Any idea who Burtlesman is getting married to?:
biz.yahoo.com
Burtlesman is one of the largest communication businesses in the world.
Very deep pockets.
Tons of investments in the US, 1/2 owner of BNBN and AOL europe.
Very deep into magazines and the presses that print them.
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Monday October 18, 3:29 pm Eastern Time
Bertelsmann to unveil broadband pacts
By Deborah Cole
MUNICH, Germany, Oct 18 (Reuters) - German media group Bertelsmann will unveil new partnerships on Tuesday for the development of broadband cable networks, a technology it says would pave the way for an Internet commerce boom.
Werner Lauff, head of the Bertelsmann Broadband Group, which was formed last spring to develop interactive cable networks, told the Munich Media Fair on Monday that the company would announce alliances with cable companies, content providers and electronics manufacturers.
Bertelsmann, Europe's largest media company, has placed the Internet at the forefront of its attempts to find new distribution channels for its television programming, books and music. It turned away from its pay-TV activities earlier this year, saying it believed the future was with interactive TV.
Broadband cable networks will allow large quantities of data to move over the Internet in a matter of seconds and give users access to cyberspace via television set-top boxes. But they will require billions of dollars in investment in the cable infrastructure before they are up and running.
Lauff said in a speech that high-speed interactive networks would allow television viewers to shop in the comfort from their living rooms, which would greatly boost the attractiveness of online commerce.
``To the right you'll have the red wine, to the left the cheese plate and in the middle the remote control that allows you to buy whatever comes across the screen,' Lauff said. ``This could mark the final breakthrough of e-commerce.'
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM NOT ON LIST OF PARTNERS
Bertelsmann's list of partners will notably exclude Deutsche Telekom, which is in the process of selling off chunks of its 17.5-million household cable TV network.
Lauff sharply criticised Telekom for how it was approaching the sale of the network, saying it was more interested in holding onto control of the regional companies than in ensuring the development of a powerful infrastructure.
``It has less to do with ideas and more to do with bringing in a lot of money,' Lauff said.
Telekom has turned down offers from several key domestic players, who have said that the company is trying to avoid competition in the telecommunications and Internet market in its choice of partners.
Bertelsmann's Internet activities include online bookseller BOL in Europe, a 40 percent stake in U.S. Internet bookshop Barnesandnoble.com (NasdaqNM:BNBN - news) and half of AOL Europe, a joint venture with America Online (NYSE:AOL - news). |
