AT&T Merger May Be Problem For Childress

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AT&T Buyout Could Be Problematic For Childress
NASCAR officials say they have informed Richard Childress Racing that if Cingular Wireless changes its name to AT&T, as expected after a recent merger, AT&T would not be allowed on Jeff Burton's No. 31 car. NASCAR made the ruling based on its interpretation of its contract with series sponsor Nextel.

Cingular and Alltel, as well as Samsung/Radio Shack with Texas Motor Speedway, were grandfathered in as existing sponsors when the Nextel Series sponsorship contract was signed in 2003.

"It's pretty clear that they can't transfer a name due to a sale," NASCAR Vice President for Corporate Communications Jim Hunter said March 17.

Executives from Cingular would not comment March 16 when asked about what would happen to the company's sponsorship.

"Right now, Cingular is in it and is in it for the long haul," team owner Richard Childress said March 19. "That's about all I can say."

Hunter said that Cingular could negotiate with Nextel to try to transfer the name and keep the sponsorship. But Michael Robichaud, vice president for sports marketing for Sprint Nextel, said there are no plans to negotiate.

One option could be for Cingular to move to the Busch Series, where any cellular company can provide sponsorship.

"Cingular can stay on the car indefinitely, but the way it was agreed, it was [only] Cingular and Alltel and with their respective teams," Robichaud said. "It was really out of respect for the owners and the deals that they have. ... We wanted to allow those relationships to stay as long as they were, but we're in a very competitive business, and we had to contemplate the evolution of the industry.

"The agreement we reached was that they couldn't improve their position. They just can't change the brand if they make a business decision outside of [racing]."(Scene Daily)
 
well......

if the harvick rumor is true and this occurs, then we automatically know who might be the new GM driver...
 
That is BS with Nextel. They dont want to deal with compatition. Seems like of unfair and stupid if you ask me.
 
Lap3Forever said:
That is BS with Nextel. They dont want to deal with compatition. Seems like of unfair and stupid if you ask me.
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I agree, You see satellite commercials when you watch cable?????? I have see certain tv channels advertise on others...... I know it not exactly the came...but it's close.
 
I don't believe I ever saw any Marlboro commercials during the telecasts of NASCAR events while RJR and their Winston brand were the primary sponsors of the top division, did I?
While there were some smokeless tobacco products sponsoring cars, there were no other cigarette companies allowed.

Why should NEXTEL/SPRINT in effect, pay their competitors to advertise at events they (NEXTEL/SPRINT) are sponsoring?
 
I agree, bob, for once.

Nextel paid the cash to sponsor the whole show, of course they put in provisions to protect their advertisements. The problem I have is with NASCAR, (as usual) they knew there were two prominant teams with cellular sponsorships, they could have tried to protect them. And, for the record, they may have and Nextel nixed it. However, from past expierences NASCAR worries about NASCAR and ISC, not the drivers, owners, other track owners or anything else when it comes to money.

Really overall, the 'name change' provisions or whatever you want to refer to them as are pretty fair. Nextel paid and pays a bunch of cash to get their name on everything and they have to protect that as closely as possible.

- k y l e
 
(YAWN) Some people, simply put, do not understand business.

I will guarantee one thing. Those who feel AT&T and CIngular should be permitted to advertise, if it were within thier power to make a similar decision regarding restrictions, they too, would feel the same as NEXTEL and NASCAR.

If, or when, AT&T and Cingular merge it might mean a name change, a high possibility since the name AT&T has more name recognition than Cingular.

Permitting a new name of similar product or service for NEXTEL, a corporation spending millions annually to sponsor a sport, is not good business.
Not only is not good business, it is irresponsible business. Not only is it irresponsible and bad business, it is poor mamgement and if I were chairman of the board of directors, or even a stockholder for that matter, the guy who said, "hell yes, let AT&T and Cingular advertise on our turf", would be fired.

How would NEXTEL explain permitting an arrangement such as discussed here, to the stock holders ??
 
Kyle48 said:
I agree, bob, for once.

Nextel paid the cash to sponsor the whole show, of course they put in provisions to protect their advertisements. The problem I have is with NASCAR, (as usual) they knew there were two prominant teams with cellular sponsorships, they could have tried to protect them. And, for the record, they may have and Nextel nixed it. However, from past expierences NASCAR worries about NASCAR and ISC, not the drivers, owners, other track owners or anything else when it comes to money.

Really overall, the 'name change' provisions or whatever you want to refer to them as are pretty fair. Nextel paid and pays a bunch of cash to get their name on everything and they have to protect that as closely as possible.

- k y l e
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heres the deal....cingular and alltel were both grandfathered in..because Penske and RCR both have contracts with them...what i have a problem with is that RCR currently has a contract with cingular...his contract isnt going to change...therefore his sponsership shouldnt be banned..

i can handle nextel not letting future teams receive sponsers fron competiors...but i dont like the fact that they are actually going to be taking a current sponser away from one team.
 
Childress sponsorship is with Cingular. If Cingular gets bought out by AT&T, it is no longer Cingular but a subsidary or an enlarged AT&T.
A technicallity but none the less, enough so that if AT&T changes the Cingular name, the contract would be void.
On the other hand, if AT&T retains the name Cingular, the contract should remain.

Retaining the name Cingular is not likely as the name AT&T carries more universal recognition than Cingular. Would it be worth it to AT&T to continue to use the Cingular name to continue with a NASCAR sponsorship ???

In the long haul, AT&T will sell more through name recognition than the name Cingular.
Much as people might dislike the way the contractural agreement between NEXTEL and NASCAR is written, it is good business for NEXTEL and apparently written into the contract with Childress as well or the lawyers would be hoovering already.
 
Whizzer said:
Childress sponsorship is with Cingular. If Cingular gets bought out by AT&T, it is no longer Cingular but a subsidary or an enlarged AT&T.
A technicallity but none the less, enough so that if AT&T changes the Cingular name, the contract would be void.
On the other hand, if AT&T retains the name Cingular, the contract should remain.

Retaining the name Cingular is not likely as the name AT&T carries more universal recognition than Cingular. Would it be worth it to AT&T to continue to use the Cingular name to continue with a NASCAR sponsorship ???

In the long haul, AT&T will sell more through name recognition than the name Cingular.
Much as people might dislike the way the contractural agreement between NEXTEL and NASCAR is written, it is good business for NEXTEL and apparently written into the contract with Childress as well or the lawyers would be hoovering already.
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that doesnt make the contract void.....if one company buys another company out...then they are supposed to honor the contracts of the company that was bought out.

trust me...thats what Suncom told me when they bought out my area from AT&T wireless the first time around...Suncom told me they had to honor the contracts of all AT&T wireless customers.

i deal with contracts everyday.....the contract is null and void if one side over steps the contract, the contract term is up, one side buys their way out, or one side simply lets the other side out.

i dont see RCR simply letting Cingluar out of their contract without getting sometime of montary fee from NASCAR, Nextel, or Cingular.

at the very least i dont see how Nextel can get around buying out Cingular's end of the contract if they are forbidding AT&T wireless in.

Id be willing to bet if RCR takes this to court that Nextel will have to pay RCR what Cingular owes him....so you think you might see the Nextel 31 instead of the Cingular 31 next year? its a possibiltiy.
 
Well we alredy know NASCAR has screwed another team with the whole AT & T thing previously. Anyone remember when AT & T was a co-sponsor of Kenny Schrader and BAM? They decided to increase sponsership right about the time NEXTEL was announced as the new sponsor and they refused to allow AT & T to increase thier sponsership.

Here is an interesting note. If NASCAR is not willing to allow Cingular/AT & T to make changes due to contract agreements then why can NEXTEL which was announced as the offical sponsor become Sprint, which is obviously coming.
 
based on the theory that nascar and nextel are using...then the nascar/nextel contract would become null and void.
 
Hello...is anyone out there? Names mean everything and with that, does anyone remember that NEXTEL has been purchased by Sprint? So last year, there was all this speculation to what would happen to the NEXTEL Cup with that merger. As I see it, things didn't change at all, and neither did the names. I think that the same thing will happen here and that Cingular will continue to be Cingular and Altell will continue to be Altell when someone buys them out. When the contract with NEXTEL runs out, we could see many changes in the sponsors.
 
buck...i think AT&T has already announced that Cingular will take on the name AT&T Wireless.
 
There will be no "new" telecom names as long as Nextel/Sprint are sponsors of Nascar Cup.
 
Whizzer said:
Childress sponsorship is with Cingular. If Cingular gets bought out by AT&T, it is no longer Cingular but a subsidary or an enlarged AT&T.
A technicallity but none the less, enough so that if AT&T changes the Cingular name, the contract would be void.
On the other hand, if AT&T retains the name Cingular, the contract should remain.

Retaining the name Cingular is not likely as the name AT&T carries more universal recognition than Cingular. Would it be worth it to AT&T to continue to use the Cingular name to continue with a NASCAR sponsorship ???

In the long haul, AT&T will sell more through name recognition than the name Cingular.
Much as people might dislike the way the contractural agreement between NEXTEL and NASCAR is written, it is good business for NEXTEL and apparently written into the contract with Childress as well or the lawyers would be hoovering already.
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It's already a done deal as far as AR&T buying out Bell South, to whom AT&T sold the Cingular name a few years back.
AT&T farms out most of their customer service to India and has closed down a LOT of their offices all over the USA and that includes mine (twice) with many thousands of jobs lost, and plans on dumping at least 10,000 Bell South jobs locally (GA & other Bell South states). They USED IT BE "MA BELL" until the early '70s and the FCC broke them up. Now it seems as tho they are committed to go back to the "MONOPLY" they s enjoyed.

PLAIN & SIMPLE, I HAVE NO USE FOR AT&T and don't trust their "word" on a dang thing!
 
muggle not said:
There will be no "new" telecom names as long as Nextel/Sprint are sponsors of Nascar Cup.
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so whos going to pay rcr the money the are owned by a contract that was signed before nextel signed their contract with nascar?
 
People are already calling it Sprint/Nextel and I think you WILL see a full blown name change shortly. My point was that if NASCAR is going to allow that then they shoiuld allow the Cingular/AT & T thing too.
 
wolfcub said:
People are already calling it Sprint/Nextel and I think you WILL see a full blown name change shortly. My point was that if NASCAR is going to allow that then they shoiuld allow the Cingular/AT & T thing too.
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i agree with you 100 percent here....if they dont...then they should pay for the contract.
 
When this whole telecommunication deregulation began it opened the door for smaller companies to get in on the profit.
But, if you remember, when Pacific Bell (Ma Bell) was forced to split two of the companies that formed out of Pac Bell later became known as ATT and SBC.....

CA May Take a Closer Look at Phone Co. Mergers
Consumers Union joined with other consumer, civil rights and disability rights groups in California in protesting the proposed merger of telecom giants SBC and AT&T. Consumers Union, along with The Utility Reform Network, the Utility Consumers’ Action Network, the Disability Rights Advocates, the Greenlining Institute, and Latino Issues Forum asked the California Public Utilities Commission to follow state law and investigate to ensure the proposed merger does not harm California consumers.

The proposed merger “puts Humpty Dumpty back together again,” by reassembling the bulk of the old “Ma Bell” that existed prior to the divestiture of the Regional Bell Holding Companies from AT&T. The divestiture, and later the Telecommunications Act of 1996, were intended to inject some competition into telephone markets. Instead, misguided regulatory policies and mergers are squeezing emerging competitors out of the market.

Unlike most other states, California law requires telephone companies to show how the proposed merger will benefit consumers. However, SBC and AT&T have failed to bring forth any credible evidence that the merger won’t further limit competition. Cell phones and Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) are not reliable substitutes for basic phone service, and in most cases cost consumers more than their current landline phone bills. SBC and AT&T have also maintained an ominous silence about the effects of the proposed merger on service quality – and the availability of advanced services – in California.

The merger could have a devastating impact on consumers in underserved communities –including low-income and minority consumers, disabled consumers and rural consumers – will receive any benefits of the merger. The companies have failed to provide any assurance that these communities won’t be harmed – as shown by our filing and others, including the California Community Technology Foundation.

We are calling on California regulators to follow the law, hold a hearing, and make SBC and AT&T prove that the merger will indeed benefits consumers as they claim. If, as we expect, these giants can’t prove the merger won’t harm consumers and competition, the merger should be blocked.
 
I just don't understand why the FCC is even allowing these mergers. Divestiture was started by MCI suing for their right to operate as a sep. long distance company without the MA BELL controlling them. FCC agreed and that opened the door for local companies from coast to coast and beyond to own and operate their own networks, seperate and apart from Big Ma.
It just appeares to me that the FCC (Big Brother) is trying to wash it's hands of the whole thing, stick their collective heads in the sand, and let BIG BUSINESS (including Nextel/Sprint) get back into control.
Personally, I think that in the long run this trend backwards will HURT NASCAR.
 
Sprint Nextel: No word on series name change
Company executives waiting until midseason to make final decision
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
April 4, 2006
05:57 PM EDT (21:57 GMT)


Sprint Nextel executives said on Tuesday it would be mid-season before a decision would be made on a possible name change for NASCAR's top series.

Nextel merged with Sprint in August 2004, but the Nextel Cup Series name has remained unchanged. Sprint executives were initially scheduled to meet with NASCAR in February to discuss a possible name change, but that meeting won't happen until later in the year.

"It was not the right time to consider a change and we have agreed to a new timetable which is the middle of this year," said Mark Schweitzer, Chief Marketing Officer of Sprint Nextel. "We want to make sure that if we were to make a change, it would not be detrimental to the equity we have built up.

"That is not the same as saying the name needs to change. We have an agreement with NASCAR to revisit it."

Sprint Nextel said that NASCAR itself would have a "lot of input" in the name. Only one name change can occur over the 10-year contract period.

Jill Gregory, the director of Nextel's NASCAR marketing since 2004, left the company to head motorsports marketing for Bank of America. Gregory's boss, Michael Robichaud, has announced he also will be leaving the company, sparking speculation about the future of Sprint-Nextel in NASCAR's top series.

But Sprint Nextel executives pointed out that selling the deal with NASCAR, which began in 2004 and runs through 2013, is not an option.

"The commitment is very much here for two simple reasons," Schweitzer said. "It works, and second, the deal was struck in such a way to help insure that the sport had the stability of a long-term sponsor. We are comfortable with how the deal was struck."

The Sprint Nextel deal, executives said, involves complex media buys that tie the company into major ad purchases for the 10-year period. The company also pumps tens of millions into its NFL branding, but that spending has not matched the monies that Sprint Nextel has invested into NASCAR.
 
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