DOJ Finally Says No

Two letters that you would never expect to hear from the Justice Department - N O. They didn't say no to Sirius and XM Satellite, nor did they say no to Comcast and NBC on their merger, not even to Continental and United. But it seems that they have finally decided to say no now. "The Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to block the proposed $39 billion merger between AT&T and T-Mobile USA on antitrust grounds, saying a deal between the nation’s second- and fourth-largest wireless phone carriers would substantially lessen competition, result in higher prices and give consumers fewer innovative products."

Now just because a lawsuit exists doesn't mean that a merger is dead. It may simply require AT&T to agree to a number of conditions to allow this merger to move forward. It is the nature of leading companies in various industries to continue to acquire smaller fish in order to keep growing. So has been the case in cable, satellite radio, accounting, banking, airlines, and yes in telecommunications. It is the desire to have the dominant market share through mergers and acquisition to help to vanquish competition.

You would think that this recent update would paint the DOJ as the friend of consumerism. Bust as they have done nothing to limit monopolies and oligopolies recently, why are they starting now with AT&T?

Barnes and Noble Getting Traction From Its Digital Makeover

I admit to being a reader. I love books and I love bookstores. But I am also a fan of digital and the desire to always be connected. As consumers transition from print to digital, change is inevitable. Still, it doesn't mean that print will entirely go away or that bookstores can't continue to thrive. You can't stop change and B&N seem to understand that it is better to row with the stream then bump up against it.

So their digital makeover continues to help B&N to face that change and work with it to achieve better results. "Barnes & Noble Inc. said Tuesday its fiscal first-quarter loss narrowed as sales of its Nook e-book reader and e-books helped offset lower physical book sales." Is there work to do? Of course. These are still digital pennies (or perhaps nickels), but they are the future. And while store sales are down, competition is lessened with the loss of Borders. Add more merchandise into the stores and more reasons to bring in your Nook for a free coffee, and you can encourage more purchases.

It may not be an easy transition, but B&N is working with change, not trying to fight it. And that is a good thing.

Content is King For Sirius XM

Sirius XM recognizes that exclusive content is what best differentiates. It has worked with Howard Stern, with NFL, and MLB, and now with college football. "With the most recent college sports content announcement Sirius XM touted that they are the leaders in college sports radio broadcasting. There is little doubt about this since the company will be broadcasting virtually every game that happens. Again, this is great news for consumers." And as some content requires a premium subscription, there is anticipation of more revenue coming in. Given the rabid nature of college football fans, I can only expect that many will succumb and pay.

Is There An Apple iPad Killer And Will It Be The Amazon Tablet?

Apple has been enjoying quite a bit of success from its tablet. No other competitor has come close to the iPad; in fact, HP, quickly built one and then discontinued it. The iPad is even considered more valuable than an HD TV set, even with 3D. Still, it may not mean that the iPad is unbeatable. Companies love to play "king of the hill" and work to claim the top spot.

And one such competitor is Amazon with a new tablet that is expected to take the Apple iPad head on. According to Fred Wilson, investor and principal at Union Square Ventures, "'What we all want is a hybrid of the two -- a Kindle that is a full-blown tablet computer with a browser, apps, and an OS," Wilson added. "It looks like Amazon is going to bring that to market this fall ... It looks like a killer product.'" It is ultimately the success of the Google Android operating system, along with the arrival of more applications to enhance engagement, that can enable Amazon to sell an expected 3 - 5 million tablets.

Obviously Apple's iPad has a strong head star, with over 30 million sold. Still, every time a next generation device comes out, consumers experience obsolescence and the need to upgrade to the latest. If the Amazon tablet exceeds expectation, they can draw from the Apple user base. And so what we can possible see from Apple and Amazon will be a cat and mouse game with each outdoing the other with more innovation, better features and more benefits. It should be fun to watch. And it's a battle I'd love to join.

Steve Jobs Is A Change Agent

A terrific article by David Carr in the NY Times this morning on the effect that Steve Jobs had on many industries including computing, publishing, and music. And while many articles have praise Jobs, it is sad to note that they sometimes read like an obituary. Despite resigning as CEO, my hope is that he is still fighting the good fight to return his health to normal and to remain a key part of Apple.

It is this quote in Carr's article that most got to me, "In truth, Mr. Jobs’s effect on the media landscape has been less pernicious than opportunistic. He did not set out to destroy existing business models, he just noticed their lack of relevance and came up with new ones that kept consumers happy and Apple fat." Before Apple, the web was already hurting a number of industries. Illegal downloads and declining subscriptions were results of the web. Apple found business models that encouraged purchases and expanded the ways to easily watch, listen, and read. He made us need devices we didn't even know we wanted. And made iPhones, iPads, and iPods essential items.

Jobs may have had his failures (Lisa is named on many lists) but it is exactly what our parents and teachers remind us, from failure comes success. Jobs was never afraid to fail and his continual trying to make it right will be recognized for many years to come. I only hope that Steve Jobs remains with us just as long.

One Less Tablet as HP Drops Out

Hewlett Packard barely got it's foot in the tablet business and it is already conceding to the iPad. "On Thursday, HP announced that it would stop making tablets and smartphones powered by webOS, the operating system it acquired when it bought Palm last year for $1.2 billion." Does that mean that they are out entirely or simply retooling to come back later with a different tablet strategy? For now it seems to be a 2 horse race with Apple and Google; perhaps 3 if Microsoft is to be included.

Also interesting to note is that PC sales are down while Mac sales are up. This may be due to a couple of reasons. With the bad economy, consumers are keeping their computers longer and not buying the next model as frequently. It may be due to the Mac low market share which makes growth easier to achieve; and that as consumer get comfortable with their iPads and iPhones, they naturally gravitate to an Apple computer to better connect their devices.

Can HP get back into the game? Will the Google Android outshine the Apple? Will Microsoft emerge as a late entry but eventual winner. And what about tablets from Amazon and Barnes and Noble? Are tablets the ultimate tool or is a lightweight laptop the best of both worlds? The landscape continues to change at a maddening rate.

Give Me Liberty Or Give Me...So Says B&N

It's not an acquisition, but I guess we can call it the next best thing. Liberty has decided that it made better sense to buy into a piece of Barnes and Noble than to buy them out. "Liberty Media said it has agreed to purchase $204 million of Barnes & Noble preferred stock, a deal which would eventually give it a 16.6 % stake and trumps a $1 billion bid the media giant had made for the troubled book retailer in May." While this cash can certainly help B&N, one hopes that Liberty also enters into more strategic partnerships to augment the value of the relationship between its own content and distribution and their stores and Nook devices.

As a lover of books and a B&N customer, my family and I frequently visit. Sometimes we buy, sometimes we browse. I like seeing that our store has expanded its inventory a bit with more gift ideas and other merchandise. And I'd like to see more. I hope with a commitment by Liberty, more brick and mortar as well as digital growth can occur. It's not an acquisition, but it is the next best thing.

Playstation 3 Users: "Are You Ready For Some Football!"

Hello football fans. With the strike over and pre-season here, it may just be time to think about how to best watch football games. Local fans will always have access to their home teams, but for out of market fans, watching your Eagles, Cowboys, Packers or another is much harder, unless you are a DirecTv subscriber. Until now.

"The satellite service said Wednesday that it will distribute its exclusive live game out-of-market package to both current DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket customers, as well as non-DirecTV football fans through PlayStation 3 video game consoles, joining Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League in offering games through the Sony-produced players. ... DirecTv will also offer Sunday Ticket on alternative distribution platforms via Motorola's Xoom and Samsung Galaxy tablets; Motorola's Android phones; the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch; BlackBerry devices with 3G or Wi-Fi; Palm Pre/Pixi; and other Droid-branded phones." What isn't specified yet is whether these games will be shown in HD or not. Still, it opens up viewership to a whole new level!

I wouldn't be surprised to hear from cable operators about this new offering. They would love to have the same opportunity to offer all NFL games as well, through their cable box as well as to authenticated mobile platforms. This announcement will certainly lead to more conversations with the NFL. As for us out of market football fans, get ready for some football!

Hulu Changes, But Will It Help Its Sale

Hulu's current owners are cutting back the amount of free content available on Hulu; they prefer a more robust pay model. Consumers, however, are tired of the high cost of cable, and have enjoyed watching their shows, albeit a few days later, for free. A quandary that can lower the appeal of Hulu and may not convert viewers into pay customers. At the same time, the push is on to add more advertising to the mix, thus bringing more revenue to the model. But if viewership declines because of limited free content, how can total ad revenue grow. And ultimately, do these changes help or hurt Hulu's ability to be acquired?

It seems that digital pennies are becoming digital dollars and the early desire to get content online at no cost to the viewer has become less desirable. There is money in online content and content creators don't want to risk it at the expense of its other paid model distributors, like the cable operator. Ultimately, content companies want to be paid for content and viewers will have a harder time getting their content without paying a fee to someone. "The bottom line: There's not yet a cost-effective way to cut the cord completely. Expect the cable companies and network to work hard this year to keep it that way. The genie may have been let out of the bottle briefly, but the men and women in suits are trying desperately to shove him back inside."

If that is the case and consumers keep buying Hulu's premium model, they may be a more valuable takeover target. If the premium platform doesn't grow and free viewing drops, then Hulu may have lost its appeal. Only time will tell.