Connections with NBC Universal Pay Off For Amazon

NBC Universal announced today that it will sell episodes of its new fall season using Amazon’s Unbox digital download service. NBC had been in previous negotiations with Apple Inc to offer the programs on iTunes, but the deal never came through (see article from The New York Times ). An IntellectSpace Knowledge Map shows the connections between NBC Universal and Amazon that could have facilitated this latest move.

The strongest connection is between Robert Wright, a former Chairman and CEO of NBC Universal, and Marc Onetto, the current Senior VP of Worldwide Operations at Amazon. Both men are connected through their time at GE. Wright has a long history at GE, having started at the company in 1969. In 1984 he was President and CEO of GE Financial Services and in 2000 he was elected Vice-Chairman of the Board. Onetto was a Vice-President at GE from 1988-2003. This makes it very likely that the two worked together for several years.

Another noteworthy relationship is between Richard Jones, a former Vice-President, Assistant Treasurer, and Tax Counsel for NBC Universal, and Patty Stonesifer, a Director at Amazon since 1997. Both are connected through CBS Corporation, where Jones is currently a Senior VP and Tax Counsel and where Stonesifer was a Director from 2000-2005. In all likelihood Wright and Jones still retain numerous connections at NBC that helped to get this deal off the ground.

It is likely that these connections helped Amazon score a big win with this agreement over rival Apple Inc.

Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map (Internet Explorer browsers only): http://nv.intellectspace.com/ispace/GuestMonitor.aspx?id=0289ae99-15de-4253-8baf-288d59eac1b3

Comments

[Anonymous]

Another connection:

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070628/20070628005765.html?.v=1