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Now, Messier is trying to get Vivendi's content on the Net. In January he signed an agreement with cellphone giant Vodafone Airtouch to create a joint venture called MAP -- for Multi Access Portal -- that will offer Web access via cell phone and interactive television. He's also discussing taking a stake in Platco, a global TV and Internet venture being started by media mogul Rupert Murdoch. And he's discussing possible expanded cooperation with America Online, which already operates AOL France as a joint venture with Vivendi. In a recent interview with BW Correspondent Carol Matlack in Paris, Messier talked about his vision for Vivendi. Q: Looking ahead a few years, what kind of company will this be? A: Vivendi will be one of the very few top communications groups of the Internet age. We will have customers all over the globe, providing services through all kinds of technology. We have now assembled the pieces, the skills, the talents [that] are needed to do this. There is no missing piece today. We will also continue to be a strong world leader on environment [through the Vivendi Environment unit, which includes water and waste treatment services.] Q: What are the current plans for MAP, the Multi Access Portal? A: We'll be launching this before the end of May, first in France, and then [elsewhere] in Europe soon after. We believe in MAP because in our view, it's what the customer needs and wants: To have access anywhere, through any kind of technology. Our multiaccess approach will make the life of the customer simpler. We will have the largest subscriber base in Europe. Within 12 months we think we can sell 30 million WAP [wire application protocol cellular phone] handsets with the MAP homepage [as] default. We're also going to be testing a new [digital interactive] set-top box for Canal+ and will introduce it in 2001. We're starting in Europe because our strength is here, and Europe is ahead [of the U.S.] on wireless. But down the road we may look for and take opportunities outside Europe. Q: With Bertelsmann pulling out of AOL Europe after the AOL-Time Warner deal, could Vivendi expand its relationship with AOL? A: We're having ongoing discussions on this and expect to come to a decision before summertime. There are two possibilities. We could redefine our position in AOL France [probably by exchanging Vivendi's 51% stake in the France venture for a stake in AOL Europe-wide]. Or, there could be an agreement with MAP [to make AOL a participant in the project with Vodafone.] Q: Could you swap Vivendi's 24.5% stake in Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB satellite-TV company for a stake in his Platco venture? A: For this to make sense, of course, it would have to be a fair financial deal for us. But I think this could be the occasion for us to build a true partnership in content. And we're especially interested because interactive services are a key field for us. [Earlier, Vivendi and Murdoch discussed a merger of the British-based BSkyB and France's Canal+,] but that is not going to happen. There would be a lot of difficulties, a lot of governmental and regulatory problems. So we said: "Let's try to build something that we can operate very quickly." Q: You're sometimes criticized for having unrealistic ambitions for Vivendi. How do you respond? A: I was a very early believer in the idea of convergence. During the first few months I was here, we began pushing Canal+ to expand across Europe, we created Cegetel [France's No. 2 mobile-phone company], and then we acquired Havas and began building it. At the time, I told people this was convergence, and a lot of people said: "That's b.s." But we have now assembled something that looks less and less strange, and people see that we are able to deliver. Just look, downstairs we have Espace Vivendi [a cybercafe in the lobby of Vivendi corporate headquarters]. Our headquarters is a mirror of our ambition. The old Generale des Eaux image was a traditional French corporate headquarters, which is closed to people from the outside. We have 1,000 people a day coming in to our cafe. I'm quite proud of this. |
