Media, until now, has been a "domination game" says Gerd Leonhard at this 2009 ecomm conference. "Big broadcasters were all about themselves," offering take-it-or-leave-it deals. Communications companies outlined the standards and collected for keeping the lines open, accepting little outside interference. With the new media value shuffling, especially the 670B advertising industry shifting first into cable TV and now toward the web, the absolute value of media channels is destabilized. The web gives everyone media space; what media needs now to stay relevant is to offer value on both the upstream and downstream sides. 

In this 2009 presentation at eComm, Gerd Leonhard names "curation" as the name of the game for telcos. Leonhard recommends telcos participate in collaborations with value considerations at each end, and offer bundled services. In the mobile field, telcos have given in to exclusive agreements with platforms and handset manufacturers who have new influence on the buying public's telco selection. It's time for telcos to care about content, branding, and audience. 

"Content is King" might have been a bit too cheeky a pronouncement as paywalls haven't worked so well so far, and single content units -- such as music singles -- can't stand on their own without a structure like Apple's. However, the importance of content has caused rumblings in the telco world. What makes a news organization like the New York Times important isn't any one article, but the expectations of its curation. It's part of the mix. Being able to offer exclusives and packages is a telco advantage.