DEALS
Tiny Young Broadcasting Beats Out General Electric
in Bidding for KRON (WSJ)
Comcast to Buy Cable Firm Lenfest In Stock Deal Valued at
$5.55 Billion (WSJ)
SPECTRUM
Who Gets Airwaves When Sale Goes Bad? (WP)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Web Site Lowers Drawbridge for Non-Techies (ChiTrib)
INTERNET
Governors' Split Underscores Divide on Internet Taxes (NYT)
After Recent Victories, Consumer Group Details Long-Term
Strategy to Win Broadband Open Access (CFA)
Internet Brands Rival Veterans Without Conventional Ad Tactics (WSJ)
Wired Women Find Friendly Ears (USA)
EDTECH
Next, It's E-ducation (NYT)
How We Educate Our Children for the 21st Century (ISTE)
SBC, IBM Plan to Sell Computers Equipped for Speedy Web Access (WSJ)
E-PHILANTHROPY
Volunteers Log On Help Out (NYT)
As E-Giving Sites Spring Up, Some Say Its Donor Beware (NYT)
Turning Baby Internet Moguls into Big Givers (NYT)
NetAid Catches Few On The Web (WP)
ANTITRUST
But Did Microsoft Actually Hurt Consumers? (NYT)
DEALS
TINY YOUNG BROADCASTING BEATS OUT GENERAL ELECTRIC IN BIDDING FOR KRON
Issue: Merger/Broadcasting
Young Broadcasting, a family-run New York station group valued at less than
$700 million, outbid GE (NBC) and will pay $823 million in cash and stock
for KRON-TV in San Francisco. NBC threatened to end its affiliation deal
with the station -- essentially yanking NBC shows off the air -- if any
other buyer won the bidding. But yesterday NBC backed off its earlier
threats, saying that it hoped to negotiate a new affiliation agreement with
the station. The deal also includes a 51% interest in San Francisco cable
channel BayTV and sets the stage for a battle of wills between NBC and
Vincent Young, the buyer's chairman, and his 85-year-old father, Adam. NBC
already has indicated that it plans to end the practice of paying its
affiliates a compensation fee to run its programming -- a step that all of
the big networks have used to cut their costs at a time when viewership is
slipping. If the Youngs' insist that payments of as much as $8 million/year
continue -- NBC said it is prepared to take its programming elsewhere, even
if it means a loss in ratings and ad revenue for the network. KRON's current
affiliation deal with NBC expires at the end of 2001. KRON fetched one of
the highest prices ever paid for a single TV station.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Alexandra Peers and Joe Flint]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942758041330990655.htm)
See Also
YOUNG BROADCASTING JUMPS INTO BIG TIME
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Tim Jones]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99111701
99,FF.html)
COMCAST TO BUY CABLE FIRM LENFEST IN STOCK DEAL VALUED AT $5.55 BILLION
Issue:Merger/Cable
Comcast agreed to acquire Lenfest Communications in an all-stock deal valued
at about $5.55 billion, plus the assumption of about $1.5 billion in debt
and liabilities. Last March, when AT&T outbid Comcast to buy MediaOne, AT&T
agreed to let Comcast acquire 1.2 million cable TV customers from AT&T and
promised favorable terms for any phone venture down the road. AT&T owns 50%
of Lenfest and planned to buy the remainder at a later date, but, with this
deal, AT&T said it is satisfying the first of its two promises. Lenfest, an
Oaks, Pennsylvania company, has about 1,250,000 customers is also the
largest cable TV operator in Philadelphia. This deal will leave Comcast with
about 8.2 million customers, establishing it as the nation's No. 3 cable
operator. The terms of the deal state that if AT&T's purchase of MediaOne
does not happen, it retains the right to purchase Comcast. Comcast will pay
about $4,500 a subscriber. The transaction also includes a cable-advertising
firm, Radius Communications, and a news programmer, TriState Media.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942759276523069240.htm)
See Also:
COMCAST TO PURCHASE LENFEST COMMUNICATIONS
[SOURCE: New York Times (C9), AUTHOR: Bloomberg News]
(http://www.nyt.com)
SPECTRUM
WHO GETS AIRWAVES WHEN SALE GOES BAD?
Issue: Spectrum
At the intersection of telecommunications policy, bankruptcy law and the
highly competitive wireless telephone business, federal budget negotiators
are trying to decide what should happen to spectrum licenses won at auction
that companies then fail to pay for. National cellular provider Nextel
Communications would like to buy unused spectrum licenses that NextWave
Telecom won in auction four years ago. NextWave bid successfully for the
right to transmit wireless phone calls over specific frequencies in markets
that together are home to 165 million people. The price: $4.7 billion. But
after putting 10 percent down, NextWave declared it had paid too much. It
couldn't borrow the money to build out its network. It never paid another
dime. Last year, the company landed in bankruptcy. The FCC has argued that
the airwaves don't belong to NextWave and the licenses should return to the
government so someone else can buy them and put them to use, giving
consumers more choices and lower prices. The company has asserted that would
amount to an unfair confiscation of its property. For the last two years,
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) attached an amendment to an appropriations bill
that would have returned such licenses to the government when holders go
bankrupt. The amendments have failed, in part due to opposition led by Rep
Dick Armey (R-TX). This year, however, President Clinton vetoed an
appropriations bill -- one of the reasons cited was $5.6 billion of
bid-for-spectrum that is tied up in bankruptcy court, with a very real risk
that spectrum licensees will be able to retain spectrum at a fraction of its
real market value. Two proposals are now on the table 1) Nextel has floated
proposals with the FCC, Congress and the bankruptcy court that would have it
claim NextWave's licenses after paying the company's stockholders and
creditors as much as $2.5 billion, while handing the federal government as
much as $3.5 billion. 2) the Cellular Telecommunications Industry
Association, which represents Nextel's major wireless rivals, floated its
own proposal: It would bring the licenses back to the FCC, but allow
virtually anyone to bid.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Peter Goodman]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/17/210l-111799-idx.html)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
WEB SITE LOWERS DRAWBRIDGE FOR NON-TECHIES
Issue: Digital Divide
Just as automobiles seemed to arrive right on schedule at the end of the
1800s, the Internet "zapped into being" in the 1990s. Before Henry Ford, the
average person could not dream of owning a car -- there was a "modal moat,"
Greising writes. The Internet has created a similar disparity called the
digital divide. Jesse Jackson, son Yusaf and a group of celebrity activists
are busy designing an online community for unwired urbanites. OneNetNow.com
will launch in January reaching out to people of diverse economic, cultural,
age-group and gender backgrounds with news feeds, chat rooms and other
content geared towards an urban audience. OneNetNow.com's board includes
actor Edward James Olmos, music producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds,
publisher Linda Johnson Rice and baseball slugger Sammy Sosa. "Our board is
less a celebrity board than it is an activist board," says Yusef Jackson,
chairman of OneNetNow.com. No one site will completely bridge the Digital
Divide. But if the board of OneNetNow.com jumps into action, the divide
could shrink just a bit.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: David Greising, Columnist
(DGreising( at )tribune.com)]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99111702
04,FF.html)
INTERNET
GOVERNORS' SPLIT UNDERSCORES DIVIDE ON INTERNET TAXES
Issue: Ecommerce
Republican Govs. Mike Leavitt of Utah and Jim Gilmore of Virginia stand on
opposite sides of the Internet sales taxes debate, mirroring a national
political divide on the issue. Gov. Leavitt, the current chairman of the
National Governors' Association, says existing sales taxes should be
collected on goods sold over the Internet, just as they are at retail
stores in most states. Gov. Gilmore, chairman of a congressional Internet
tax advisory panel on which Gov. Leavitt is a member, on the other hand wants to
prevent sales taxes on most e-commerce and eliminate any other special
taxes that impede the Internet's growth. Gov. Leavitt has outlined a plan
for states to phase in a voluntary, simplified e-commerce tax system in
which a third party would use computer software to calculate, collect and
distribute sales tax dollars based on the location of the purchaser. Gov.
Leavitt's plan is endorsed by several GOP and Democratic governors,
including GOP Gov. Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin and Democratic Gov. Parris
Glendening of Maryland. Gov. Gilmore wants the commission to endorse his
proposal to prevent all taxes on remote Internet sales and remove a current
federal excise tax on telephone service. Gov. Gilmore believes the Internet
must be permitted to prosper without government interference. Gov.
Gilmore's view is supported by Sen. John McCain of Arizona and most GOP
House leaders.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: The Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/17tax.html)
AFTER RECENT VICTORIES, CONSUMER GROUP DETAILS LONG-TERM STRATEGY
TO WIN BROADBAND OPEN ACCESS
Issue: Broadband
From Press Release: The Consumer Federation of America yesterday
outlined a long-term campaign to expand on recent victories in the fight for
"open" access to high-speed broadband Internet services. Speaking before
the annual conference of the Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, one of
CFA's member groups, Dr. Mark Cooper, CFA's Director of Research, identified
the key elements to the successful efforts to secure open access over recent
months. "The advocates of non-discriminatory access have won the Battle of
the Franchise Transfers for three major reasons," Cooper said, because 1) the
moral and economic superiority of the "open access" position -- the fact
that it promotes the public interest -- has been demonstrated and endorsed,
2) it has become more and more difficult to portray open access as
"regulation" of the Internet, when the cable TV model so obviously imposes a
private regulation that changes the fundamental nature of access to the
Internet, and 3) defenders of discriminatory access have expended immense
political resources to just break even. Cooper predicted the open access
battle will become easier as companies' threats to withhold investment
diminish. See full remarks at URL below.
[SOURCE: Consumer Federation of America]
(http://www.consumerfed.org/internetaccess/statement161199.pdf)
INTERNET BRANDS RIVAL VETERANS WITHOUT CONVENTIONAL AD TACTICS
Issue: Advertising
It only took MP3.com, Blue Mountain Arts and Red Hat a couple of years to
establish a brand name. This is an indication of the Internet's ability to
create corporate stars. A survey of Web users is proving that Internet
companies can now create powerful brands for themselves -- even if they
don't all spend millions on traditional television, radio and print
advertising. The survey ranked MP3.com, Blue Mountain and Red Hat among the
most
recognized names among Web users, even though the companies have bypassed
conventional advertising. The survey, which was conducted in late August by
research firm King Brown & Partners, interviewed 6,500 Internet users from a
panel of 50,000 users. The survey polled the users on 250 technology-related
companies, including entertainment conglomerates with technology units. The
survey sought to find out which companies were most recognizable by their
names, which ones were most on consumers' minds, and which companies were
seen as being on the fast track.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Kathryn Kranhold]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942798388264355706.htm)
See Also
BATTLING DOT-COMMIES FLOOD TV NETWORKS WITH AD DOLLARS
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 5, p.1), AUTHOR: Steve Johnson]
(http://chicagotribune.com/leisure/tempo/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-991
1170315,FF.html)
SBC, IBM PLAN TO SELL COMPUTERS EQUIPPED FOR SPEEDY WEB ACCESS
Issue: Broadband
Today, SBC Communications and IBM are expected to announce plans to jointly
sell PCs equipped for high-speed Internet access over traditional telephone
lines. The computers, which will be available to consumers in SBC's
local-phone territory starting next month, will be preinstalled with a modem
for digital subscriber line (DSL) technology. DSL boosts the capacity of
copper telephone lines. The program aims to provide consumers with one-stop
shopping for computer and DSL service. IBM will preinstall the DSL modems on
seven Aptiva-series computers, priced at $1,000 to $2,500.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Staff Reporter]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB942797796369129773.htm)
See Also
AMERITECH, FULFILLING ICC WISH, BONDS ELECTRONICALLY WITH A RIVAL
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Jon Van]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99111702
06,FF.html)
WIRED WOMEN FIND FRIENDLY EARS
Issue: Lifestyles/Gender
Mothers who juggle 50-hour workweeks and family demands don't have time for
face-to-face connections with other women raising children. Large numbers
of women--not just mothers--are now turning to message boards, chat rooms
and private e-mail lists for advice, support and friendship. Women online
are eventually expected to surpass men. According to a 1998 Pew Research
Center study, 52% of new Internet users in 1998 were female, up from 45%
the previous year. Jupiter Communications expects that by the end of 2000,
women will make up close to half of online users - 57.7 million, vs. 57.9
million men. In 1996, men online (22.7 million) outnumbered women by more
than 8 million. By 2003, Jupiter predicts, women will be a slight majority
(78.9 million, compared with 77.8 million men). Mothers groups are a big
reason women ages 18 to 49 click on the Families channel of America Online
or visit female-oriented Web sites such as iVillage.com, Oxygen.com and
Women.com. Online experts estimate that parenting interests account for 10%
of online communities. "Mothering hubs" on the Net may eventually account
for up to 20% of the ad revenue being spent to reach women online. Industry
reports indicate that women will account for 47% of online sales - about
$3.5 billion - by next year.
[SOURCE: USA Today (2B), AUTHOR: Dottie Enrico]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/llead.htm)
EDTECH
NEXT, IT'S E-DUCATION
Issue: EdTech
[Op-Ed] John Chambers, who heads Cisco Systems, believes that now that
commerce has moved onto the Internet, and the Internet is moving into
business, education on the Internet is the next revolution. "The next big
killer application for the Internet is going to be education. Education
over the Internet is going to be so big it is going to make e-mail usage
look like a rounding error" in terms of the Internet capacity it will
consume, Chambers predicts. The success of e-learning will stem from the
fact that it provides faster learning, at lower costs, with more
accountability. these characteristics enable companies and schools to keep
up with changes in the global economy. In the future universities that
realize the need for changes and adapt properly will offer a combination of
online and instructor-led learning, Chambers says. If universities don't
reinvent their curriculums and how they deliver them, students,
particularly those pursuing education in information technology fields,
"will go to schools online," Chambers writes. "Unlike in the industrial
revolution when you had to be in the right country or city to participate,
in this new era capital will flow to whichever countries and companies
install the best Internet and educational capabilities"
This revolution will occur in the next 10 years.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A29), AUTHOR: Thomas L. Friedman]
(http://www10.nytimes.com/library/opinion/friedman/111799frie.html)
HOW WE EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Issue: EdTech
From the Media Advisory: With expenditures for technology in classrooms now
exceeding $7 billion annually, technology standards, curriculum and teacher
training must meet new, 21st Century criteria. The International Society for
Technology in Education (ISTE), the largest teacher-based, nonprofit
organization in educational technology, will hold a briefing on November 18
to release the first publication in a series of its National Educational
Technology Standards (NETS) project. The publication, Connecting Curriculum
and Technology, provides teachers with the curriculum tools and standards
needed to successfully integrate technology into all aspects of student
learning. A teacher and students from Sorenson Elementary School, Couer d'
Alene, Idaho, will present a demonstration of some of the multidisciplinary
learning activities that help meet technology standards. Also at the
briefing, ISTE will announce the launch of 'NETS for Teachers' - the next
step in ISTE's multi-phase National Educational Technology Standards Project
- which will address the need for updated standards for pre-teacher
education.
9-11 a.m., Thursday, November 18, 1999 at Highway 1, 601 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW North Building, Suite 250, Washington, DC For More Information,
contact Jennifer Seeger, (202) 478-6129, jseeger( at )mrss.com
[SOURCE: International Society for Technology in Education]
(http://www.iste.org/)
E-PHILANTHROPY
VOLUNTEERS LOG ON, HELP OUT
Issue: E-Volunteering
When Chris Carter decided he wanted to give to his community, he turned to
the Internet for a local opportunity. Using Volunteermatch.org, an online
service for would-be volunteers, he found a coaching opportunity at the
YMCA just five minutes away from him. The trend of e-volunteering, using
the Internet to find volunteer opportunities, is growing among Net-savvy
people using the Web as a digital marketplace. The trend has potential to
benefit organizations as much as the volunteer. A nonprofit organization may
spend $25 - $50 for each volunteer they recruit. Web-based recruiting helps
to avoid those costs. According to a new study by Independent Sector, a
Washington-based research organization, e-volunteering accounted for nearly
1 Million of an estimated 109 Million American volunteers in 1998. Much of
the credit for the gains in online volunteering comes from the efforts of
Volunteermatch.org, which has partnered with Disney's Go.com America Online,
and the AOL Foundation's Helping.org to increase the reach of their
services.
Potential future partners include Wal-Mart, the Gap, and Bank of America.
The service is free to the potential volunteers and the listed organizations
- in exchange for providing the online opportunities to their partners,
Volunteermatch.org receives an undisclosed amount which is put back into
operations.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Giving Special, pg20), AUTHOR: Janice Maloney]
(http://www.nyt.com)
AS E-GIVING SITES SPRING UP, SOME SAY ITS DONOR BEWARE
Issue: E-Giving
The Internet is promoting a variety of ways to give online. Some sites, such
as iGive.com and Greatergood.com donate a portion of your purchases to your
favorite organization. Others, such as GiveForChange.com and
Charitableway.com ease
the donation process, occasionally for a fee. Helping.org, by the AOL Foundation
and its nonprofit partners [see story above], has positioned itself as a
clearinghouse of online volunteer opportunities. Because these sites are
relatively
young, have different business models, and occasionally are fee-based,
consumers need to make sure they understand how each one operates, said
William P.
Massey, the president of National Charities Information Bureau. As many
charities
also allow donors to give directly through their Web site, such as the
American Red
Cross the challenge for these sites will be gaining the confidence of
consumers and
charities alike. The percentage of the donation received by an organization
can also vary depending on the choice of Web service used. A purchases of Avon
products with 4charity.com -which sends all commissions generated by shoppers to
charity - generates more money than the same purchase from iGive.com -which
takes
part of the commission. Similarly, 4charity.com's sends a larger percentage of a
purchase than Greatergood.com's 5 percent.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Giving Special, pg21), AUTHOR: Reed Abelson]
(http://www.nyt.com)
TURNING BABY INTERNET MOGULS INTO BIG GIVERS
Issue: E-Philanthropy
Leonard Ely, a veteran philanthropist, and co-founder of the Community
Foundation of Silicon Valley wishes the new crop of cyber-millionaires of
would worry as much about their community as their houses, cars and
helicopters. The Community Foundation is one of the fastest growing
community foundation in America and is concerned with instilling the values
of philanthropy in Silicon Valley's newly rich. "Lots of people here are
still in wealth-accumulation mode," says Kevin Fong of the Mayfield Fund.
"We're talking to them in terms of emotional return." A foundation study
published last year, found that of those making $100,000 or more in Silicon
Valley, a third gave away less than $1000 annually. The status of giving in
Silicon Valley may be a reflection of a culture of quick wealth for
reasonably young people who have no real roots to the area.
[SOURCE: New York Times (Giving Special, pg4), AUTHOR: Patricia Leigh Brown]
(http://www.nyt.com)
NETAID CATCHES FEW ON THE WEB
Issue: Nonprofits & Tech
Despite reaching over 1 billion people worldwide via radio and TV broadcasts
and getting more than 2.3 million hits on the NetAid Web site during last
month's concerts, organizers say they raised just $1 million and signed up
6,000. The public contribution stands in contrast to the results of other
philanthropic events that enlisted rock musicians. "We Are the World," a
1985 single and video featuring more than 40 music stars, raised $64 million
for hunger relief projects, according to promoter Ken Kragen. Another
Kragen-promoted event, Live Aid, a 1985 concert starring Led Zeppelin, the
Who and U2, raised $120 million for famine relief. Kragen organized the
NetAid concerts with Quincy Jones. U.N. official Robert Piper, who manages
the NetAid Web site (www.netaid.org), said he was "more than satisfied" with
the response to date, given that volunteerism, not raising money, was the
primary objective. "We've been [complaining] for years about the need for
people in the developed world to participate [in aid programs], but they
never had the tools to participate. With the Internet, people can now get
emotionally and intellectually involved."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C1), AUTHOR: Paul Farhi]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/17/163l-111799-idx.html)
ANTITRUST
BUT DID MICROSOFT ACTUALLY HURT CONSUMERS?
Issue: Anti-Trust
[Op-Ed] Judge Jackson's opinion doesn't show
how Microsoft's brutal competitive behavior has hurt consumers. "Despite
months of bad trial publicity and Jackson's scathing decision, most
Americans still doubt the government's antitrust case," Samuelson writes. A
Gallup poll taken after the ruling found that, by a 67 to 16% margin, people
have a favorable view of Microsoft. Asked whether the company should be
broken up, respondents objected by 54 to 35%. Microsoft wasn't Netscape's
demise -- Microsoft giving away its browser for free led to Netscape doing
the same -- and none of this hurt consumers. With Microsoft preserving
Windows, there is standardization within computers, which allows other
software companies to write programs that can be used by everyone -- instead
of writing in different programs languages. Samuelson concludes, "What needs
to be recalled is that Microsoft's competitors pushed the government for
this antitrust suit. They will gain if Microsoft loses. But there is a
distinction between protecting consumers and protecting competitors. The
record so far suggests that it's being lost."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A31), AUTHOR: Robert J. Samuelson]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-11/17/021l-111799-idx.html
)
See Also
US AND STATE OFFICIALS WEIGH MICROSOFT REMEDIES
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Joel Brinkley]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/17soft.html)
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