Episode
The Shenanigans of CUC Software
- Podcast
- They Create Worlds
- Published
- May 15, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4955
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
TCW Podcast Episode 258 - The Shenanigans of CUC Software Walter Forbes built CUC International from Comp-U-Card, a phone-in discount shopping club that cut out the middleman with a small markup and annual fee, not unlike a proto-Amazon Prime. As computer networks like CompuServe, Prodigy, and GEnie rose, CUC pivoted online and Forbes set his sights on the games business, joining the Sierra On-Line board and buying out Ken Williams and Davidson and Associates for a combined 1.7 billion dollars in stock swaps. Despite promises to Williams that he would not be secondary to a competitor, Bob Davidson of Davidson and Associates ended up running the software division, and when Davidson discovered something troubling enough to dump his stock and left. The cracks were beginning to show. Williams tried to take over, was not given the time of day, and eventually left. Forbes meanwhile pursued a merger with Henry Silverman's HFS, a hospitality giant owning Days Inn, Ramada, Howard Johnson, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, and Avis, forming the new conglomerate Cendant. The true depth of the shenanigans were only starting to show. How could a company consistently just barely beat analyst/market estimates? Comp-U-Card News Brief: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6H5mdSHyNQ Credit Card Impression Machines: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/S5c2mA1cnv4 New Innovations in Credit Cards (1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TBD8HTssRA The Simpsons - The Truth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nc88_ZEfxg TCW 039 - On-Line Systems: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW039-on-line-systems TCW 040 - Sierra On-Line: https://www.theycreateworlds.com/episodes/TCW040-sierra-on-line Word Attack (PC-DOS 1983): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJf13H9Wbnk Math Blaster (PC-DOS 1983): https://ww…