AOL, Time Inc. Consider Content Deal

Readers looking to get their online fix for popular magazines such as Time or People soon may have only one place to turn -- America Online.

America Online and Time Inc. are in discussions about making Time Inc.’s magazine content available via America Online, rather than the entire Internet, a person familiar with the matter said.

Such a deal would bring the two units of AOL Time Warner Inc. closer together, while offering a potentially significant lift to the struggling Internet division.

Currently, most of Time Inc.’s magazines can be read for free online.

The proposal, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, may be discussed at a Dec. 3 meeting with analysts, where new America Online Chief Executive Jon Miller plans to discuss the division’s plans for the future.