In January of 2001, the United States’ largest internet provider, America Online, merged with the nation’s second largest cable provider to create a media giant. The FCC approved the merger on conditional terms. One of these terms requires that AOL’s instant messenger be opened to other internet service providers via Time Warner’s cable lines. The FCC also mandated that the new company could not prevent individuals from using other internet providers in the spirit of competition. The merger created the company that is called AOL Time Warner. Time Warner's major possessions included the cable networks HBO and CNN, the Warner Brother’s movie and music operations, and Time magazine, while AOL provided internet service to approximately 26 million customers.

Time Warner Cable

As of September 30, 2004 Time Warner Cable provided basic cable service to 10.9 million customers, 4.7million customers with digital video, and 3.7 million customers with broadband services in the 27 states in which Time Warner operates. Time Warner is a leader in new communication products such High Definition Television (HDTV), Digital Video recording (DVR) functionality and interconnectivity of multiple computers in a single household with a single broadband connection. Favourite Website Awards named Time Warner’s high-speed internet service, Roadrunner, 2004 Site of the Year. As of September 2004, Time Warner Cable provided broadband service to over 3.7 million subscribers.

Turner Broadcasting System

Included in the merger was Time Warner’s broadcasting system Turner Broadcasting. Turner Broadcasting includes CNN, Cartoon Network, TNT, and TBS. Approximately 90 million households have tuned into TBS while 89.2 have tuned into TNT. CNN reaches over 200 countries and territories around the world and is one of the most respected media news providers.

Time Magazine

Another subsidiary of Time Warner is Time Inc. Time Inc. magazines accounts for nearly a quarter of the advertising revenue of all U.S. consumer magazines. Time Inc. magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Time, and People are three of the most successful and well respected magazines in the nation. People ranked first in revenue for domestic magazines for its fourteenth straight year in 2004, while Sports Illustrated ranked second and Time ranked fourth.