AOL, AT&T, Cha-Cha-Cha!

Mar 01 2001

Is no one happy at AOL Time Warner this morning? Could ATT execs be more miserable? The dueling giants play out in today's news like bored dance partners, each of whom wonders about the other: Will this geek never get out of my face?

The two twirled in a federal appeals court yesterday, and News.com's headline notched a win for AOL when the court agreed to reinstate AOL's lawsuit against AT&T for use of the phrase "Buddy List." Seems AT&T's WorldNet service has taken to using the term, which AOL claims to own the trademark to, according to the Bloomberg News posting on News.com.

But whether AOL was victorious depends on the outlet you're reading. In its report on the same court session, the Washington Post pegged AOL the loser. Le Post went high with the news that in the same hearing, AT&T won over the Mother of All Portals for the right to use the phrase "You Have Mail" and the instant-messaging abbreviation "IM."

The unhappy twosome is also bickering over the value of AT&T's 25 percent stake in AOL's Time Warner Entertainment. AOL has offered $9 billion-ish for the stake. Cash-strapped AT&T, which has to sell the holdings to satisfy regulators, wants more. So its new plan, the Wall Street Journal reported, is to sell its shares in a public offering. Aren't AT&T execs following the stock market these days, you might be wondering? They may have been too busy inking other selloffs. In a two-day hit, AT&T sold off $1.79 billion worth of cable systems to Charter Communications , and another four states' worth of cable assets to Mediacom Communications for $2.2 billion. The $3 billion-plus is a nice haul, the New York Post pointed out, but the ex-Ma Cable still has $42 billion to go to pay down its debt.

Just when you think AT&T's press clips may have the edge over AOL in the bad-news department, word comes that AOL lost a longtime exec at Warner Records. CEO Russ Thyret joins a parade of suits leaving the AOL unit in the wake of its January announcement of early-retirement packages, according to Inside. In all, Warner hopes to reduce its head count by 600 people by next month, Inside reported. If misery loves company, then maybe AOL and AT&T deserve each other.

Court Revives AOL's Trademark Suit Against ATT
CNET

AOL Losing War of Words
Washington Post

ATT Takes Steps to Unload Stake in Time Warner Entertainment
Wall Street Journal

ATT Plans Offering of Stake in Time Warner Entertainment
Wall Street Journal

Allen's Cable-TV Firm to Buy ATT Systems in 4 States
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Deal Would Give Charter Cable Control Here
St. Louis Post Dispatch

ATT Unraveling Empire
New York Post

End of an Era at Warner Bros. Records - CEO Russ Thyret Exits Scene
Inside