We would have put Case even higher on the list if not for his announced intention to relinquish the CEO title with the completion of the merger. Case didn't get hired. More than 21 million homes already subscribe to AOL or its CompuServe unit. Time Warner brings in 77 million subscribers from its cable and magazine holdings, and millions more courtesy of TV and movies. Think of AOL on steroids, with digital content from CNN and Warner music, plus Time and Sports Illustrated.
Case donates millions to education.
Making the merger stick. Some more people that might be less desirable to the advertisers would probably join the service but considering the backlog they have, I don't think their advertising revenue will be going away any time soon. One reason I don't think they should cut their access fees is that I'm a big big believer in multiple revenue streams. If they cut access fees they'd lose a pretty big revenue stream. I'm just saying they could do it, if forced by market forces to do so.