Electronic Arts Provides Details on AOL Deal

Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. will receive $27.5 million over two years from AOL Time Warner Inc. under a deal announced last month and detailed Monday in the company’s quarterly regulatory filings.

Under the agreement, Redwood City, Calif.-based EA will provide a stream of online games for subscribers of AOL’s Internet service. The deal replaces an arrangement that called for EA to pay AOL $81 million in carriage fees over five years starting in 1999.

Analysts said the move reflected EA’s growing strength as the world’s largest independent game publisher. At the same time, AOL is struggling to hang on to its 26 million subscribers.

“It’s a recognition that EA is a powerful brand,” said P.J. McNealy, analyst with American Technology Research in San Francisco.

From Times Staff and Wire Reports