OL has with Germany's Bertelsmann, which partnered up for AOL Europe, they will have the advantage by having a local company provide the content they need. Bertelsmann is really on the edge of competition with Time Warner but Bertelsmann states that It sees its partnership with AOL Time Warner unchanged following the merger, saying new media startups are its real concern. Concerns are more founded here at home though, with the possible losers list growing here are some examples of who and why companies have much to fear of Mega-Mergers in general but in particular the AOL/Time Warner merger.Excite@Home had exclusive rights to AT&T cable access until mid-2001, which gave them enough time to build up their broadband service and content to go it on their own. Now that AOL has the jump on them with the broadband access and massive amounts of great content of their own, now coupled with Time Warners content including cartoons, music, and video on demand. Excite cant compete with the resources of the combined company.Yahoo, who up till now has not been interested in a mega-media merger, and has not been bothered about any rumblings that AOL has tried to create. Yahoos earning has continued to be steady but they are going to be forced to at least talk about strategy in dealing with the new kid on the block. According to Abhishek Gami, an analyst with Nesbitt Burns Securities, Yahoo is probably the only remaining Net player that could go it alone because it's brand is strong. However, Yahoo may be pushed into smaller deals to acquire proprietary content. Yahoo has typically outsourced content to keep costs down. Yahoo has the power to make the same kind of move as AOL, with CBS, NewsCorp or even GE but they are standing firm that they are not interested in any media companies. That will remain to be seen.Lycos who up to now has trailed Yahoo is running out of options if it wants to get into the new wave of media purchases. The AOL Time War...
