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

To: tinkershaw who wrote (21568)	3/28/2000 3:57:00 AM
From: tinkershaw	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

(Continued) But Mr. Henry Yuen is sharper than I think any of us can imagine. I believe much of what Henry is now doing is trying to create this Godzilla effect on GMST specific guides. I think eBooks and the functionality they will bring is one aspect of his trying to accomplish this. Trying to provide such functionality and networking effect around the guides (e.g. so publishers will exclusively use the GMST guides and no others for distribution, that sort of networking effect thing whereby the critical mass of users creates unique value for viewers to have a Gemstar specific guide and not a competitors) that the guides may gain Godzilla power in the future even if they lack such power now. So that is my opinion on the matter. The guides are not now Godzilla powered. They are Gorilla, IPed power. IP being the source that compels the distribution of the guides to the end users (the viewers). It is very analogous to Ted Turner's target market is viewers, not advertisers. Advertising is a by-product of obtaining sufficient viewers. With GMST the power that enables this critical mass is IP and not networking effect. Networking effect has no hold over viewers and their preference for Gemstar specific guides at this time. Therefore Gorilla not Godzilla. But, I am watching anxiously to see what Mr. Yuen may do to create a networking effect around the guides in the future. Tinker P.S. I may be working eBooks this summer for my internship. I have an offer in hand but the details of exactly which projects I get to work on have not been finalized. But it will be exciting if I do get the chance to make history and be on the team that pushes eBooks onto a market of unsuspecting consumers. Ahhh, I might learn to love business as much as I loved law. {Am holding back uncontrollable sinister laugh here}.

To: tinkershaw who wrote (21568)	3/28/2000 11:47:00 AM
From: Mike Buckley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 54805

Tinker, Though I still don't agree with you regarding the discussion of Gemstar's Godzilla role or lack of it, it's obvious to me that the most important issue is that we do understand the business model. It almost becomes a matter of semantics when we begin coming close to splitting hairs. One last question (point) that I think is critical to the discussion: If the federal government prevents the merger of Gemstar and TV Guide, TV Guide will be operating their EPG/IPG business in a way that creates a competing portal with Gemstar's portal. In that scenario, would you also categorize TV Guide's advertising revenue as Gorilla-based when they are paying rights to Gemstar for use of the EPG/IPG technology? My point is that if TV Guide's ad business in a non-merger scenario isn't a Godzilla play it must be a Gorilla play. But it can't be a Gorilla play because they don't own the technology. Therefore we come back to my point that the advertising must be a Godzilla play. --Mike Buckley