AOL-TW DEADLINE EXTENDED

As America Online and Time Warner continue negotiations aimed at placating the Federal Trade Commission, sources close to the investigation said that the deadline for the talks will be extended two weeks, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Such extensions are common in settlement talks.

The companies quietly agreed to push on past the original Oct. 27 deadline so that discussions with the FTC could continue. Talks haven't stalled, according to sources, but have slowed especially over two familiar topics: competitive access for rival Internet service providers to Time Warner's high-speed cable lines and open access as it applies to the emerging technology of interactive TV.

According to the Journal, AOL has resisted an agreement that would force it to deal with competing Internet service providers on equal terms. The company has argued that it should have the right to structure commercial deals based on bandwidth use and traffic volume, among other factors.

The two companies have even insisted that there should be no limitations on the merger because, as the Journal reports, "the companies' businesses are complementary and don't overlap." But federal regulators have made it clear they are prepared to block the deal unless the companies agree to restrictions. The FTC wants nondiscrimination assurances as part of any deal.

Though the merger has received approval from the European Commission, the Federal Communications Commission announced last week that it has extended its deadline indefinitely, saying that it would wait until after the FTC made its ruling.

Despite all that, the companies have said the process is proceeding. Last week, TW Chairman Gerald Levin told shareholders that negotiations had entered the "homestretch" and that he was "highly confident" the merger would be completed this fall.