2007, AOL announced it was moving a corporate headquarters from Dulles, Virginia, to New York City and forming Platform A, a new advertising subsidiary, highlighting the company's shift to advertising-driven business models. Significant operations, including access services, remained in Dulles.
On October 15, 2007, Randy Falco announced plans to lay off 2,000 AOL employees worldwide by the end of 2007, which resulted in about 40% of AOL's workforce being laid off. Compensation included a minimum of 120 days of severance pay, with 60 days offered in lieu of the WARN Act's 60-day notice.
By November 2007, AOL's customer base decreased to 10.1 million subscribers.
According to Falco, as of December 2007, the conversion rate of accounts from paid access to free access was more than 80%.
In 2007, AOL Desktop, an internet suite integrating a web browser, media player, and instant messenger client, was released by AOL. Version 10.X was based on AOL OpenRide and the macOS version is based on WebKit.
In 2007, AOL offered AOL Toolbar, a browser toolbar Mozilla plug-in, for several web browsers that provided quick access to AOL services.
On January 3, 2008, AOL announced the closure of its Reston, Virginia, data center, which was then sold to CRG West.
On March 13, 2008, AOL acquired the social networking site Bebo for $850 million (£417 million).
On March 12, 2009, Tim Armstrong, formerly with Google, was appointed as the chairman and CEO of AOL.
In 2009, AOL was spun off from Time Warner, with Tim Armstrong appointed as the new CEO. This marked a significant shift as AOL began to operate independently again.
In a 2009 article in the International Journal of Cultural Studies, AOL's community leader program was described as an example of co-production.
On April 6, 2010, AOL announced plans to either close down or sell Bebo.
On September 28, 2010, AOL signed an agreement at the San Francisco TechCrunch Disrupt Conference to acquire TechCrunch.
On December 12, 2010, AOL acquired about.me, a personal profile and identity platform, four days after its public launch.
In 2010, AOL finally agreed to settle the lawsuit over its volunteer program for $15 million.
On January 31, 2011, AOL announced its acquisition of the European video distribution network goviral.
On February 4, 2011, Comcast announced that Goodmail had ceased operations and they no longer used the service.
In March 2011, AOL acquired HuffPost for $315 million. Soon after, Arianna Huffington replaced David Eun as president and editor-in-chief of the AOL Huffington Post Media Group. On March 10, AOL announced 900 job cuts after the acquisition.
According to leaks, AOL joined the PRISM program in 2011, which is NSA's massive electronic surveillance program.
On February 27, 2012, a class action lawsuit was filed against Support.com, Inc. and partner AOL, Inc. The lawsuit alleged Support.com and AOL's Computer Checkup scareware misrepresented that their software programs would identify and resolve technical problems with computers.
On February 28, 2012, AOL partnered with PBS to launch MAKERS, a digital documentary series highlighting high-achieving women. The series featured notable women such as Oprah Winfrey, Hillary Clinton, and Sheryl Sandberg.
On March 15, 2012, AOL announced the acquisition of Hipster, a mobile photo-sharing app, for an undisclosed amount.
On April 9, 2012, AOL announced an agreement to sell 800 patents to Microsoft for $1.056 billion, including a perpetual license for AOL to use the patents.
In February 2013, AOL reported a fourth-quarter revenue of $599.5 million, marking its first quarterly revenue growth in eight years.
On May 30, 2013, AOL, Inc. and Support.com, Inc. settled the class action lawsuit for $8.5 million. This included $25.00 to each valid class member and $100,000 each to Consumer Watchdog and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
In June 2013, following media reports about PRISM, NSA's massive electronic surveillance program, AOL was identified as a participant.
In August 2013, AOL announced that Patch Media would reduce its operations, including scaling back or selling hundreds of its local news sites. Layoffs followed, affecting up to 500 of 1,100 positions.
In 2013, AOL acquired AdapTV as part of forming ONE by AOL.
On January 15, 2014, Patch Media was spun off from AOL, with Hale Global holding the majority ownership.
On January 23, 2014, AOL acquired Gravity, a software startup specializing in online behavior tracking and personalized content delivery, for $83 million.
On July 16, 2014, AOL's original series "The Future Starts Here" received an Emmy nomination in the News and Documentary category.
On December 1, 2014, AOL acquired Vidible, a video content distribution and sales technology company, for approximately $50 million.
In 2014, AOL acquired Convertro, Precision Demand, and Vidible to help form ONE by AOL.
On April 14, 2015, AOL launched ONE by AOL, a programmatic platform for digital marketing designed to unify buying channels and audience management.
On May 8, 2015, AOL reported a first-quarter revenue of $625.1 million, with $483.5 million from advertising, up 7% from Q1 2014.
On May 12, 2015, Verizon announced its plans to acquire AOL for $50 per share, valuing the deal at $4.4 billion.
On June 29, 2015, AOL announced an agreement to take over the majority of Microsoft's digital advertising business. This included the transfer of 1,200 Microsoft employees to AOL, and the sale of display, video, and mobile ads on Microsoft platforms in nine countries. Additionally, Bing replaced Google Search on AOL properties.
On July 22, 2015, AOL received two News and Documentary Emmy nominations: one for MAKERS and another for True Trans With Laura Jane Grace.
On September 3, 2015, AOL agreed to acquire Millennial Media for $238 million.
On October 1, 2015, Go90, a free ad-supported mobile video service operated by AOL under Verizon ownership, publicly launched its content after beta testing. Content included programming from Comedy Central, HuffPost, and ESPN.
On October 23, 2015, AOL completed the acquisition of Millennial Media.
In 2015, AOL was acquired by Verizon Communications for $4.4 billion and was merged with Yahoo! the following year after the latter was also acquired by Verizon.
In 2015, brands such as Engadget, Autoblog, TechCrunch, and Built by Girls became part of Verizon Media (now Yahoo) along with the core of AOL.
On April 20, 2016, AOL acquired RYOT, a virtual reality studio, with the aim of bringing immersive 360-degree video and VR content to HuffPost's global audience across desktop, mobile, and applications.
In July 2016, Verizon Communications announced its intention to purchase the core internet business of Yahoo!.
On February 24, 2017, AOL decided to shut down Lifestream, providing users one month's notice to save their uploaded photos and videos.
In 2017, "billions of messages" were sent "daily" on AIM and AOL's other chat services.
In 2017, a new paid version called AOL Desktop Gold was released, available for $4.99 per month after a trial period, replacing the previous free version.
In April 2018, Oath Inc. sold Moviefone to MoviePass Parent Helios and Matheson Analytics.
On September 10, 2018, AOL's parent company Oath consolidated BrightRoll, One by AOL and Yahoo Gemini to 'simplify' adtech service by launching a single advertising proposition dubbed Oath Ad Platforms, now Yahoo! Ad Tech.
In 2018, the AOL Toolbar, a browser toolbar Mozilla plug-in that provided quick access to AOL services, was discontinued after being available since 2007.
In January 2019, Oath Inc., the company formed by the merger of AOL and Yahoo, rebranded itself as Verizon Media.
In November 2020, the Huffington Post was sold to BuzzFeed in a stock deal.
On December 15, 2020, AOL's original chat rooms, which had remained accessible through AOL Desktop Gold after the shutdown of AIM in 2017, were shut down.
On May 3, 2021, Verizon announced that it would sell 90 percent of its Verizon Media division to Apollo Global Management for $5 billion, marking the second independent incarnation of Yahoo! Inc.
In May 2021, Verizon announced it would sell Verizon Media (and thus AOL) to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion. This marked another change in ownership for AOL.
In October 2025, Apollo reached a $1.5 billion deal to sell AOL to the Italian conglomerate Bending Spoons.
In October 2025, Bending Spoons acquired AOL in a deal valued at roughly $1.5 billion.
In January 2026, the purchase of AOL by Bending Spoons was quietly completed, marking a new chapter in AOL's ownership.
In January 2026, the purchase of AOL by Bending Spoons was quietly completed.
In February 2026, Bending Spoons laid off more than 100 AOL employees, indicating restructuring following the acquisition.
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