AOL Time Warner, having completed its merger late Thurs. night following FCC’s approval, announced its new 16-member board. Company said new board -- 8 members each from AOL’s and Time Warner’s old 11- member boards -- would meet for first time later this week. New board consists of: (1) XO Communications Chmn.-CEO Daniel Akerson. (2) Barksdale Group partner James Barksdale. (3) Hilton Hotels Pres.-CEO Stephen Bollenbach. (4) AOL Time Warner Chmn. Steve Case. (5) Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers partner Frank Caufield. (6) CGLS Fund partner Miles Gilburne. (7) Hills & Co. Chmn.-CEO Carla Hills. (8) AOL Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin. (9) Colgate-Palmolive Chmn.-CEO Reuben Mark. (10) Former Philip Morris Chmn.-CEO Michael Miles. (11) AOL Time Warner Vice Chmn. Kenneth Novack. (12) AOL Time Warner Co-COO Richard Parsons. (13) AOL Time Warner Co-COO Robert Pittman. (14) Fannie Mae Chmn.-CEO Franklin Raines. (15) AOL Time Warner Vice Chmn. Ted Turner. (16) Vincent Enterprises Chmn. Francis Vincent. In one interesting footnote to FCC’s approval of takeover, consumer groups that had fought for strong regulatory conditions on deal ended up urging Commission to okay it even though they and other critics didn’t gain interoperability of AOL’s current instant messaging (IM) services. New ex parte filing from last week reveals that Media Access Project’s Andrew Schwartzman and Consumers Union’s Gene Kimmelman pressed Comr. Tristani, last holdout in IM fight, to vote for approval because agency had won as much as it could. Despite their strong support for “full interoperability of instant messaging services,” Schwartzman and Kimmelman said, “the net value of the relief the Commission could provide to consumers and the public from a properly crafted decision justified acceptance of an order which did not provide full interoperability.” Sources said consumer advocates also probably feared what might happen if merger review lingered beyond Democratic Chmn. Kennard’s tenure, which will end Fri.
Matt Daneman
Matt Daneman, Senior Editor, covers pay TV, cable broadband, satellite, and video issues and the Federal Communications Commission for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications in 2015 after more than 15 years at the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, where he covered business among other issues. He also was a correspondent for USA Today. You can follow Daneman on Twitter: @mdaneman
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