Can Apple out-Netflix Netflix?

As the summer of media mergers musical chairs draws to an end, we’re left wondering who will find a seat the next time the music stops. It’s a little hard to listen to the big-pipes companies like AT&T and Comcast whine about how they are struggling to maintain viewership after decades of fat bundles and fatter profits. It’s not a lot easier to muster sympathy for the media guys. They claim they didn’t realize they were giving away much of their most valued assets, the digital rights to older shows and movies, to Netflix. Don’t they all have buildings full of deal-savvy lawyers? In the wake of the AppNexus acquisition, the ad tech sector has hung its hopes of a better payday on the franken-partners’ need for ad revenue. But it might take a while for the old school players to really understand digital ads and data.