• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, February 7, 2008

Separating its diving bell from its butterfly, AOL's U.S. dial-up access and advertising businesses will finally be divided, according to Jeff Bewkes, Time Warner's recently appointed CEO.

During Time Warner's fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Bewkes laid out his vision for the future of the company, including the possibility of spinning off its cable division. "We've identified key initiatives that will enable us to deliver strong business results," said Bewkes, who has been under intense pressure to restructure Time Warner since taking its reins in January.

AOL's dial-up access business has been withering away since the dawn of high-speed Internet service. During this past quarter alone, AOL shed 740,000 access subscribers. The current total of 9.3 million subscribers is down 3.8 million from last year. As a result, AOL posted a 32% decline in revenues in the fourth quarter, but still saw an earnings increase of 29%.

It's no secret that AOL wants to sever any ties between its access business and its advertising and content businesses. Last year, AOL sold its Web access businesses in the United Kingdom and France for a pretax gain of $769 million. Will the strategy salvage AOL's fortunes?

"Bewkes is gearing up to push the advertising and content side of AOL, and he's thinking hard about its place in the portal world," said Forrester Research analyst Sally Cohen. "The fact is--AOL remains a distant fourth in the portal business, and the consumers who once used their subscription services have moved on to rival services."

AOL's strategy could make it more attractive to Wall Street and potential buyers. In late 2005, Google paid a $1 billion for a 5% stake in AOL, valuing the Web unit at $20 billion. Yet according to Cohen, the likelihood of AOL being acquired is uncertain. "I'm not sure they're looking to be acquired right now."

Overall, Time Warner's fourth-quarter earnings fell 41%, due to a larger gain last year from the sale of AOL's European dial-up access business. Omitting those gains, Time Warner's adjusted profits increased 17%, thanks to cable and movie businesses.

Going forward, Time Warner said it expected growth to slow this year to between 7% and 9%.