01.27.2005 17:43
SBC and AT and T; the next rhyme for Old Media?
The latest AT&T suitor is SBC, the
New York Times reports:
The saga which began with the 'Hush-A-Phone', the 'Carterfone' and 'Above 890' (Microwave Communications, Inc., now known as MCI) reaches towards denouement.
Hush-A-Phone and Carterfone allowed consumers to attach third-party devices to their AT&T equipment. Above 890 opened up frequencies above 890 MHz for point-to-point private carrier communications. (MCI was the first to enter that market.)
When AT&T lost its Yellow Pages business, and later had to divest the 'Baby Bells', a long slide began. Now, one of the Baby Bells might be buying its mother.
After the 1984 decision, restrictions hampered AT&T's ability to respond to changing market conditions, but its institutional culture was probably as much to blame. My first personal computer was an AT&T 6300 Plus, sold after the company bought Olivetti (which, along with the NCR purchase, was one of U.S. News & World Report's 10 Big business blunders).
Broadcasters have seen a similar effect of new competitors: cable and the internet cut into ABC's, NBC's and CBS's viewership:
NETWORK
PRIMETIME AVERAGES
WEEK OF 01/17/05 - 01/23/05
See
This Week's Ratings
(Source: Zap2It, Jan 27, 2005.)
While satellite communications like Iridium launched never took off, VoIP from companies like Vonage are the new threat to Baby Bells, Sprint and MCI.
Cable, especially Fox, will continue to pressure the big three broadcasters, but only MSNBC, a bit player in cable, has a blogger with a show, Keith Olbermann (Bloggermann).
How soon before CNN or Fox tries a blogger show?
IBM and General Motors successfully 're-invented' themselves when personal computers and cheap Japanese imports undercut their product lines. AT&T didn't. The broadcast media big three won't get replaced by blogs, as Jack Shafer points out, and as Ed Morrissey, Joe Carter and Stirling Newberry with his talk of pipes, all admit, but some historical context beyond the Sony Porta-Pak would be helpful. 'History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes,' as Mark Twain is supposed to have said.
SBC Communications, the second-largest regional phone company in the nation, is in talks to buy AT&T for more than $16 billion, according to executives close to the negotiations.Back in 2003, BellSouth thought twice about buying AT&T.
A deal, if reached, would be the final chapter in the 120-year history of AT&T, the first technological giant of the modern age and the original model for telecommunications companies worldwide. A deal would be a reunion of sorts, putting back together some of the largest pieces of the Ma Bell telephone monopoly, which was broken up in 1984.
The saga which began with the 'Hush-A-Phone', the 'Carterfone' and 'Above 890' (Microwave Communications, Inc., now known as MCI) reaches towards denouement.
Hush-A-Phone and Carterfone allowed consumers to attach third-party devices to their AT&T equipment. Above 890 opened up frequencies above 890 MHz for point-to-point private carrier communications. (MCI was the first to enter that market.)
When AT&T lost its Yellow Pages business, and later had to divest the 'Baby Bells', a long slide began. Now, one of the Baby Bells might be buying its mother.
After the 1984 decision, restrictions hampered AT&T's ability to respond to changing market conditions, but its institutional culture was probably as much to blame. My first personal computer was an AT&T 6300 Plus, sold after the company bought Olivetti (which, along with the NCR purchase, was one of U.S. News & World Report's 10 Big business blunders).
Broadcasters have seen a similar effect of new competitors: cable and the internet cut into ABC's, NBC's and CBS's viewership:
A major Nielsen ratings milestone in the broadcast-vs.-cable wars was set during the 2003-04 season, which also was marked by a controversy involving the provider of the numbers that drive the television business, Nielsen Media Research.(Source: Cable leveling TV's playing field.)
The aggregate household share of the top 60-plus basic cable outlets topped that of the broadcast networks (NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, UPN, the WB Network and Pax TV) for the first time. By the end of the season, basic cable accounted for an average of a 49.8 share of viewing in the United States television households, compared with a 47.2 share for the broadcasters.
(Source: 2003-04 primetime wrap.)
Viewership Adults 18-49* Viewer
averageChange from
2002-03Rating/Share Change from
2002-03CBS 13.1 +4% 3.9/11 +3% NBC 11.0 -5% 4.2/12 -7% Fox 9.7 -2% 4.1/11 -5% ABC 9.0 -10% 3.2/9 -16% WB 3.6 -11% 1.6/5 -24% UPN 3.4 -4% 1.4/4 -13% Audience figures in millions. * Rating/share figures for WB and UPN are for adults 18-34. Source: Nielsen Media Research
WEEK OF 01/17/05 - 01/23/05
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 |
 |
 |
 |
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| WEEKLY RATING | ||||||||||
|
6.4/10 |
 |
10.3/16 |
 |
7.0/11 |
|
7.1/11 |
|
2.1/3 |
|
2.0/3 |
| SEASON-TO-DATE RATING | ||||||||||
|
6.7/11 |
|
8.5/14 |
|
5.5/9 |
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6.7/11 |
|
2.3/4 |
|
2.3/4 |
|
CABLE
SERIES |
SEASON-TO-DATE SYNDICATED
SERIES |
|
© 2003 Nielsen Media Research, Inc. The Information contained herein is the copyrighted property of Nielsen Media Research, Inc. Unauthorized use of this copyrighted material is expressly prohibited. All Rights Reserved. |
(Source: Zap2It, Jan 27, 2005.)
While satellite communications like Iridium launched never took off, VoIP from companies like Vonage are the new threat to Baby Bells, Sprint and MCI.
Cable, especially Fox, will continue to pressure the big three broadcasters, but only MSNBC, a bit player in cable, has a blogger with a show, Keith Olbermann (Bloggermann).
How soon before CNN or Fox tries a blogger show?
IBM and General Motors successfully 're-invented' themselves when personal computers and cheap Japanese imports undercut their product lines. AT&T didn't. The broadcast media big three won't get replaced by blogs, as Jack Shafer points out, and as Ed Morrissey, Joe Carter and Stirling Newberry with his talk of pipes, all admit, but some historical context beyond the Sony Porta-Pak would be helpful. 'History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes,' as Mark Twain is supposed to have said.