deeno, it's quite alright to play the other side of the tape as far as I'm concerned. That's exactly what I had in mind when I suggested that a disproportionate amount of time was being spent on T.
In retrospect, I might have duly stated instead, or added, that a disproportionate amount of focus was being given to a seemingly benevolent side of T, and not enough to their potential down side, if they should ever decide to take another direction going forward. And there is plenty of cause for T to think in those terms, and I would venture to say that they are increasingly evaluating their options, in this regard.
When all is said and done, it should be remembered that T is a master plumber, and not a renaissance artist, despite their apparent rising up from being very close to the ashes. They know pipes and fixtures as well as anyone else on the planet. But investors should beware that being overly top-heavy in the plumbing department can often be very detrimental to the creative thinking component in any organization.
Any firm who is doing diligence on their own future knows the fundamental parameter of risk concentration, and ATHM seems to be so sycophantly taken, or terribly aware of the down sides of speaking up for itself in the presence of T (I don't know which at this point, and I have no absolute foundation for saying this... it's only a gut) that they are leaving themselves wide open for a letdown, if T should decide to play a "nonintuitive" hand at this point.
See, now you know why I let you say it. My wording is usually too unsweetened on such matters, downright brutal at times, that I usually require an emissary to break the news for me. Lest I receive chastisement with four-letter words from rough necks in the bleachers, requiring that the SI Thread Cop intervene with eraser in hand. Thanks.
You actually articulated many of the thoughts and ideas that served to provoke my original post rather well, and I enjoyed reading them coming from someone else for a change. Surprised you haven't been taken to task yet. It all has much to do about concentration of risk, from where I sit. Not necessarily for ATHM, for they are the creation of others, and can live or die by the hand of others. It's about the risk that is assumed by the non-MSO shareholders that I'm referring to here.
And if ATHM-the-ISP-or-Content-Provider proper has all to gain by its continued subscription by T, it has, at the same time, plenty of risk that they should be thinking about too. But this goes beyond academic discussion, it has to do with accountability in the fiduciary sense. Beyond simply thinking about it, or discussing it, ATHM is presumably a sovereign organization beholding to its shareholders, ALL its shareholders, and they should be prepared to state what their contingencies are if any or all of its founding partners, and assignees, decided to take a hike. It's called having a disaster recovery/contingency plan in hand to assure business continuation.
This is 1999 we're talking about, not some bygone era when loyalty may have meant something. Loyalty in partnerships, or even ownerships, today does not carry the same weight that it once did, or the moral connotations it once had. There is very little honor left today that isn't spelled out in precise terms in contract language. Today your partner is just as likely to shoot you in the head, execution style, as your worst enemy.
Can ATHM stand up and take initiatives on its own at this point, while remaining amenable to its founders, or is it so much a part of T's plans, despite how tenuous that position might be, that they are stifled from becoming a King in their own Space?
The other side to this is the obvious argument that ATHM is, in fact, the making of the MSOs, and as such should not be looking to bite the hand that feeds it. And that's okay too, as long as you don't try to tell me that ATHM is something different, in the way of a sovereign corporation, and that I should be investing in due to its vision and institutional qualities. It can only be one way or the other, so long as the possibility exists that their own existence is dependent on the whims of others. Comments welcome.
Regards, Frank Coluccio <shields up!>
ps - I think that I'm okay. Are you okay, too? [smile] |
