AOL Time Warner Inc. is changing Netscape’s emphasis from the development of browser software to the delivery of Internet media. That’s the word from Reshma Kapadia writing for Reuters, in a recent article entitled Netscape: We’re in Media, Not Browser Business Now.
Calling the browser “a crown jewel,” Netscape president Jim Bankoff told Reuters that within the next six months, people won’t solely associate Netscape as a browser company any longer.
This new media strategy, posits Kapadia, recognizes the dominance of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, and also signals an increased emphasis on the integration of AOL Time Warner’s various business units.
“Netscape, which plans to embark on a brand advertising campaign later this year, wants to act as a hub for the wide array of core Time Warner media properties — such as Fortune and Time magazines and the 24-hour cable news network CNN,” said Kapadia.
Bankoff told Reuters that Netscape is focused on creating partnerships with companies like Sony, which recently licensed Netscape’s browser technology for its PlayStation 2 game console; and Gateway, which likewise licensed Netscape technology for its Touch Pad Web appliance.
AOL Time Warner’s focus on remolding Netscape as a media hub gives the media giant an opportunity to sell advertising across different properties, and to see if it can build a subscription model for some services, rather than give them away for free, according to analyst Lydia Loizides.