Transcript
Narrator (0:00)
Behind every successful business, there's a battle to get to the top. And sometimes that battle ends in disaster. Back in the year 2000, America Online, or AOL, was at the height of its power. Then it made a move that stunned Wall Street. It made a bid to buy Time Warner, one of the most powerful media companies in the world. It was supposed to be the merger of the century, but instead it turned into one of the messiest corporate disasters on record. The newest season of Business wars takes you into that moment where when ambition, ego and emerging tech collided. You'll hear how a deal meant to secure dominance in the digital age instead collapsed under its own weight. You're about to hear a clip from the latest season of business, the AOL Time Warner Disaster. While you're listening, follow Business wars on the Wondria or wherever you get your podcasts.
Host (0:54)
In the mid-80s, online services seemed like a business full of promise. Fewer than 1 in 10 owns a computer in 1985. But that number is creeping up. So while there are established rivals like CompuServe, there's plenty of room for growth. CBC decides it will build an online service for the market leading personal computer of the day, the Commodore 64. And in May 1985, they mark this new direction by adopting a new name. Quantum Computer Services. Oh, you thought they were about to become aol, huh? Well, not yet, but that moment's coming. But what exactly is an online service in 1985? We're not talking about the Internet here, let alone the World Wide Web. That's, that's years away. In 1985, the online universe is made up of competing subscription services. They offer the stuff we take for granted nowadays. Email, chat, shopping, and News. But in 1985, each service is separate and self contained. For instance, CompuServe users can't email Quantum users, and vice versa. And online services are slow. So slow. How slow? Well, when CBC became Quantum Simple Minds. Don't you forget about me. Remember that song that was at the top of the Billboard Hot 100? You know, it was the song from the Breakfast Club movie. Say you wanted to download that song as an MP3 on a mid-80s modem. You'll have that file downloaded in about three days. But it gets worse. Being online in the 80s is expensive. Quantum's Q Link service charges a monthly subscription fee of $9.95, plus another 6 cents for every minute spent online. That's $3.80 an hour. Back when the average hourly wage was less than 9. So downloading that Simple Minds MP3 will cost you more than $270. Just as well no one had invented MP3s yet. The long and short of it is this. It's cheaper, quicker and easier to go to Tower Records. So going online is very niche. Something for the geeks. At 6pm on November 1, 1985, Q link goes live.
Voice Actor (3:21)
Connect to the QuantumLink network and suddenly a diverse new interactive world of easy to use services is right at your fingertips. Beginning with People Connection, the social center of QuantumLink, where people from across the nation converse, exchange information, share ideas and participate in informative lectures.