AOL loves Content Partnerships

I remember the days when AOL was all about providing access to those wanting to connect to the Internet. A lot has changed since that time. AOL announced that they would stop acquiring customers as an ISP (Internet Service Provider) about a year ago to focus on their portal and web based services. That was the right thing to do, as Large Cable Companies and regional DSL providers were eating in to AOL's leading market share for dial-up Internet Services with aggressive Broadband offers, especially in the US Market.

As AOL looks to expand it's offering, Marketing Partnerships still remain key to their strategy. It was not that long ago that you would buy a new PC and find an AOL Icon pre-loaded on your Desktop promoting a special offer to 'Sign Up to AOL for Free'. Well, they are using the same concept, yet this time around they are partnering with ISP's (how ironic, considering that they were once a leading ISP) to offer their web based services to a larger audience as in the case of the recent deal between AOL and MTNL (an India based broadband and telecoms provider) as reported in the Hindu News: MTNL enters in to Strategic Partnership with AOL

Like I said...this is nothing new. In my home market (Canada), this has been the case for a while now. MSN has a partnership with Sympatico as does Rogers with Yahoo. Connectivity Giants hooking up with Large suppliers of Content and Services makes sense strategically because the Telecoms/Communications providers can focus on what they do best; providing access and the Portals (who are specialists in content and services) bring a valued proposition to the customer and therefore enhance the offering beyond just 'connectivity'. Since announcing their strategy shift to get out of the connectivity business, AOL Canada is yet to officially partner with a leading Telecoms/Communications provider in this market.

Keep an eye on this space as I am sure that AOL will be announcing more of these types of partnerships with leading Telecoms/Broadband services providers in the near future...