Select Discourse with "CMG_CEO" on Yahoo Message Board: Enjoy!
CMG_CEO Chris Byron's article for MSNBC on HLYW deal is trash. Aug 8 1998 5:50PM EDT
Chris Byron's "Reel Desperation" article for MSNBC referred to in these postings is garbage. I know because I was involved in the deal, and his facts are way off, and he failed to miss the strategic positioning/value of the HLYW and Reel.com combination. It is the largest step forward toward video on demand that I have seen to date. The team of CMGI, Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures, Intel and Scott Beck (former vice chairman of Blockbuster) is a very strong addition for HLYW. We did not get the discount on HLYW Byron mentions. His math is what President Bush called Voodoo ecomonics. We really did get $100MM of value for Reel.com. Frankly, I believe if all we wanted to do was cash out, we could have gotten a lot more, but this is only one step of a long term plan for Reel.com. Also, HLYW was not nearly out of cash when it bought Reel. Our investment in HLYW was because we think the HLYW/Reel.com combination is so powerful, and we wanted to continue to benefit from Reel.com, as does the rest of the investment team. I wonder why Byron never bothered to call me or anyone else on the investment team to verify his inaccuracies, or at least hear our side. Thanks to everyone submitting to this board. Go GCTY! David
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JustBalls Justified CMG_CEO Aug 8 1998 6:02PM EDT
Premier5, you are right. I personally made the investment in JustBalls, along with a number of other internet execs, because I like the business model, positioning, and founders, but it is not quite far enough along to meet some of the criteria we look for in @Ventures. Once it is, @Ventures is already familiar with the deal and will consider seriously participating in the next round. Just Net, David
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Another test for the "CMG CEO" Rupert_E (37/M/California) Aug 8 1998 7:06PM EDT
4. Which British rock band was Marcus the manager of prior to becoming your representative in London?
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Test answer CMG_CEO Aug 8 1998 7:09PM EDT
Genesis - one of the all time greats. How do you know Marcus? Are you Marcus?
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More questions for the "CMG CEO"! Rupert_E (37/M/California) Aug 8 1998 7:00PM EDT
1. What was the name of the club where your 1997 shareholders meeting was held? 2. What's the name of the law firm that is CMG's General Counsel, and what's their address? 3. Which company did John McMullen found?
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more answers CMG_CEO Aug 8 1998 7:12PM EDT
Andover/Palmer&Dodge/Jack founded RPA and Cambridge Meridien Group - another great CMG :) Jack is also running for US Sentor for Vermont against Patrick Leahy. I think his motto should be: "If you're thinking of voting for Leahy, you don't know Jack!!!!"
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re:road show redsonja_1999 Aug 8 1998 6:53PM EDT
Hi David, What was response to Geo Cities road show? Thanks RedSonja
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redsonja reply CMG_CEO Aug 8 1998 7:15PM EDT
The response was great, from what I understand. We will know more Monday when it prices, and of course more Tuesday, when GCTY has its coming out party. Say hi to DB.
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CMG_CEO...How about a CMGI name change? PROPHET_OF_PROFIT Aug 8 1998 7:31PM EDT
I asked Andy Hajducky recently about a CMGI name change and he replied nothing was in the works. How about finally getting the ball rolling? CMG (College Marketing Group) Information Services really isn't accurate anymore. I believe I speak for everyone else on this thread (except the shorts) who would like to see more positive press on CMGI. BW said it themselves in their recent article "The Web Giant that Nobody Knows". How about Internet @Ventures? Remember the most volatile stocks have the best returns! Strap on your seatbelts, put on your helmets and hold onto your dear CMGI !
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Prophet reply CMG_CEO Aug 8 1998 7:36PM EDT
I agree a better name for CMG is called for. We have some plans we are working on. In the meantime, what do you think of CMG Interactive or CMG Internet? We can keep CMGI as a symbol, and it's more descript. I think Internet@Ventures is interesting, but perhaps a bit too cute and doesn't capture other forms of interactive media.
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Zen reply CMG_CEO Aug 8 1998 7:32PM EDT
The CMGI plan for the future is more of the same - do the best we can to build lasting value for the web where we see the opportunities. Certainly more IPO's are what we are shooting for, but other liquidity events are possible (e.g. Reel.com, PlanetAll, etc.) Since I'm sure you can appreciate that I cannot divulge CMG's plans in too much detail, suffice it to say that CMG's aim is to capture as much eyeball time as possible and target that eyeball time optimally for advertising, commerce, and a more personalized/customized/enjoyable web experience.
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Vulcan Ventures is already used... _Urlman_ Aug 8 1998 8:12PM EDT
so how about "Klingon Ventures" LOL! Just kidding...... CMG_CEO, for starters i would recommend editing your public profile inluding your *name* & *e-mail* address ..... Thanks :-) Urlman
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Reply to Urlman CMG_CEO (43/M/Wetherell) Aug 8 1998 8:33PM EDT
I like Klingon Ventures. Also Ferengi Ventures?
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CMG_CEO... RE:S&P _Urlman_ Aug 8 1998 8:22PM EDT
It appears the S&P has a serious bug up their arse :-) biz.yahoo.com biz.yahoo.com Any idea what has espoused such ridiculous negativity which appears to be directly pointing @ CMG & Geocities? The market reception for HLYW deal has been very positive even after S&P's "silly" comments.... All thoughts appreciated, Urlman
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More reply to Urlman re: S&P CMG_CEO (43/M/Wetherell) Aug 8 1998 8:41PM EDT
The S&P downgrade of ratings for HLYW is unfortunate, but understandable. There are no standards (for poor reasons (ugh)) to accommodate inclusion of web models in these ratings, as the web is too new and an entirely different standard of commerce. I would not want the job of having to set that new standard, but it is sorely needed, as more companies will face the plight of HLYW as they venture into the future of commerce. Reel.com's revenues are 90% from the sale of videos. HLYW's are 90% from the rental of videos. Both markets are $8 Billion in size. With HLYW's 25 million and growing member base and Reel's superior content and video commerce site, HLYW should enjoy the best of both revenue streams until VOD (video on demand) comes around - then who will be well positioned?
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Reply to Zen CMG_CEO Aug 8 1998 8:26PM EDT
We are consistently investing in 1st rounds. Lycos, Geocities, Reel, PlanetAll, Netcarta, amongst many others were all first rounds, and we will continue to do so, so long as the conditions are right. We have much better than a 5% success rate on first rounds. In fact, only one of our investments out of about 20(Freemark) was a flame out. As for Sumitomo, Intel and Microsoft, we are working with all of those companies on a number of fronts. D
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Reply to Prophet CMG_CEO (43/M/Wetherell) Aug 8 1998 8:55PM EDT
As it turns out, CMG will be playing a larger than 20% role in @Ventures III. We should be revealing that amount soon. I'm happy to be Zen's prodigy. He seems to know what he's talking about. :) As for the company name, if we get what we are going for, I think you will like it. If we don't get it, hopefully we come up with something you will like. In the meantime, we will stick with ole' CMGI. Regards, D
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to Momentumguy CMG_CEO (43/M/Wetherell) Aug 8 1998 9:07PM EDT
Q: Quick question. Safeguard Scientifics(SFE, a public venture capital firm, allows their shareholders to buy shares in the companies they bring public (Usually, you can buy 20% of however many shares of SFE you own. i.e. 500 shares of SFE will get you 100 shares of the new IPO). Is this a future possibility to consider for CMGI shareholders? My feeling is that if you did this, then your stock would be incredibly valuable because of your track record in bringing your ventures public, so *everyone* would want to own your shares. A: What was so quick about that question? ;) SFE is a great firm, but the rights offering is somewhat complicated, and with our story as complicated as it is, we thought we should steer clear of anything that would not help us describe our story in a short elevator ride. That being said, we remain open to the SFE approach. I enjoy your postings, and you are clearly a more informed investor. Unfortuneately, not everyone who enjoys investing in the internet is the same. Imagine the investor relation questions we'd have to staff up to answer regarding a rights offering to all of our shareholders. I'm not sure I'd be able to answer them. I applaud SFE for their creativity though. I respect their model immensely. Thanks for your question and your postings. Regards, David
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Reply to Urlman CMG_CEO
(43/M/Wetherell) Aug 8 1998
9:14PM EDT
Q: Any plans for Reel.com affiliate program to be a part of Geocities?
(in the similar fashion that CDNOW, Egghead & Amazon are?)
Also a question about Howard Stern...
When did the first Howard Stern commercial air for Reel.com?
Are their any more plans to use Stern as a vehicle to get the word out on other CMG investments.
A: I'm sure Reel is talking with GeoCities. No firm plans as of now, as far as I know.
Howard Stern is a pervert done good, and his program worked well for Reel. Why not for other CMG investments?
Regards,
D
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