Pioneer to Close Unprofitable Flat Screen TV Business : MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer February 9, 2009 February 9, 2009
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Watch Shelly’s commentary on Pioneer closing its unprofitable flat-screen TV business and how this is a sign of the time for the Consumer Electronics industry.
President Obama is set to make Melissa Hathaway his head of cyber security. Hathaway, who also worked in the Bush administration, will be in charge of reviewing and maintaining secure computer networks for the government. Hathaway is responsible for the cyber security plan developed during the Bush years.
DreamWorks and Disney are expected to announce a distribution deal this morning after DreamWorks contract with Universal expired on Friday. Sources say Disney will distribute six films a year for DreamWorks, while also helping the company financially. Disney will receive a distribution fee of 8% from DreamWorks.
The USA Network has signed a $200 million deal for basic cable and broadcast rights to 24 films by Universal Pictures. The contract will give USA exclusive premier rights to Universal films, including Bruno, the sequel to Borat. While the deal is expected to be worth $200 million, if Universal’s films flop at the box office, USA could end up paying half the amount.
LG will cut costs by 30% this year in accord with its forecast which predicts a 20% drop in sales. CEO Nam Yong said the consumer electronics manufacturer would not cut jobs immediately, rather it would stress productivity and efficiency to get through the tough economic times. LG may relocate 20% of its domestic work force to growth industries like solar energy development.
Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant and country singer Alison Krauss took home all five awards they were nominated for last night at the Grammy’s. Other winner’s included Coldplay for song of the year, and rapper Lil Wayne, who took home 4 awards.
DTV Transition Postponed Until June 12 : MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer February 5, 2009 February 5, 2009
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As expected, the House of Representatives passed the bill to postpone the end of analog television. The Democrats easily got the majority needed to pass the bill, which saw legislators voting on strict party lines. Once President Obama, who is expected to approve the bill, signs off, the end of analog television will officially be June 12, 2009.
Ironically, the Pew Research center recently found that 97% of people questioned were aware of the transition from digital to analog television. The survey also found that 81% of respondents had “heard alot” about the transition.
Nielsen, which originally stated that an average of 95.4 viewers watched the Super Bowl, is now reporting that 97.5 million Americans tuned in to the game. The new number would make the contest between the Steelers and the Cardinals the most watched Super Bowl in history and the second most watched program in the history of television.
After posting a loss of $16 billion dollars, Time Warner was notified by Google that they would either have to spin off AOL or sell Google back its 5% share at market value. Google invested $1 billion in AOL during a bidding war with Microsoft over search. That same deal valued AOL at $20 billion, a supremely inflated price compared to the $5.4 billion Google believes AOL is currently worth.
Time Warner Cable announced that they will be expanding their metered broadband tests. A spokesman noted that the trials will soon begin in four new markets and will feature offers of 5GB, 20GB and 40GB of usage a month. The company will charge users who go over set limits $1/GB.
Let’s Talk Twitter: MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer January 29, 2009 January 29, 2009
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The House of Representatives defeated the bill to delay the DTV transition. For now the transition will still happen on February 17th, 2009. However, an amended bill could be reintroduced as early as next week.
The RIAA may be teaming up with ISP’s to fight illegal fire sharing. The Recording Industry Association of America is reportedly in talks with AT&T and Comcast to send intellectual property pirates warnings about illegal sharing and may even terminate violaters accounts. The move comes just weeks after the RIAA announced that they would cease to pursue legal action against illegal file sharers.
AOL will lay off 10% of its workforce. AOL CEO Randy Flaco announced that the company would cut nearly 700 positions over the next few quarters. The move comes as no surprise for the struggling company, whose parent company Time Warner recently announced a $25 billion write-down.
The New York Times has hired Goldman Sachs to explore sale of its share of the Boston Red Sox. The Times, whose income fell 48% year over year, owns a 17.8% share of New England Sports Venture, which owns the Red Sox.
ABC may move Jimmy Kimmel Live into Nightline’s time slot. The programming decision would pit Kimmel directly against NBC’s Conan O’Brien, who is set to take over the Tonight Show. Nightline has aired in the 11:35 ET time slot for over 29 years.
Obama Inauguration Spikes Web Traffic, Streaming Video: MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer January 21, 2009 January 21, 2009
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The Inauguration of President Barack Obama effectively spiked web traffic yesterday and put a lot of stress on many sites who were streaming the event. CNN said that it had over 21.3 million video streams during their nine-hour online coverage. They noted that the 21.3 million streams was extremely higher than their previous best of 5.3 million streams, which happened on election day.
In one of his first moves as President, Barack Obama rolled out a new look for WhiteHouse.gov. The first broadband President, whose understanding of both the medium and the message is outstanding, updated the government site, which now features a blog and RSS feeds for different issues. The site also includes a feedback section where “all non-emergency legislation” will be posted to the “website for five days”, allowing the “public to review and comment before the President signs it.”
Soon to be former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is proposing fines against cable providers who move analog channels to digital tiers and force consumers to adapt to the changes by either buying a digital set top box or purchasing a more expensive package. Martin noted in a letter to Senator Jay Rockefeller and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, that “The Commission has received nearly 600 complaints from cable subscribers around the country who one day were watching their favorite channel and then the next day were unable to access it.”
Warner Brothers announced that it will layoff 10% of it’s workforce. CEO Barry Meyer and President Alan Horn wrote that “The changing entertainment business landscape, shifting consumer demand and the overall state of the economy have affected companies around the world and Warner Bros. is not immune to these factors.”
According to Bloomberg, the SEC is reviewing Apple’s statements on Steve Job’s declining health. Details have been sketchy for months, now the investigation will determine whether or not Apple purposely has changed its stance on Job’s health in order to maintain stockholder value. Last week Jobs took a leave of absence, while the week before he noted he had a slight hormonal imbalance.
Steve Jobs Takes A Leave Of Absence: MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer January 15, 2009 January 15, 2009
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Apple CEO Steve Jobs will take a leave of absence from the company in order to deal with health problems. Jobs, 53, a Cancer survivor, claims his health issues are “more complex” than he originally thought. Apple’s stock fell $6.03 or 7.1% in after hours trading and is expected to fall even more this morning. Timothy Cook, COO of Apple, will handle day-to-day operations while Jobs is on leave.
The economy is so bad, Donald Trump has Celebrity Apprentice contestant Joan Rivers out on the street hawking cupcakes with a megaphone. Unfortunately for Joan, no one is buying! Trump believes that we are already in a depression and noted that it’s especially hard to start a small business during these trying financial times.
Motorola announced that it plans to cut more than 4,000 jobs in 2009. This comes in addition to the 3,000 jobs Motorola cut in 2008 after freezing pension plans and reducing the salaries of executives. The mobile phone manufacturer believes the additional cuts will help save the company $700 million in 2009, or total of $1.5 billion when coupled with the cuts from 2008.
Nortel Networks, who manufactures fiber optic telecommunications equipment, filed for Bankruptcy protection yesterday. Analysts believe that the company’s financial problems are so severe that the company could be liquidated. Analyst Mark Sue is quoted as saying “I don’t think it’s going to exist.”
Google is set lay off 100 recruiters and discontinue a variety of its product sites including Google Video. While Google does not plan on getting rid of the site all together, they will turn off uploading capabilities in the coming months, and focus on YouTube as its primary video outlet. Google is also closing Google Catalog Search, Notebook, Dodgeball, the microblogging service Jaiku and the Google Mashup Editor in order to focus on products with a wider audience.
Sources say that Microsoft may announce significant job cuts as early as next week. While the folks at Redmond are staying quiet, if they were to layoff workers next week it would come just as the company’s second quarter earnings report is scheduled to be released on January 22th.
Moonves Says “TV Model Ain’t Broken”: MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer December 11, 2008 December 11, 2008
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In reaction to Jeff Zucker’s comment that the old TV business is dying, CBS exec Les Moonves is adamant that “the model ain’t broken. The model works.” Moonves also harped on the importance of local television, saying “We do not want to bypass the importance of local broadcasters to their communities”, which could “change the whole economic model drastically.” Of course, CBS is the highest rated network these days and is winning 4 out of 5 nights a week during the 10 o’clock slot, while NBC ranks fourth overall.
SAG has notified its members that strike authorization ballots will be sent on January 2nd. The vote would need the support of at least 75% of members paid in full, which would still only give SAG the authority to call a strike if they have to. Ballots are expected to be counted by January 23rd, with a decision following shortly.
Verizon is hoping to rollout LTE service in 2009. Verizon CTO Dick Lynch told a crowd at a Cisco conference that he expected LTE service to be available “this time next year.” LTE, which can transmit 100Mbps down and 50Mbps up, is the wireless providers next generation wireless service, and will compete with the Wi-Max, neither of which are interoperable.
CBS’s The Mentalist took in 18.8 million viewers to take number one on Tuesday. The show has been so popular that a rerun garnered an equally impressive 14 million viewers. CBS is hoping that the Simon Baker show will become its next bona fide hit.
Plus, today’s consulting question, “Is Microsoft going to announce a Zune Phone at CES?” Shelly has the answer on today’s MediaBytes
Obama Makes Broadband Availability Key Issue: MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer December 8, 2008 December 8, 2008
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President-elect Barack Obama announced that broadband availability would be a major part of his public works project. In a video distributed over the Internet, Obama declared “It is unacceptable that the United States ranks 15th in the world in broadband adoption. Here in the country that invented the Internet, every child should have the chance to get online and they’ll get that chance when I’m President.”
According to Nielsen, 2008 was a monumental ratings year for sports programming. The stats are attributed to the Beijing Olympics taking the most watched global event (4.7 billion viewers), the Giants-Patriots Super Bowl taking in the highest Super Bowl ratings ever (97.5 million viewers), as well as the highest rated Monday Night Football ever (Cowboys-Eagles, 18.6 million viewers). Nielsen also noted that sports ratings were 20% higher in homes with HD-TV sets, marking how technology can make a significant impact on viewer’s watching habits.
Bloomberg is reporting that Walmart will begin selling Apple’s iPhone before the end of 2008. Representatives at California branches of Walmart said that the store will sell 2 models, one of which may be a discounted 4-gb iPhone that may retail for $99. While the iPhone is not expected to hit Walmart shelves until after Christmas, the deal is notable for bringing the smart phone to a new consumer demographic.
Dell and Microsoft are in talks to change the default search engine on Internet Explorer from Google to Microsoft’s Live Search. If a deal is made it would be a great advantage for Microsoft, who is desperately trying to revamp its online image and increase its search revenue. Since 2006, all Dell computers have come with Google as the default search engine on Internet Explorer.
Plus, today’s consulting question, “Tribune is going bankrupt, the Times is in trouble, is this the end of newspapers?” Shelly has the answer on today’s MediaBytes.
NBCU, Viacom, AT&T Announce Layoffs: December 5, 2008
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AT&T plans to layoff 12,000 employees. The telco giant claims that a decline in landlines and a lack of growth in broadband subscribers has significantly cut into their business. An analyst at UBS believes that AT&T will cut spending in 2009 by 10-15% from the $20 billion spent in 2008.
Viacom is cutting 7% of its work force. Besides cutting 850 jobs, Viacom will take on $450 million in 4Q asset write-downs. The company, which continues to deal with major ratings declines at its most valuable networks, will also implement a salary freeze for 2009.
CEA reissued its holiday forecast yesterday and cut its sales projections. The Consumer Electronics Association, which predicted sales would increase by 3.5%, now believes sales will be equal to last years. While unit shipments of televisions, a key indicator, have been up, the amount of revenue generated by sales fell 3%.
Microsoft named former Yahoo! executive Qi Lu head of its Internet division. Qi Lu is a tech-centric executive, a computer scientist with Ph.D. and more than 20 patents, rather than an advertising and marketing exec, who Microsoft believes can help them compete with Google.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has canceled the company’s plan to let employees cash out of their shares early. The original plan, announced in August, would have allowed employees to sell up to $900,000 or 10% of their stock holdings, whichever was less. The retraction of the stock sale is a good indicator that Facebook’s $15 billion valuation is now a relic from the past.
Plus, today’s consulting question, “Why is Amazon collecting data and giving it away for free?” Shelly has the answer on today’s MediaBytes.
Former AOL CEO Rumored to Buy Yahoo: MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer December 3, 2008 December 3, 2008
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The WSJ is reporting that former AOL Chief Executive Jonathan Miller maybe purchasing Yahoo for between $28-30 billion, roughly $22 a share. Yahoo’s stock benefited from the rumor, up 7% to $11.50. While the rumor mill is heating up, it should be noted that Miller is still under a non complete agreement with AOL, which prohibited him from joining Yahoo’s board over the summer.
Amazon may launch an HD streaming option for its Amazon Video on Demand service on TiVO. While the porthole is currently unavailable, it is expect that movies will play for two minutes while users are searching the library, giving them the option to purchase and download or store in an Amazon cloud. According to Bill Carr, Amazon’s VP for digital media, “Our goal is to create an immersive experience where people can’t help but get caught up in how exciting it is to simply watch a movie right from Amazon.com with a click of the button.”
NBC News is expected to name chief White House correspondent David Gregory the new anchor on Meet the Press. Gregory, who will replace Tim Russert, recently hosted MSNBC’s election night coverage and has been known to spare with White House officials on occasion. This sunday on Meet the Press, temporary anchor Tom Brokaw will interview President-elect Barack Obama.
Last night RIM announced that sales fell approximately 9% below its estimated projection. The BlackBerry manufacturer’s subscriber growth also fell 10% below its forecasted rate. The good news for RIM is that Verizon Wireless is still sold out of the new BlackBerry Storm, which, if back in stock, could be a major holiday player.
Plus, today’s consulting question, “Am I any closer to getting theatrical day-and-date released on VOD?” Shelly has the answer on today’s MediaBytes.
Britney Scores Big For MTV: MediaBytes with Shelly Palmer December 2, 2008 December 2, 2008
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Britney Spears documentary “Britney: For the Record” drew big ratings for MTV. The tell-all doc took in more than 3.7 million viewers in its debut, which is on par with MTV’s biggest events like the “Video Music Awards.”
The NAD, the self regulating body of the advertising industry, recommended that Verizon drop advertised claims regarding FiOS, which they deem to be false. Verizon claims that FiOS is faster, has a higher picture quality, better color and is much brighter than the competition. The NAD recommends that Verizon stop using false claims such as the “brightness”, a feature controlled by the settings on your television not your cable provider.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is determined to push for a pornography free, free wireless Internet for the entire country. While Martin has backed the plan for a while, the current FCC plans on voting on the matter once again before their term is up in January. Insiders believe that the FCC will vote on the matter before Christmas.
Huffington Post secured $25 million in funding from Palo Alto based venture group Oak Investment Partners. The multi-million dollar infusion comes on the heels of the Newspaper Association of America reporting a record 18% decline in revenue, with online ad revenue falling for the second quarter in a row. In reaction, a partner at Oak noted that “the news media business needs to be reassembled online around an ad-supported model and the timetable for this has been accelerated, not slowed, by this economic down cycle.”
Plus, today’s consulting question, “Why is Time Warner asking shareholders to vote for a reverse stock split?” Shelly has the answer on today’s MediaBytes.
