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Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Uncle Frank who wrote (10294)	11/14/1999 12:13:00 AM
From: Mike Buckley	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 54805

Stephen (by the way, welcome!) and Frank, and Stew or anyone! Please help me out. I don't understand the excitement about AT&T's information about set-top boxes. I'll try to explain. Tell me what I'm missing. I think it's interesting that the article said that AT&T wants to get their set-top boxes out in time for the 2000 holiday buying season. The fact of the matter is that we've all known for a long time that the federal government has mandated that customers no longer be confined to buying or renting set-top boxes from their cable provider. As of July 2000, they must be available to consumers in the retail outlets. In that context, in order for AT&T to have their set-top boxes received well at Christmas time, they need have a presence in the market place in July when everyone will be vying for consumers' attention. My very long-winded point is that this article does not constitute any changed fundamental in the industry nor for Gemstar. The MSOs must comply. It's old news, so to speak. Is it possible that the excitement is about the statement that TV Guide's EPG is part of the platform to be used? Well, heck! Whose would they use if they didn't use TV Guide's? And notice that the article doesn't mention what kind of guide is specified. The article doesn't mention whether or not it will be a second-generation guide. The fact that it calls it an "electronic" guide and not an "interactive" guide may or may not be a clue. Had the article said that it would be an interactive one, or better yet, that it would be a guide capable of handling advertising, that would be much more exciting information. It would be news! Am I completely out to lunch about some or all of this? --Mike Buckley