Why AT&T May Succeed With Time Warner Where AOL Couldn't Brad Feld of TechStars says the new deal reflects the need to establish linkage between the 'content' and 'network' layers.

By Jeff Harbach

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Kena Betancur | Stringer | Getty Images

As they say, the past is prologue, and that is perhaps truer in tech than any other sector. How else can we explain how a deal to merge AT&T and Time Warner makes sense in 2016, when AOL's deal to buy that same media giant just a decade ago was considered such an unmitigated catastrophe?

Related: Netflix CEO Gives Conditional Approval of AT&T-Time Warner Deal

Brad Feld, founder of TechStars and the Foundry Group, describes the deal as a function of the cyclical nature of hype as a new technology takes hold.

"The premise of the AOL acquisition and the premise of the AT&T acquisition 15 years later is the same: [It's] that you need to get this linkage between the content and the network layer," Feld said, speaking during a break at the Kauffman Fellows Reunion Summit in Kansas City this week.

"That premise is still very valid."

Feld pointed to a well-known Gartner chart that defines the anatomy of the hype cycle: A new technology creates inflated expectations, which then fall into a trough of disillusionment, only to slowly climb back to through enlightenment. Eventually, the technology lands in a more stable place: the plateau of productivity.

When thinking about the AT&T / Time Warner merger, observers can only imagine what this will mean in terms of how we consume media: Will we even call the result "television" anymore? Will our kids have TVs in their living rooms? Form factors will continue to evolve, so we are likely to see a further fragmentation of content sources as the media world consolidates more and more.

Increasingly, we consumers are the producers of our own channels for information and entertainment, as they are streamed, shared and captured in ever-smaller bites. Optimistic viewers might hope that this evolution in media will mean we become savvier consumers of information -- meaning a more positive impact on society.

Related: Don't Want to End Up Like AOL and Time Warner? Here Are 4 Ways to Create a Winning Business Partnership.

But perhaps we observers are getting caught up in the hype-cycle ourselves.

Feld, who jokes that the only companies allowed to buy Time Warner are ones with three initials and names starting with a capital "A," likes to quote RebootHQ CEO Jerry Colonna, who's said: "We were right; we were just ten years too early."

But, then, there have been lots of ideas that were 10 or 15 years too early. Watching TV on our computers is now commonplace, and is certainly one reason why the AT&T/Time Warner deal could succeed where the one with AOL failed.

Related: Time Warner Cable Says Up to 320,000 Customer Passwords Stolen

"We, with nostalgia and some pain and anxiety, recall the dot-com bubble, and many of those same ideas are being instantiated in products that are very successful today," Feld says, reminding a listener that, in technology, as in life, timing is everything.

Jeff Harbach

Entrepreneur Leadership Network® Contributor

President and CEO of Kauffman Fellows

Jeff Harbach is president and CEO of Kauffman Fellows, and a fellow from the Class of '16. He  has been an entrepreneur and investor since 2002, and was executive director of the Central Texas Angel Network (CTAN), based out of Austin, TX, from 2011–2013. Harbach has led multiple startups, including a luxury furniture store and interior design firm, a golf destination club, two 7-Eleven stores and a private country club golf network. He was also an angel investor with the Vegas Valley Angels.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Side Hustle

This Gen Zer's Stylish Side Hustle Earns About $20,000 a Month and Paid Off His Parents' $200,000 Debt: 'I Enjoy the Hands-Off Nature'

Ray Cao went from working as a barista for $8 an hour to being a successful seller on online marketplace StockX.

Money & Finance

5 Ways to Make Money Online in 2024

Here are five great ways to capitalize on the internet's vast potential for generating income in 2024.

Buying / Investing in Business

What Happens When a Food Entrepreneur Meets a Michelin Star Chef? You Get The #1 Pasta on Amazon.

Michelin chef x food entrepreneur = $131 billion opportunity.

Marketing

5 Trends Shaping the Next Generation of Digital Marketing

These IT platforms offer a unique opportunity for brands to connect organically with their demographic by partnering with influencers who boast a loyal following.

Business News

Make $177,566 With No Experience in 3 Months: A Popular Online 'Side Hustle' Course Is Under Investigation After Customers Complain About Its Deceptive Claims

"All you need is a phone, a laptop, wi-fi and one to three hours a day," one affiliate marketer said in a video posted to social media.