AOL Begins Its Revamp With Comedy Central; Other Asset Sales Due Sports, Books On The Block Offering of cable division may be put off until '04; Q1 results coming today.(A)

Byline: DOUG TSURUOKA

The crystal ball's getting clearer on AOL Time Warner's future. Trouble is, some investors may not like what they see.

What's in store? Plenty of asset sales to pare down an estimated $27 billion in long-term debt. But the world's biggest media firm may sell some valuable jewels, along with some less useful baubles, before it's over.

On Tuesday, AOL agreed to sell its 50% stake in Comedy Central, a hit all-comedy network, to rival Viacom for $1.23 billion in cash.

"Companies like AOL are having to sell their best and most profitable assets in order to make a dent on the debt in their balance sheets. Nobody's focusing …