Yesterday's Convergence 2.0 conference, hosted by Corporate Dealmaker's sister pub Tech Confidential at the Museum of Television and Radio here in New York, was heavy on big name dealmakers from the likes of NBC Universal, Time Warner, Microsoft, AT&T, Vonage and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin got the news wires humming early after The Deal's Richard Morgan asked him during a live interview whether Sirius might consider buying rival XM. The answer: a resounding "NO," though as Tech Con's Brian Ward reported yesterday, that's not what some news outlets reported.

NBC Universal's EVP for corporate development Bruce Campbell and Michael Del Nin, SVP of M&A at Time Warner, talked telecom, media and technology deals later in the day. Both are interested in deals that deliver new content and technological innovation, but synergy with existing programming is important, too. Take NBC's $600 million acquisition of iVillage. The online community for women synchs well with the strong female demographic of The Today Show, said Campbell, offering obvious cross promotional opportunities.

Corporate Dealmaker's Kenneth Klee moderated a panel on monetizing intellectual property that included another NBC Universal exec., VP and IP counsel Gillian Lusins. Lusins was asked about NBC's sometimes adversarial relationship with the online video clip site You Tube, which has had to take down NBC clips after notices from the network. The topic turned out to be more timely than anyone knew at the time. A day later, the WSJ and others reported that NBC would soon announce a deal with YouTube to air promotional clips of current NBC programs and upcoming series.

For a complete rundown of Convergence 2.0, check out Brian's posts here. You can also watch a Webcast of Vonage chief strategist Jeffrey A Citron's industry spotlight presentation here.
— Suzanne Stevens

Join Corporate Dealmaker's LinkedIn forum