CBS Corps.

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Maggie O'Reilly

By Maggie O'Reilly

CBS Corporation

CBS Logo, photo courtesy of forbes.com

CBS Headquarters
51 W. 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019-6188
1-212-975-43211-212-975-4321

http://www.cbscorporation.com/

About CBS Corporation [1]

CBS Corporation is a mass media corporation, primarily operated in the United States. Originally founded as Viacom in 1971, the modern-day CBS Corporation is the result the 2005 split of Viacom into two publicly traded companies. With the split, CBS Corporation retained the rights to all CBS broadcast networks as well as pay-cable stations. Their current television assets include CBS, Showtime, and CBS Sports Network. They also have a 50/50 share of the CW with Time Warner’s Warner Bros division.

Key Executives [2]

Sumner M. Redstone, photo courtesy of CBS Corporate website

Sumner M. Redstone: Sumner M. Redstone serves as Chairman of the Board of both CBS Corporation and Viacom. He assumed these roles after the 2005 split of Viacom into two separate companies. Prior to the split, Redstone had served as Chairman of the Board of Viacom since 1987 and CEO of Viacom since 1996. Currently, he is the controlling shareholder of both companies.

Leslie Moonves, photo courtesy of CBS Corporate website

Leslie Moonves: Leslie Moonves is President and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation. He was was named CEO of CBS Corporation upon its creation in 2005. Prior to this, he had served as CEO of CBS Television since 1998 and was briefly Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Viacom from 2004 to 2005.

Financials

CBS Corporation has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange since January 3, 2006. On March 6th, 2014, their stock price hit an all time high, reaching $67.55. Since then, the stock price has been steadily decreasing. Their current stock price is $60.64.[3]

photo courtesy of nasdaq.com

In the 2013 fiscal year, CBS earned revenues of $15.3 billion with net earnings of
1.9 billion, a strong 19.4% increase from their 2012 net earnings. At the end of the 2013 fiscal year, CBS Corporation’s assets were valued at 26.4 billion while their debts are currently calculated at roughly 6.5 billion. [4]

Assets [5]

.CBS: The CBS broadcast network, formerly the Columbia Broadcasting System, first launched as a radio network in 1927. Currently, CBS is one of the “Big Four” television networks, competing with NBC, ABC, and FOX.

.Showtime: CBS Corporation’s premium-cable channel, Showtime, launched on July 1, 1976. The original Showtime channel has served as a flagship for Showtime Networks, which now consists of over 10 premium cable channels, including The Movie Channel, FLIX, and Smithsonian Networks.

The CW: The CW was launched on September 18, 2006. The CW is the result of merger between UPN (formerly operated by CBS) and the WB (formerly operated by Warner Bros). The CW’s target demographic skews a bit younger than CBS and Showtime networks.

CBS Sports: CBS Sports is sports-oriented cable channel that was originally launched as the National College Sports Network in 2002. In 2011, the channel was re-branded as CBS Sports Network. The channel currently airs the PGA tour, US tennis, NCAA basketball, and college football.

Top Rated Programming

The CBS Television Network, has been #1 in total viewers for 10 of the past 11 years. [6] This is largely due to CBS’s successful prime-time lineup. Currently, CBS airs television’s #1 drama, NCIS. During the first week of February 2014 sweeps, NCIS brought in an impressive 19.53 viewers. CBS also airs several other acclaimed television dramas, including NCIS: Los Angeles, Blue Bloods, and Person of Interest. [7]

Cast of NCIS, photo courtesy of nbcpressexpress.com

CBS is also home to television’s #1 sitcom, The Big Bang Theory. In the first week of February 2014 sweeps, The Big Bang Theory drew in 17.53 million viewer whereas ABC’s best performing sitcom, Modern Family, only attracted 9.87 million viewers. CBS also airs several other incredibly successful sitcoms, including 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly, and Two and a Half Men. [8] [9]

Cast of The Big Bang Theory, photo courtesy of nbcpressexpress.com

In the week of April 7th, 2014, it was reported by Nielsen that 7 of the weeks top 10 broadcasts aired on CBS, helping to further cement CBS as the top rated channel on television. [10]

CBS in the News

How I Met Your Mother Ends Legendary Nine Year Run

Cast of How I Met Your Mother, photo courtest of cbspressexpress.com

Cast of How I Met Your Mother, photo courtesy of cbspressexpress.com

CBS’s long running sitcom, How I Met Your Mother, came to an end on March 31st, 2014 after nine successful seasons. The series followed the lives of main character, Ted Mosby, and his group of friends living in Manhattan. During How I Met Your Mother’s nine season run, it received 28 Emmy Award nominations, of which it won 9. The series also turned several of its stars into household names, including Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segel. The series finale was met with mixed reviews from critics and fans. While some praised the finale for tying up loose ends, others were left disappointed, believing that the writers disregarded nine seasons of character development. Despite the mixed reaction, How I Met Your Mother’s series finale was the highest rated episode of the series, drawing in 13.13 million total viewers. It was also the #1 18-49 broadcast during the week that it aired, with a 5.4 rating. [11] [12] [13] [14]

NCAA Basketball Tournament Draws In Big Numbers for CBS

NCAA Division I Championship Game, photo courtesy of CBS philadelphia

The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball championship game aired on CBS on April 7th, 2014, drawing in an impressive 21.2 million viewers and a 7.2 rating in the 18-49 demo. However, the UConn vs Kentucky game did not beat the numbers of the 2013 championship game between Louisville and Michigan, which brought in 23.4 million viewers. The rest of the tournament games averaged 9.3 million viewers, which is a 3% increase over 2013 numbers. [15] [16]

David Letterman Announces Late Show Retirement, Stephen Colbert Named as Replacement

Long time Late Show host David Letterman announced his retirement from the program on April 3rd, 2014. Letterman, who has hosted the show since August 1993, will leave his position as host of the Late Show when his contract expires in 2015. The news of his retirement comes not long after the retirement of his foremost late night competitor, Jay Leno, who hosted his last episode of NBC’s The Tonight Show on February 6, 2014. Jay Leno has since been succeeded by the much younger Jimmy Fallon, who has been averaging an impressive 1.53 rating in viewers 18-49 since taking over. Comparatively, Letterman has been averaging a .56 rating in the same time period. [17] [18]

Stephen Colbert (left) and David Letterman (right), photo courtesy of yahoo.com

On April 10th, 2014, CBS announced that they plan to replace David Letterman with Stephen Colbert, who currently hosts The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. Interestingly, The Colbert Report has also been averaging a .56 rating among 18-49 year olds. Reactions to CBS’s decision to bring Stephen Colbert on as host of The Late Show have been mixed. While many agree that Colbert is definitely comedically competent enough to take over The Late Show desk, some wonder if CBS missed an opportunity to change the current trajectory of late night. [19] [20]

On The Horizon

CBS Renews Most of its Lineup
CBS recently renewed 18 of its current programs, including favorites like The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, Elementary, and Two and a Half Men. CBS also renewed several newcomers, including The Millers and Mom. [21]

current CBS schedule, courtesy of cbs.com

Thursday Night Football
In February, CBS won the bid to air Thursday night football this upcoming fall. This will certainly affect their current schedule, as their #1 sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, currently airs on Thursday nights. Nevertheless, CBS plans to broadcast eight Thursday night games this fall. [22]

Sources

[1] CBS Corp, About CBS, Retrieved April 15th, 2014

[2] CBS Corp, Executives, Retrieved April 15th, 2014

[3] Google Finance, CBS, Retrieved April 20th, 2014

[4] CBS Corp, SEC Filings 2014 10-k Annual Report, Retrieved April 15th 2014

[5] CBS Corp, “Our Portfolio” Retrieved April 15th, 2014

[6] CBS Corp, “Leslie Moonves” Retrieved April 15th, 2014

[7] TV by the Numbers, “Tuesday Final Ratings: ‘NCIS’, ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ & ‘The Originals’ Adjusted Up; ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’, ‘ The Goldbergs’. ‘Supernatural’ & ‘Trophy Wife’ Adjusted Down” Retrieved April 15th, 2014

[8] TV by the Numbers, “Thursday Final Ratings: ‘The Big Bang Theory’, ‘American Idol’, ‘Two and a Half Men’ & the Olympics Adjusted Up; ‘The Millers’ Adjusted Down” Retrieved April 15th, 2014

[9] TV by the Numbers, “Wednesday Final Ratings: ‘Super Fun NIght’ Adjusted Down”, Retrieved April 15th, 2014

[10] Nielsen, Top Ten, Retrieved April 20th, 2014

[11] TV by the Numbers, “TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Tops Week 28 With Adults 18-49; ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Leads Total Viewers” Retrieved April 18th, 2014

[12] Time, “How I Met Your Mother Watch: Mate and Switch”, Retrieved April 18th, 2014

[13] The Guardian, “How I Met Your Mother: the latest show to fail in the search for a perfect ending” Retrieved April 18th, 2014

[14] DailyMail, “SPOILER ALERT: A wedding, a funeral and a French horn… How I Met Your Mother delivers a legendary series finale” Retrieved April 18th, 2014

[15] Forbes, “March Madness Ratings and Revenue Keep Reaching New Heights” Retrieved April 20th, 2014

[16] CBS, “2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship Averaging 9.3 Million Total Viewers; Highest Viewership in 21 Years”, Retrieved April 20th, 2014

[17] The Wall Street Journal, “David Letterman Announces Retirement from CBS’s ‘Late Show'”, Retrieved April 20th, 2014

[18] TV by the Numbers, “Late Night TV Ratings For April 7-April 11, 2014”, Retrieved April 20th, 2014.

[19] CBS, “CBS ANNOUNCES STEPHEN COLBERT AS THE NEXT HOST OF THE “LATE SHOW”, Retrieved April 20th, 2014.

[20] USA Today, “Will real Colbert be a loser on ‘Late Show’?”, Retrieved April 20th, 2014

[21] The Hollywood Reporter, “CBS Renews 18 More Shows for 2014-15 Season”, Retrieved April 20th, 2014

[22] CBS Sports, “CBS to broadcast eight Thursday night football games in 2014”, Retrieved April 20th, 2014.

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Zynga

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Matthew Porter

: By Matt Porter

Zynga Logo [1]

Contact

699 8th Street San Fransisco, California 94103

Facebook: Zynga

Twitter: @Zynga

YouTube: ZyngaNetwork

Key Executives [2]

Mark Pincus: Founder, CPO, Chairman of the Board of Directors [3]

Don Mattrick: CEO [4]

Clive Downie: COO [5]

David Lee: CFO and CAO [6]

About [7]

Zynga Inc. is the world’s leading developer in games for social platforms. Zynga develops games for Facebook, Android, Apple, as well as their site Zynga.com. The company is best known for its franchises FarmVille, Zynga Casino, and Words With Friends. Their games are played by 100 million monthly consumers, and their games have reached over 1 billion people worldwide. However, Zynga has seen a steady decrease in active users since the company’s peak in Q2 2012 as seen in the chart below [8].

Zynga Daily Active Users Since 2009 [8]

Zynga has always stuck with the idea that games should be free and social. The main revenue for Zynga comes from advertisements. While the games are free for users, there is premium in-game content that users can purchase, creating another revenue stream for the company [13].

Zynga founded zynga.org, an organization using the social gaming platform to raise money for charity. The organization uses in-game purchases in games like FarmVille, and has used the proceeds to help with disaster relief in Haiti, Japan, and other countries [14].

History

Zynga Inc. was founded in 2007 by Mark Pincus and six other co-founders who are no longer with the company. Pincus founded the company with one mission: “connecting the world through games” [12]. Pincus founded Presidio Media in April 2007, but in July of 2007, changed the name to Zynga– a name to honor his American bulldog, Zinga [13].

Zynga started out on MySpace, during a time where other ad-based games saw success. Pincus was smart enough to predict that Facebook would be the future, and immediately shifted platforms for his brand new company. In 2007, Zynga released its first game, a free social poker game, for Facebook. In 2008, Zynga released Mafia Wars, a highly successful free-to-play game. Since then, the company has seen success with franchises such as Words With Friends and Farmville [13].

Finance

Zynga Inc. went public in 2011 and saw an early increase in stock value. However, as many of their consumers moved to mobile device, and their online games saw less active users, the value decreased [11]. The company saw a loss of $25.2 million, which is an average of three cents per share. They saw a smaller loss than they did in 2012 however, in which the company lost $48.6 million, or six cents per share. Their sales also dropped in Q4 2013 by 43%, from $311.2 million to $176.4 million [11]. Unfortunately, the financial reports for Q1 2014 will not be released until April 23. However, Zynga’s stock value rose from January to March, and since March 12, has been slowly declining. The value’s peak this quarter was at 5.29 per share on March 12. Currently, it is just over 4.00 per share [9].

Zynga Stock Value Q1 2014 [9]

According to analysts, the reason for this is that Zynga’s main competitor, King Digital, went public in mid-March [10]. King Digital produced the popular game Candy Crush and while their IPO was a dud when they went public on March 26, Zynga stocks were affected by the competitor’s decision to go public.

Acquisition of NaturalMotion

Natural Motion Logo [15]

Zynga acquired NaturalMotion, a United Kingdom-based gaming company, on January 30, 2014. NaturalMotion has developed the games CSR Racing and Clumsy Ninja, among others. The deal involved $391 million dollars and 39.8 million shares in Zynga stock [16].

NaturalMotion co-founder and CEO Torsten Reil e-mailed his staff the day of the acquisition the following: [17]

“We are excited by this opportunity – it allows us to continue on our path whilst fast-tracking important areas such as scalable server infrastructure, live game operations and network cross promotion at scale.”

Kim-Mai Cutler of Tech Crunch believes that the deal was very smart for Zynga and that it will be beneficial because “Zynga gets a good portfolio of current and upcoming games, a character with real franchise potential in Clumsy Ninja, a middleware business and a 260-person gaming company that is culturally focused on quality” [16].

Corporate Structural Change

Mark Vranesh, former Zynga CFO and CAO [18]

Zynga announced on April 10 that its veteran CFO and CAO, Mark Vranesh, would be leaving the company. Vranesh had worked for Zynga for six years, and became the CFO in 2012 [19]. Replacing him was David Lee, the senior vice president for enterprise finance at Best Buy. Lee officially started working on April 14, reporting directly to CEO Don Mattrick. Vranesh will be helping Lee through the end of April to ensure a smooth transition for the company [20]. It is not clear at this time where Vranesh will take his career next.

2014 Title Releases

Riches of Olympus Logo [21]

Riches of Olympus (February 6, 2014)

Developed by the Zynga Casino team, Riches of Olympus is a mobile slot-machine game emulating Las Vegas style and quality. The game is available on the Apple Store, as well as Google Play. According to the official Zynga press release, the game will feature innovative mobile slot mechanics, such as sticky wilds, mega stack symbols, unique reel arrays and burst wilds [22].

Riches of Olympus screenshot [23]

Hit it Rich! Ted (March 13, 2014)

Hit it Rich! Ted screenshot [24]

Hit it Rich! is Zynga’s flagship social slot franchise. The game features addictive gameplay and releases different versions that include characters from popular films, television shows, etc. In March, Zynga released a version of Hit it Rich! feauring Ted, the talking stuffed bear from the popular R-rated comedy [24]. This was an interesting choice of a character, as Ted was released in 2012 and its sequel is not due until 2015.

Hit it Rich! FarmVille (April 10, 2014)

Hit it Rich! FarmVille 2 screenshot [25]

Hit it Rich! FarmVille follows the same philosophy of the previously mentioned Ted edition, however this edition of the popular Zynga game promotes their own brand. This title was released just a week before the FarmVille 2 mobile game. Together the two franchises had reached 750 million users, so it was a logical step to combine the two [25].

FarmVille 2: Country Escape (April 17, 2014)

FarmVille 2: Country Escape on iPad [26]

Zynga released FarmVille 2: Country Escape, the first mobile-entry in the popular FarmVille franchise. The game was built from the ground up for the mobile experience, with touch controls designed to ease the use of planting crops and interacting with animals. Users manage their own farms, can visit their friends’ farms, and send crops and animals to connected users. For the first time the series’ history, users can play the game without an internet connection. The title is available on the Apple Store and Google Play [26].

Watch the trailer for FarmVille 2: Country Escape

Celebrations

Words With Friends turns five. [27]

2014 marked the fifth year anniversary for the popular Zynga title, Words With Friends. Since its conception in 2009, the title has had as many as 55 million matches going on in a single moment [27]. This game is essentially a social version of Scrabble, allowing players to connect around the world and take turns earning points for placing words on a virtual board. FarmVille will turn five this year as well [28]. The company has been celebrating the birthday now that the latest FarmVille title has released. In addition to the milestone of their titles, Zynga has made history of its own. Edwin M. Lee, Mayor of the City and County of San Fransisco named April 18, “Zynga Day” [28].

The Future

Under CEO Don Mattrick, who formally worked with Microsoft and Xbox, it is clear that Zynga is refocusing on the games that make the company unique. The acquisition of NaturalMotion was a smart move to help strengthen their game catalog, and hopefully this and the corporate restructuring can boost them over their competitors.

Sources

[1] Zynga Logo Image

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/11/1112_most_intriguing_companies/image/020_zynga.jpg

[2] Zynga Leadership Team Members

http://company.zynga.com/about/leadership-team/zynga-leadership-team

[3] Mark Pincus Photo

http://i.forbesimg.com/media/lists/people/mark-pincus_416x416.jpg

[4] Don Mattrick Photo

http://cdn2.independent.ie/business/article29286054.ece/d6e7a/ALTERNATES/h342/FIN_20130522_BBW_041_27682355_I1.JPG

[5] Clive Downie Photo

http://i0.wp.com/allthingsd.com/files/2013/10/Clive-Downie_1-319×480.jpg?resize=319%2C480

[6] David Lee Photo

http://venturebeat.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/david-lee_zynga-cfo_final-headshot.jpg

[7] About Zynga

http://company.zynga.com/about

[8] Zynga Daily Active Users

http://www.statista.com/statistics/193422/daily-active-users-of-zynga-since-2009/

[9] Zynga Inc. Stock Chart

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=ZNGA+Interactive#symbol=ZNGA;range=3m

[10] Why King Digital’s IPO will hurt Zynga

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12541345/1/why-zynga-znga-is-tumbling-on-monday.html

[11] Zynga Names David Lee Financial Chief

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303603904579493833027723694

[12] Zynga’s Story

http://company.zynga.com/about/our-story

[13] Zynga History

http://venturebeat.com/2011/12/12/zynga-history/

[14] History of Zynga.org

http://zynga.org/about/history/

[15] Natural Motion Logo

http://wwwtemp.naturalmotion.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/NM-Games-Logo1.png

[16] Zynga Buys NaturalMotion

http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/30/zynga-naturalmotion/

[17] NaturalMotion Company E-mail Update

http://blog.zynga.com/2014/01/30/naturalmotion-update/

[18] Mark Vranesh photo

http://socialtimes.com/files/2012/11/mark-vranesh.jpg

[19] Zynga names David Lee new CFO

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2014/04/10/zynga-names-david-lee-new-cfo/

[20] Zynga CFO Mark Vranesh Will Leave the Company Next Month

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/215261/Zynga_CFO_Mark_Vranesh_will_leave_the_company_next_month.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GamasutraNews+(Gamasutra+News)

[21] Riches of Olympus logo

http://zlive-s3-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/5002520-5da29e3bf3-450×215.png

[22] Zynga Casino Launches Riches of Olympus

http://blog.zynga.com/2014/02/06/zynga-casino-launches-riches-of-olympus/

[23] Riches of Olympus Screenshot

https://lh4.ggpht.com/_hsuF92FBC8h6bHuwkJq32E2IVyQJ4jNjoqn7n9TWNKo2cgQZmKrCdVBUSk0PiAVdw=h900

[24] Hit it Rich! Ted Edition

http://blog.zynga.com/2014/03/13/ted-joins-zyngas-hit-it-rich-slots/

[25] Hit it Rich! FarmVille 2 edition

http://blog.zynga.com/2014/04/10/rake-in-the-social-casino-dough-with-farmville-2-slots-in-hit-it-rich/

[26] FarmVille 2: Country Escape Press Release

http://blog.zynga.com/2014/04/17/farmville2countryescape/

[27] Five Years of Words With Friends

http://blog.zynga.com/2014/01/24/words-with-friends-celebrates-f-i-v-e-years-of-word-play/

[28] Zynga Day

http://blog.zynga.com/2014/04/18/zyngaday/

YouTube

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Blair Shulman

By Blair Shulman

Photo courtesy of techtipsworld.com [1]

YouTube, LLC

901 Cherry Ave.
San Bruno, CA 94066

Phone: +1 650-253-0000

Fax: +1 650-253-0001

www.youtube.com

A Brief History

It’s hard to believe that YouTube is only 9 years old. The video sharing website was created in 2005 by former PayPal co-workers Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim. Little did they know it would go on to be the third most visited site in the world after Google and Facebook. YouTube’s first video clip was posted in April 2005 and by November, users were sending up to 8 terabytes of data per day (which is the equivalent of the entire contents of a Blockbuster store). [2] This attracted the attention of Google who paid $1.65 billion in stock for the company in the fall of 2006. By then, the site was gaining more than 700 million views a week. Today, more video content is uploaded to YouTube in 60 days than all three U.S. television networks have created in 60 years. [2]

Key Executives

Chad Hurley (Advisor and Co-Founder) [3]

Chad Hurley (Former CEO, Advisor and Co-Founder) [3]

Steve Chen (Co-Founder) [4]

Jawed Karim (Co-Founder) [5]

Susan Wojcicki (Chief Executive Officer) [6]

Financial Statistics

In 2006, YouTube officially became a subsidiary of Google, Inc. in a $1.65 billion deal. Although Google has never released any specific numbers in regards to YouTube’s revenues, they do release numbers about their own growth, revealing some information about YouTube’s results. On April 16, 2014, Google released financial results for the quarter ending March 31, 2014. According to Larry Page, CEO of Google, Google’s revenue was $15.4 billion, up 19 percent year on year. [7] Site revenue, which represents sites Google operates (like Google.com, YouTube, and Gmail), generated revenue of $10.47 billion, or 68 percent of total revenue. That’s a 21 percent increase over last year. Network revenue, aka “Adsense,” did $3.4 billion in revenue, a four percent increase over last year. [8] YouTube uses Google AdSense to generate their automatic media advertisements that are targeted to site content and audience on both their mobile and desktop sites. Another focus of the report was Google’s desire to develop advertisements that facilitate brand-building, in particular on YouTube. According to the Chief Business Officer of Google, Nikesh Arora, nearly all Super Bowl advertisers this year also had paid spots on YouTube. “We’ve seen a trend of brands coming over to YouTube as an addition to their TV campaigns,” Arora says, “The real fun will begin when people do brand building campaigns starting on digital, including YouTube. This is definitely the Holy Grail.” [9]

In The News

Susan Wojcicki Named New CEO of YouTube: Susan Wojcicki, one of Google’s earliest employees and former Senior Vice President of Ads and Commerce, became the new CEO of YouTube in February of 2014. The 45-year-old mother of four replaced Salar “SK” Kamangar, who was the CEO of YouTube for just over three years. Before that, Salar ran day-to-day activities at Google and took over the CEO position from YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley in 2010. [10] Kamangar now stands as the Senior Vice President of YouTube and Video for Google.

Photo courtesy of marketingland.com [16]

Wojcicki joined Google in 1999 as the 16th employee, becoming the search engine’s first marketing executive. [11] In her various positions at Google, Wojcicki has overseen product management of AdSense, Google Book Search and Google Video. Prior to Google, she worked at Intel, Bain & Co. and R.B. Webber & Co. [11] This move most likely signals a desire on Google’s part to start monetizing YouTube and its advertising content in a big way, since Wojcicki’s previous positions at Google have been centered around managing its entire ad sales department. In Google’s own statement, CEO Larry Page said, “YouTube is a billion person global community curating videos for every possibility. Anyone uploading their creative content can reach the whole world and even make money. Like Salar, Susan has a healthy disregard for the impossible and is excited about improving YouTube in ways that people will love.” [12]

Screenshot courtesy of makerstudios.com [12]

Screenshot courtesy of makerstudios.com (click to enlarge) [15]

Disney Buys Maker Studios: The Walt Disney Company completed a deal on March 24, 2014 to pay $500 million to acquire Maker Studios. The deal could end up closing for as much as $950 million if specific growth targets are met by Disney. [13] Maker Studios is a YouTube multi-channel network that produces high-quality videos for some of the most “YouTube famous” users on the site such as PewDiePie and channels such as Epic Rap Battles of History. [13] Financed by venture capitalists and grants from YouTube, Maker Studios now operates over 55,000 channels, boasts 380 million subscribers and 5.5 billion views per month. [14] It’s not unclear why Maker Studios looked desirable to Disney. The YouTube video supplier can help promote Disney’s many characters and franchises to a young target audience. Maker can also serve as an example of how to successfully interact with the “raised-on-the-Web” generation. [13] When Maker succeeds, YouTube succeeds as well. This recent acquisition was a huge win for the YouTube, Maker and Disney families.

Turning YouTube Stars Into Real Celebrities: Welcome to the next major evolution of YouTube’s business. New YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki has helped to devise a plan to propel YouTube users to the next level of stardom. YouTube is chock full of “stars” who broadcast their content to thousands of loyal subscribers every day. But how many of these stars can the public actually put a name and a face to? That’s why YouTube is spending millions on advertising to overcome this awareness challenge. Popular YouTube users will now be getting their own promotional TV spots and premium-priced ad rates as part of an effort to package online video stars like traditional TV celebrities. [17] The first stars to get the ads will be chef Rosanna Pansino and beauty gurus Michelle Phan and Bethany Mota. The ads will be shown on networks like The CW and ABC Family, local TV and billboards in New York and Chicago, Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Entertainment Weekly and even in NYC subways. [18] The ads are being developed by ad agency Co:Collective. One challenge Wojcicki notes is “trying to get advertisers who traditionally bought TV to understand the YouTube platform.” [18] But Wojcicki believes in patience, hard work and continual growth. “As the platform matures and we have better monetization, we want to be able to continue to grow the whole ecosystem in a way that’s good for advertisers, good for publishers and good for users,” Wojcicki said. [18]

YouTube user Michelle Phan’s homepage, boasting more than 6 million subscribers

Sources:

[1] YouTube Company Logo, techtipsworld.com, RT: 4/12/14

[2] “Brief History YouTube”, time.com, RT: 4/12/14

[3] Photo of Chad Hurley, politic365.com, RT: 4/12/14

[4] Photo of Steve Chen, twitter.com, RT: 4/12/14

[5] Photo of Jawed Karim, commons.wikimedia.org, RT: 4/12/14

[6] Photo of Susan Wojcicki, hub.jhu.edu, RT: 4/12/14

[7] “Google Inc. Announces First Quarter 2014 Results“, investor.google.com, 4/16/14, RT: 4/19/14

[8] “Google misses Q1 2014 earnings with $15.42 billion in revenue“, arstechnica.com, 4/16/14, RT: 4/19/14

[9] “Despite 19% Revenue Growth, Google Q1 Earnings Disappoint Investors“, forbes.com, 4/16/14, RT: 4/19/14

[10] “YouTube’s Chad Hurley to step down as chief executive“, theguardian.com, 10/29/10, RT: 4/19/14

[11] “Google Names Susan Wojcicki CEO of YouTube“, variety.com, 2/5/14, RT: 4/19/14

[12] “Google Confirms Ads & Commerce SVP Susan Wojcicki Is The New YouTube CEO“, techcrunch.com, 2/5/14, RT: 4/19/14

[13] “Disney Buys Maker Studios, Video Supplier for YouTube“, nytimes.com, 3/24/14, RT: 4/19/14

[14] “With Disney Buying Maker, Do All Big Media Companies Need To Up Their YouTube Game?“, forbes.com, 4/1/14, RT: 4/19/14

[15] Screenshot of Maker Studios website, makerstudios.com, RT: 4/19/14

[16] Photo of Susan Wojcicki’s tweet after being appointed CEO of YouTube, marketingland.com, 2/5/14, RT: 4/19/14

[17] “YouTube’s Big Plan to Turn Its Stars Into Real Celebrities“, wired.com, 4/16/14, RT: 4/19/14

[18] “Exclusive Interview: Susan Wojcicki’s Plan to Make YouTube ‘Stars’ Real-Life Famous“, adage.com, 4/14/14, RT: 4/19/14

Yahoo

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Samantha Ho

By Sam Ho

Yahoo Logo [1]

701 1st Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Phone: (408) 349-3300

Company Profile

As the world’s largest start up company, Yahoo is a global technology corporation that started as a simple search engine and has grown into a web portal at the global forefront of highly personalized, “daily habit” products and services. Whether through the Yahoo home page or their own personalized page, affectionately named My Yahoo, 800 million monthly users in 60 countries around the world have access to weather, mail, sports, finance, games, and many more powered through Yahoo services.[2]

Key Executives [3]

Marissa Mayer, CEO, President, and Director

David Filo, Co-Founder and Chief Yahoo

Ken Goldman, Chief Financial Officer

Kathy Savitt, Chief Marketing Officer

History

Founded in 1994 by two Stanford PhD candidates, David Filo and Jerry Yang, Yahoo initially began as a website, titled Jerry and Dave’s Guide to the World Wide Web, that listed David and Jerry’s favorite internet sites. After gaining heavy popularity, the two discovered that their little guide could become a successful business and renamed it. The web directory continued to change in the 1990s and diversified into a web portal to provide eager users with the services of Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Games, and Yahoo! Groups.[4] Adding weather, sports, and finance to the mix, the web portal became the center of daily habits. In 2005, it acquired the popular photo sharing service Flickr and its 1 million loyal and consistent users.[5] In 2013, it continued to expand its reach towards more active online users by buying the famous blogging site, Tumblr, for $1.1 billion.[6] Specializing in search, content, and communication tools, Yahoo is standing its ground at the forefront of technology.

1996 Yahoo Homepage [7]

2013 Yahoo Homepage [8]

Financial Snapshot

Publicly traded since 1995, Yahoo‘s stock (YHOO) is currently up 0.08% since its previous

Yahoo Financial Chart [10]

close at $36.38. [9] On April 15th, 2014, the Yahoo! Inc. reported its first quarter 2014 results in accordance with a live stream online. While the company’s stock has performed exceedingly well at the markets over the past two years, its revenues have failed to gain traction. The GAAP revenue for the quarter was $1.13 million, down 1% from the Q1 2013. The company’s quarterly GAAP net earnings also dropped by 20 percent to $312 million. Net earnings per share for the quarter were $0.29, down 17 percent.

Despite its poor marks compared to its Q1 2013 results, Yahoo made smaller successes in its display and search ad revenues, which make up 12.4% and 14.2% of its value respectively. Compared to the first quarter of 2013, its Q1 2014 GAAP display revenue of $453 million remained consistent because of the 7% increase in Number of Ads Sold. With Paid Clicks increased approximately by 6% and the Price-per-Click increased by about 8%, the 2014 GAAP search revenue of $445 million experienced a successful 5 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2013. [11]

Making Changes

CEO Marissa Mayer at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show [12]

The Comeback Kid: With 13 years of employment at Google, including the title of first female engineer at the company, it was only right for Marissa Mayer to set her sights on Yahoo. Named Yahoo CEO, President, and Director in July 2012, Mayer has been determined to lead Yahoo out of its 3rd place spot and into a place at the forefront of technology.[3] With about two years as evidence, she is well on her way after rolling out a new homepage, redesigning Yahoo Mail and saving Flickr from near death. As she continues to orchestrate more acquisitions for the company, such as her biggest move yet to buy Tumblr, Marissa Mayer is breaking Yahoo records and making strong steps towards modernizing the pioneer portal.[13]

Yahoo Advertising: Starting in 2014, Yahoo wants to place itself at the center of the online ad ecosystem with its latest creations: Yahoo Advertising and Yahoo Ad Manager. Launching under a new unifying brand, the idea of Yahoo Advertising aims to simplify a fragmented market. Buyers will be able to automatically buy across Yahoo’s various channels, including the Web, video, mobile, and Tumblr, all in a central interface called Yahoo Ad Manager. [12] Tapping into the

Yahoo Gemini – Mobile and Native Ads [14]

ever-growing 430 million mobile Yahoo users, Yahoo Gemini, a function within Yahoo Ad Manager, will be the first of its kind to combine mobile search and native advertising in one accessible solution.[14] The successful future of this new system is evident in the digital ads within Yahoo’s newly launched digital magazines, Yahoo Food and Yahoo Tech. Instead of a simple box in the corner, the native ads of each site are integrated and authentic, allowing consumers to treat each promoted brand as informative content. Yahoo’s belief that “storytelling aids brand retention” embodies the new shift towards fully integrated marketing and a push towards more successful ad sales. [15]

Yahoo Screen on Roku [18]

Yahoo Screen: Rivaling competitors such as Hulu, Netflix, and YouTube, Yahoo‘s video streaming service, Yahoo Screen, combines over 70 original web shows and a diverse array of content from partners such as Saturday Night Live, The Onion, GQ, ABC News, and Vogue.[16] In mid April 2014, Yahoo and Vevo announced that they will be expanding their partnership through a deal that will bring Vevo’s videos, live concert events, and other original programming to the Yahoo site. [17] In addition to new content, Yahoo Screen has been expanding the source through which its content is viewed. In 2013, the video streaming service launched its own mobile app for Apple iOS devices and soon followed that decision with its launch on the Apple TV. During its first quarter in 2014, Yahoo Screen launched its own channel on another home TV box, called Roku. Providing a new variety of content to eager users and new ways to receive their desired entertainment, Yahoo is slowly pushing its way into online video with much more focus and quality. [16]

The Future of Yahoo

Yahoo Smart TV [22]

As Yahoo works to repair and reorganize within its own systems, Marissa Mayer and the company are looking to journey outside of Yahoo‘s own boundaries, finding a place within Television. Yahoo is in talks to acquire News Distribution Network Inc., which could make Local TV news a big part of the online landscape.[19] In addition, Yahoo is rumored to have interest in producing its own TV content in competition with Netflix original programming.[20] Combined with its latest creation, Yahoo Smart TV, Yahoo hopes to bring its sphere of influence to the Televised world.

Yahoo Buys Aviate [23]

In many ways for the company’s CEO, mobile is the future. Delivering her first keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2014, Mayer started with an exciting announcement that Yahoo had acquired Aviate. With the technology to customize the Android’s smartphone home screen based on personal information, the company is looking towards its future in the mobile industry. While Apple owns the iOS mobile operating system and Google owns Android, Aviate could be Yahoo’s golden ticket. [21]

Sources

[1] Yahoo Logo RT: 19 April 2014

[2] Yahoo Corporate Information RT: 16 April 2014

[3] Yahoo Executive Team RT: 16 April 2014

[4] Silicon Valley Historical Association: Yahoo! Inc. From 2008. RT: 17 April 2014

[5] “Flickr At 10: 1M Photos Shared Per Day, 170% Increase Since Making 1TB Free”. From 10 Feb 2014. RT: 18 April 2014

[6] “Yahoo buys Tumblr, promises to not ‘screw it up'”. From 20 May 2013. RT: 17 April 2014

[7] 1996 Yahoo Homepage Image. RT: 19 April 2014

[8] “Yahoo’s new homepage is a good first step” From 20 Feb 2013. RT: 17 April 2014

[9] YHOO Profile. RT: 19 April 2014

[10] “Yahoo sales sag with mixed results in ads” From 15 April 2014. RT: 18 April 2014

[11] Yahoo Reports First Quarter 2014 Results. RT: 19 April 2014

[12] “Yahoo Reboots Ad Business in Attempt to Own Ad Tech”. From 7 Jan 2014. RT: 18 April 2014

[13] “How CEO Marissa Mayer turned around Yahoo”. From 16 July 2013. RT: 19 April 2014

[14] “Yahoo’s ‘Gemini’ Pairs Native Ads and Mobile Search”. From 19 Feb 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[15] “Reaching Consumers in a Fragmented Entertainment Marketplace”. From 8 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[16] “Yahoo’s Push Into Video”. From 16 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[17] “Yahoo Expands Partnership with Vevo”. From 14 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[18] “New on Roku: Yahoo Screen”. From 24 March 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[19] “Yahoo Could Finally Bring Local TV News to the Internet”. From 2 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[20] “Yahoo’s Venture into TV? Unattractive Option, Good Choice”. From 8 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[21] “Marissa Mayer wants Yahoo to be big in mobile. Meet Aviate”. From 9 April 2014. RT: 19 April 2014

[22] “Yahoo’s Plan to Save or Kill Television”. From 9 Jan 2014. RT: 20 April 2014

[23] “Yahoo acquires Aviate to build context-sensitive Android apps”. From 7 Jan 2014. RT: 20 April 2014

Netflix

Link

By Carly Goldstein

Company Logo

100 Winchester Circle

Los Gatos, CA 95032

(408) 540-3700

www.netflix.com

Executives [1]

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Reed Hastings, Founder and CEO

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Kelley Bennett, Chief Marketing Officer

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Tawni Cranz, Chief Talent Officer

Courtesy of Netflix.com

David Wells, Chief Financial Officer

About [2]

Courtesy of internettrailer.com

As a leader in internet television, Netflix not only allows its members to instantly stream movies and television for a monthly fee, but also provides customers with original content. Users can also choose to select and receive content through the mail for an additional monthly cost. Competitors of the service include Hulu and Amazon.

History [3]

Courtesy of http://smokingsection.uproxx.com/

Netflix was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. The company provided online movie rentals that would be delivered to the costumer’s home within several business days. In 2007, Netflix introduced streaming, allowing subscribers to instantly watch movies and television shows on their electronic devices. Netflix began to introduce original content in 2012. As of 2013, the service has over 40 million users globally.

Financials

Domestically, the company reported an increase in net additions of 2.33 million in the fourth quarter, 14% above the 2.05 million of the same quarter of the previous year.[4] Internationally, Netflix reported a net addition of 1.74 million in the fourth quarter, increasing the number of international members to 10.93 million. [4] In the coming months, Netflix aims to broaden its international presence by offering its services in Germany. [5]

Courtesy of Google Finance

In April of 2013, the company tested a new membership plan in which subscribers could simultaneously stream on four different devices for $11.99 per month. [6] Netflix continues to adjust their prices and aims to offer three different membership options for new members in the coming year. The options include the $11.99 price as well as a $6.99 subscription for those who only require instant streaming on one device.[4]

The first quarterly report of 2014 will be shared on April 21st. However, consensus estimates a dramatic increase from the first quarterly report of 2013. [7] Currently, the Netflix stock rests at 346.73.

Original Content

Courtesy of http://o.aolcdn.com/

Beginning in 2012, Netflix has produced a variety of original programming including television series, documentaries and children’s programs. Lillyhammer, a Norwegian drama starring Steven Van Zandt, is considered Netflix’s first series and premiered on February 6, 2012.[8] Other original content includes The Ropes, Bad Samaritans, Hemlock Grove, and Turbo FAST. The site has also premiered a variety of documentaries and comedy specials such as Mitt and The Square. The later was the first movie of its kind to be nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary. [9]

Courtesy of upload.wikimedia.org

Netflix also produces material that no longer has a place on television. Several years after it’s cancellation, Arrested Development was resurrected for a fourth season on the streaming service in May of 2013. [10] In 2014, the season earned a Golden Globe nomination for Jason Bateman for best actor in a comedy series. [11] Netflix will also be reviving The Killing after it’s cancellation on AMC. [12] The show’s final season will premiere on the site some time this year.

Courtesy of upload.wikimedia.org

On February 1, 2013, Netflix released House of Cards. The show, based on the English television program of the same name, follows Frank Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, a ruthless politician who does whatever it takes to gain more political power. House of Cards also stars Robin Wright and Kate Mara. The program received favorable reviews from critics, earning 3 Emmys and a Golden Globe after its first season[13], becoming the first show of its kind to do so.

As a result of the success of the first season, Netflix ordered a second season of House of Cards which was released on February 14, 2014. Utilizing Procera Network, it was reported that 15% of users of a particular internet service viewed the first episode within 14 hours of its release, an increase from the 2% of users who watched the first episode of the first season within the premiering weekend. [14]

10 days before the premiere of the second season, Netflix announced the renewal of House of Cards for a third season. [15]

Courtesy of www.galaticnewsone.com

Orange is the New Black premiered on Netflix on July 11, 2013. The program stars Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman, a thirty-year old woman sentenced to 15 months in jail after she is convicted of crime committed ten years before. The show is based on a memoir by Piper Kerman of the same name. The show was nominated for a Golden Globe for best performance by an Actress in a drama television series, as well as a Grammy for its theme song. [16]

Netflix announced the premiere date of the second season of Orange is the New Black after the credits of the final episode of House of Cards. [17] The show’s second season is set to be available on June 6, 2014.

Looking Ahead

Courtesy of www.wired.com

Within this year, Netflix will be premiering numerous projects. Animated comedy, Bojack Horse, staring Will Arnett and Aaron Paul, will be released in the coming months.[18] As will Marco Polo, a adventure drama produced by The Weinstein Company.[19] The company will continue to show its interest in children’s programming when animated shows Puss in Boots, King Julien and Veggie Tales in the House are available for streaming later this year. [20] The second seasons of Orange is the New Black and Hemlock Grove will also premiere in June and July, respectively.

In 2015, Netflix will not only release its third season of House of Cards, but also release new original series. Science fiction drama Sense8, from the writers of The Matrix, will debut sometime in 2015. [21] Also set to be available for streaming in 2015, Narcos, a drama depicting the Medellin Cartel in Colombia, and Grace and Frankie a situational comedy staring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. [22]

Courtesy of http://www.digitaltrends.com/

In February of 2014, it was announced that Disney will collaborate with Netflix to create four original series for Marvel heroes: Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage. The Marvel’s Defenders project will cost over $200 million over a three year span and film predominately in New York City. Filming will begin July of 2014 and premiere on Netflix sometime in 2015. [23]

Sources

[1] “Officers and Directors”. netflix.com. RT: 4/10/14

[2] “Company Overview” . pr.netflix.com RT: 4/11/14

[3] “Company Timeline”. pr.netflix.com RT: 4/11/14

[4] “Letter to Shareholders” . ir.netflix.com. January 22, 2014. RT: 4/11/14

[5] “Netflix Inc. Will Arrive in Germany”. Value Walk. April 16, 2014. RT: 4/18/14

[6] “Netflix Consumers Get Ready”. Bloomberg Businessweek. January 24, 2014. RT: 4/18/14

[7] “Earnings for Netflix Projected to Rise”. Forbes. April 16, 2014. RT: 4/18/14

[8] “Lillyhammer”. wikipedia.org. RT: 4/15/14

[9] “The Square Awards”. IMDB.com. RT: 4/15/14

[10] “New Arrested Development Season”. The New York Times. April 4, 2013. RT: 4/15/14

[11] “Golden Globes 2014”. Los Angeles Times. January 12, 2014. RT: 4/15/14

[12] “The Killing Shock”. Entertainment Weekly. November 15, 2013. RT: 4/16/14

[13] “House of Cards Awards”. IMDB.com. RT: 4/13/14

[14] “House of Cards Viewing Soars”. Variety. February 14, 2014. RT: 4/13/14

[15] “Netflix Renews House of Cards”. The Hollywood Reporter. February 4, 2014. RT: 4/13/14

[16] “Orange is the New Black Awards”. IMDB.com. RT: 4/13/14

[17] “Orange is the New Black Season 2 Date Revealed”. eonline.com. February 15, 2014. RT: 4/13/14

[18] “Netflix Adds Bojack Horseman”. Variety. December 11, 2013. RT: 4/18/14

[19] “Netflix Announces Pickup”. Variety. January 14, 2014. RT: 4/18/14

[20] “DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots”. videoink.com. March 13, 2014. RT: 4/18/14

[21] “Matrix Creators to Film Netflix Series”. Chicago Tribune. March 17, 2014. RT: 4/18/14

[22] “Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin to Star in in Netflix Sitcom”. Los Angeles Times. March 19, 2014. RT: 4/20/14

[23] “Disney to Spend $200 Million on Marvel Series”. Variety. February 26, 2014. RT: 4/20/14

IAC

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Carlos Bonachea

By Carlos Bonachea

Courtesy of IAC Press Kit [1]

555 W. 18th St.
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 212-314-7300
Website: www.iac.com

Key Executives

Barry Diller - Chairman and Senior Executive, IAC & Chairman and Senior Executive, Expedia, Inc.Chairman and Senior Executive, IAC - Chairman and Senior Executive, Expedia, Inc.

Barry Diller – Chairman and Senior Executive, IAC & Chairman and Senior Executive, Expedia, Inc.
Courtesy of the official IAC website [2].

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Courtesy of the official IAC website

Jeff Kip – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Courtesy of official IAC website [3].

Victor Kaufman – Vice Chairman, oversees all strategic planning, financial and legal matters.
Courtesy of official IAC website [4].

IAC remains at the forefront of internet commerce, communication, and media by strategically managing the investment, acquisition, and sale of some of the worlds most innovative companies [5]. IAC began as Silver King Communications Inc., a television company led by Barry Diller, who previously was in charge of Fox Broadcasting as well as Paramount Pictures prior to that. [6]

IAC now boasts over 1.3 billion total monthly visits amongst it’s network of sites and controls over 150 brands and products all at the cutting edge of web commerce and modern living. IAC has spawned six independent publicly traded companies – Expedia, TripAdvisor, HSN, Tree, Interval, and Live Nation (formerly Ticketmaster). Simply put IAC is the 9th largest network in the world and one of Fortune’s most admired companies in the internet services sector. [5] [7]

Some of the many brands owned by IAC.

Financials

From April 22 2013 to April 17, 2014 stock prices of IAC (IACI) have risen 55.2% from $44.25 a share to $68.67 a share, proving IAC’s value to it’s investors. [8]

2013 Q4 statements show that revenue for IAC is down 5% from 765.3M in Q4 2012, to 724.5M.

IAC Head Quarters in NYC Photo courtesy of Vimeo on Flickr.

IAC saw a 48% adjusted EPS growth from 0.7 in Q4 2012 to 1.04 in Q4 2013.

IAC also has enjoyed and increase in adjusted net income of 38% from 66.2 in Q4 2012 to 91.1 in Q4 2013.

Thus IAC has now entered its 19th consecutive quarter of double-digit operating income before amortization growth.

Financial Statements courtesy of IAC’s public quarterly report [9].

Media

Logo courtesy of IAC official Profile

Vimeo is one of IAC’s hottest commodities and a worthy innovator in the realm of web video and user generated content. Vimeo currently has over 100 million unique monthly users and over 22 million register users which provide content. Vimeo is known to be the best video player “in the galaxy” which attracts some of the best independent filmmakers. Though Vimeo is within the media branch of IAC which accounts for a relatively small portion of revenue compared to ‘web search and applications’ or the Match group the media prospects of IAC prove to be some of the most innovative. [11]

As of March 18 2014, Vimeo has acquired ‘Cameo‘ a video making app which the leaders at Vimeo say is going to be independently run much like the recent acquisition of Echograph about a year prior. This is very much inline with the philosophy of supporting new ideas which is so close to the core ideals of IAC. [10]
Another company in the Media branch is CollegeHumor which, thought it does not directly create a majority portion of IAC’s revenue, it has a huge impact in pop culture and the multimedia habits of the 18-14 demographic. It draws over 100 million monthly video views and the number 9 most subscribed to channel on youtube. [12]

Match

The Match group of IAC is comprised of all the the websites and brands which deal with dating and matching people together. Match.com being the primary website but also including many other brands. Meetic, the European leader in online dating, Chemistry.com, okcupid, and tinder. There are also some brands which specialize in helping advertisers find their audience.
Match.com recently made an exclusive partnership with Major League Baseball to further find matches based on team preferences. This joint effort can mean serious revenue for the Match group in future quarters. [13]
IAC in an effort to restructure some of the company for unknown reasons recognized Greg Blatt as the new Chairman of the newly created Match Group, on the Board of directors as of December 19 2013. This strategic moves serves as an indicator of the companies success in the Match department.

IAC thus far has proven to be a very innovative company which has harnessed the reach of its network to self facilitate more growth across company and brand lines. This innovative approach is reshaping not only pop-culture and the way we access media but the daily lives of the average person. IAC will continue to shape the way the internet does business and the way people interact. With projected financial statement the decrease in operating costs will lead to a great deal of profit in the following quarters which will more than likely prompt another large media acquisition given the highly increased capital which IAC now has.

Sources

[1] IAC Online Press Kit RET: 4/13/2014

[2] Official IAC Website– Bio Page on Barry Diller – Photo credit: Michele Asselin RET: 4/13/2014

[3] Official IAC Website– Bio Page on Jeff Kip RET: 4/13/2014

[4] Official IAC Website– Bio Page on Victor Kaufman RET: 4/13/2014

[5] Official IAC Website– Overview of Brands RET: 4/14/2014

[6] Official IAC Website– Timeline of company progress, acquisitions and sales RET: 4/15/2014

[7] CNN Money– IAC’s ranking as one of the world’s most admired companies by Fortune RET: 4/15/2014

[8] Google Finance– IAC share value from 4/22/13 – 4/17/14 RET: 4/15/14

[9] IAC public quarterly report– RET: 4/15/2013

[10] Re/Code– Article by Peter Kafka on the aquisition of Cameo by IAC’s media company Vimeo; published March 18 2014; RET: 4/11/2014

[11] Official IAC Website– Vimeo brand profile and overview RET: 4/13/14

[12] USA Today– Match.com partnership with MLB RET: 4/14/14

AOL

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Raven Irabor

By Raven Irabor

Photo Courtesy Of: Hot Digital News

Location:

770 Broadway

New York, NY 10003

United States

Phone: 1-212-652-6400

www.aol.com

Key Executives:

(Left to Right)

CEO/Chairman: Timothy M Armstrong

Exec. VP/Chief Financial Officer: Karen E Dykstra

Exec. VP/CEO: AOL Brand Group: Susan M Lyne

Exec. VP/Secretary/Gen. Cnsl: Julie M Jacobs

ABOUT AOL

Brief Overview:

AOL Inc is a brand company that focuses on producing original content that connects and engages its audience on a local and global scale.

History:

Originally known as Quantum Computer Services, AOL has been in the business of improving internet service for over 25 years. In 1989, the familiar epigram, “You’ve got mail” was introduced alongside its first instant messaging service. Due to an employee contest, Quantum Computer Services changed its name to AOL (America Online) in 1992. AOL first began expanding its products and services with its homepage that was launched in 1995. Over time AOL has acquired: Mapquest, CompuServe, ICQ, Moviefone, Netscape, AOL/Time Warner merge, Advertising.com, TechCrunch, AOL Huffington Post Media Group, Patch, Gravity, and many other companies. AOL made history in 2005 by becoming the first internet company to win an Emmy. In 2006, America Online officially changed its name to AOL and began offering its services free of charge. [1] [2]

AOL Inc. then and now [3] [4]

AOL: The Brand

FINANCIALS

Summary:

2013 Fiscal Overview

According to Armstrong, 2013 was AOL’s most successful year in the last decade. In the past year, AOL Inc revenue was $2.32 billion, an increase from $2.192 billion in 2012. This increase was predominately due to its growth in its advertisement business. AOL Inc. was able to come ahead in analysts’ estimated reporting of revenues but not of earnings. In 2013, it earned 43 cents per share while the estimation was 46 cents per share. The fourth quarter of 2013 shows a 13 percent increase of revenue in comparison to 2012’s fourth quarter. Subscription revenue declined by 10 percent, $156.7 million, in the fourth quarter. The anchor on AOL’s success was its newest acquisition, Patch. Due to major cutbacks and layoffs, Patch weighed down the company’s earnings for 2013. With the acquisition of Gravity, AOL is hoping for a better turn out for 2014. [5] [6] [7] [8]

WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON

The leaders at AOL Inc. are constantly looking at the realm of media and figuring out innovative ways to constantly push forward their presence in the industry. In the beginning of the year, Hale, an investment firm that specializes in distressed business, joined AOL Inc in the holdings of Patch. Patch was acquired by AOL in 2009. Armstrong had high aspirations for this company, but it gave back little financial return. The idea for Patch was that AOL would be able to use it as a platform to create a series of hyper-local news sites, which would then allow AOL to get its hands into local and even national advertisement [9]. Unfortunately, in April AOL agreed to sell its minority holding to Hale as it was not reaping the benefits it had expected [10]. While Patch failed to be AOL’s ticket to advertising revenue, its new project shall be its next venture into further success in the advertising world.

In March AOL announced that they plan to launch One. One will be an ad system/software that helps companies automate the process of buying and selling advertisements online. According to Armstong, “the move represents a switch in focus from original content to ad technology.” With this expansion, AOL will now be able to reach audiences that its original contest would not have reached. With AOL making $1.6 billion in ad revenue, Armstrong plans on taking full advantage of this new window of opportunity [11].

In a continuum of advertising ventures, AOL also announced in the beginning of the quarter of its acquisition of Gravity. Gravity is a content personalization start up venture. It works with online publishers to offer tailored customized content based on the activity of each visitor. Gravity’s technology will act as a catalyst in all of the areas of AOL Inc. to create more engaging, relevant and valuable experiences for its consumers, advertisers and publisher partners. [12]

Other than advertisements being part of the new wave of media experience, video has become another popular avenue. In April AOL announced its media makeover on its site. In an interview with Maureen Sullivan, president of aol.com, she talks about the overwhelming increase of video streaming. More and more AOL users are consuming more video based content. This caused for AOL to push more towards video. With content producing partners such as: ESPN, HSN, and Conde Nast, AOL will begin providing its users with more video content related to their previous searches. This will allow users to have a more personalized web experience and also allow advertisers to reach a more direct audience.

AOL has not completely left its focus on producing original content. In April, AOL announced the renewal of its four original web series:

CITY BALLET

HARDWIRED 2.0

THE FUTURE STARTS HERE

#CANDIDLYNICOLE

These shows have allowed AOL not only to reach the number one spot for premium curated network on the web, but also to give advertisers a whole different platform to reach consumers. AOL’s full slate of new original series for 2014 will be announced at the Digital Content NewFronts on April 29^th in Brooklyn, New York [13].

Since its spun off from Time Warner in 2009, AOL has been pressured by shareholders to make moves such as a patent deals. In April, AOL agreed to share and patent licenses to Microsoft Corp (MSFT). This deal has brought AOL to an increase of 43% the day of the closing, the biggest one day increase since 11/25/09. The arrangement, which will give more than 800 patents and related applications to Microsoft, AOL generate additional funds amid slow advertising growth and a decline in dial-up Internet subscribers. [14]

With AOL moving from content producing to a largely advertisement based company, it will be interesting to see how these new ad based ventures benefits the company and contributes to the ever growing world of media.

SOURCES

[1] 25 Years of AOL. April 20, 2014

[2] AOL Overview. April 20, 2014

[3] AOL Then. April 21, 2014

[4] AOL Now. April 21, 2014

[5] AOL’s Q4 Revenue Grows To $679M But Earnings Per Share of $0.43 Fall Short Of Estimates. April 20, 2014

[6] AOL Q3 Beats Estimates On Sales Of $561M But Net Income Weighed Down By $25M Patch Restructuring. April 20, 2014

[7] Setting Its Sights On Content Personalization, AOL To Acquire Gravity For $90.7M. April 20, 2014

[8] Analysis Tools. April 21, 2014

[9] AOL Calls Patch Spin Out A “Pivot”. April 20, 2014

[10] AOL Chief Tim Armstrong’s Pay Drops 46%. April 20, 2014

[11] AOL Chases $32 Billion Market With Automated Ad System. April 20, 2014

[12] AOL Makes It Personal With Agreement to Acquire Gravity. April 19, 2014

[13] AOL Announces Renewal of Four Original Web Series for 2014. April 19, 2014

[14] AOL Jumps After $1.06 Billion Patent Accord With Microsoft. April 20, 2014

Weinstein Company

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Roxanne Silver

By Roxy Silver

[1] The Weinstein Company Logo

HISTORY

Brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein founded Miramax Films in 1979 and sold it to Disney in 1993. In 2005, they launched The Weinstein Company, TWC, a multimedia and distribution company that encompasses Dimension Films, a genre-label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein [2]. TWC and Dimension Films have released mainstream genre and specialty films [3]. Recently the company has made a huge push in its television division.

KEY EXECUTIVES

[4] Harvey Weinstein, Co-Chairman TWC

[5] Bob Weinstein, Co-Chairman TWC & Dimension Films

FINANCIALS

TWC is privately held. Box office wise, currently TWC is ranked 9th with 2.5% of the market share, grossing $69.1 million from its 8 films [6]. This marks a decrease from the prior year in which TWC ranked 8th with 4.5% market share, grossing $491.7 million while releasing 21 films [7].

IN THEATERS

[8] Lee Daniels’ The Butler captures the story of a White House butler who served seven presidents through dramatic and changing times in American history.

“Lee Daniels’ The Butler”

The drama starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey “was expected to do well, but we didn’t expect to do this well,” shared Erik Lomis, President of Distribution for TWC. “The Butler” is the company’s first No. 1 debut since 2009 [9] with an opening weekend of $24.6 million on August 16, 2013 [10]. The film has accumulated grosses of $116.6 million domestically and grossed $146.5 million internationally [11].

[12] Vampire Academy is based on a best selling series about two “mortal vampires” who attend a boarding school and have to protect each other from the terrible forces.

“Vampire Academy”

The highly anticipated fantasy film was a flop for TWC. In attempt to imitate the success of box office hits like “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games,” this young-adult adaption didn’t compliment the best-selling book series as the box office sales attest: It premiered in theaters on February 7, 2014, reeling in $3.9 million during its opening weekend [13]. The film has accumulated grosses of $7.79 million domestically and $7.6 million foreign, totaling $15.3 million worldwide [14].

AWARDS SEASON

TWC had an extremely successful year leading up to The Academy Awards, but fell short with only 11 nominations compared to the 17 from the year before [15]. Regardless, the three films nominated received wide recognition.

[16] 20 Feet From Stardom

“20 Feet From Stardom”

“Millions know their voices, but no one knows their names”- “20 Feet From Stardom” is a documentary that told the story of Darlene Love who backed up idols, Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Luther Vandross and Elvis Presley. The film shared her story of struggle of being feet away from the spotlight, but never making it [17]. This film was TWC’s only Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature [18].

[19] Philomena

“Philomena”

Philomena captures the story of a mother searching for her son but instead finding his gay lover. The drama was nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Score, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay, but didn’t win any awards at the Oscars [20]. With an opening weekend of $128,435, to date the film combines $37.5 million domestic with $62.4 million foreign, netting TWC $87.9 million [21].

[22] August: Osage County

“August: Osage County”

The dark comedy based on a Pulitzer Prize winning play portrays a dysfunctional family coming together after a death. Starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, it was nominated for two Oscars[23]. The film had a limited opening weekend of $179,302 in December 2013 and a wide opening of $7.1 million [24]. The film has accumulated $37.7 million domestically and $34.7 million foreign, netting TWC $52.4 million [24].

STRATEGICALLY TWC TAKES ON TV

A $370 million line of credit from Union Bank helped TWC enter the television market in 2013 [25]. TWC’s COO David Glasser explained, “We’ve invested a lot in TV because we see it as a big part of our future.”[26] Now in 2014 the future is here. Having TV under TWC’s belt is an asset creating versatile operations, revenue, and a presence in the TV industry.

TWC acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the Sky Italia drama series, ‘Gomorra’ from Beta Film, an international distributor [27]. Stefano Sollima directed this series based on a bestselling novel about the Neapolitan crime administration Camorra, and is set for release in 2015 [28]. Harvey Weinstein shares “This project caught our eye a while back for its world-class acting talent, as well as Sollima’s abilities to craft a thriller like none other.” [29] This acquisition benefits TWC with new innovative programming, and Beta Film providing ‘Gomorra’ access into American homes.

With the buzz generated from “Netflix Original Series,” TWC is jumping in. The highly anticipated Weinstein Company drama ,“Marco Polo”, is in production for Netflix and will premiere nearing the end of 2014 [30]. Harvey Weinstein reported, “We are proud to present a series that rivals some of the most successful films we’ve ever made. We are excited to introduce him (Marco Polo) to the world.” [31]

TWC‘s recent partnership with media company Gannett gives TWC an advantage with exclusive access to use Gannett’s expansive media library and retain distribution rights from Gannett’s television stations, newspapers, and digital assets [32]. Weinstein’s President of Television Maryam Banikarim, told Street Insider, “This groundbreaking venture will allow us to discover and explore rich new narratives for a wide array of audiences.” [33]

COMING SOON TO THEATERS NEAR YOU

TWC is continuing their Oscar worthy slate of films this summer, staying true to their demographics and genres of past films. These soon-to-be hit films with A-list names will hopefully yield them success at the 2015 Oscar’s and in the box office.

“The Giver”

The Giver Trailer [34]

“The Giver”, a science-fiction film, directed by Phillip Noyce stars Oscar winners Meryl Streep, Katie Holms, Jeff Bridges, and singer Taylor Swift [35]. The film, which various companies attempted to produce previously, is loosely based on the classic 1993 Lois Lowry novel. Jeff Bridges called it “your next favorite movie.” [36] The story, set to release in August, illustrates a utopian society in which a boy is chosen to learn from an elder the true pains and pleasures of the real world [37].

“Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”

Sin City Trailer [38]

The drama/thriller film directed by Robert Rodriguez [39], is a sequel to the successful 2005 Weinstein film “Sin City” which domestically grossed $74 million [40]. The black and white, 3D-esque thriller will be hitting the screens in August. The star packed cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lady Gaga, Jeremy Piven, Jessica Alba, and Bruce Wills to name a few [41]. Considering the triumph the original picture had and the megastar cast “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For” will likely attract crowds to the box office.

“Begin Again”

Begin Again Trailer [42]

The romantic-comedy film from writer-director John Carney is set to release on July 4th [43]. “Begin Again” follows a distressed ex-recrod label executive, Mark Ruffalo, fall in love with a young singer-songwriter, Kira Knightley, after her boyfriend, Adam Levine, dumped her [44]. At the Tribecca Film Festival Carney explained, “Begin Again is a true New York story about magical opportunities.” [45] This classic summer “romcom” will catch movie goers attention from the star studded cast, to the simple yet entertaining plot.

FUTURE OF TWC

The future for TWC is positive and optimistic. Prior to last year TWC was a dominant player in Oscar awards. Presuming this year was a fluke, TWC should bounce back stronger next Oscar season. Additionally, the significant infusion of cash into its TV segment, will bolster the company’s position in the industry, while likely improving its bottom line.

Sources

[1] Weinstein Company Logo, Ramascreen.com, RT: 4/12/2014

[2] “About The Weinstein Company”, Weinsteinco.com, RT: 4/11/2014

[3] “Dimension Films”, Disney.Wika.com, RT: 4/11/2014

[4] Harvey Weinstein, Co-Chairman, Time, RT: 4/10/2014

[5] Bob Weinstein, Co-Chairman TWC & Dimension Films, Zimbo.com, RT:4/10/2014

[6] Studio Market Share 2014, BoxofficeMojo.com, RT: 4/15/2014

[7] Studio Market Share 2013, BoxofficeMojo.com, RT: 4/15/2014

[8] Lee Daniels’ The Butler Movie Poster, IMBD, RT: 4/12/2014

[9] “The Butler’ Serves Up Box-Office Sucess at No. 1”, Fox News, 8/18/2013, RT: 4/12/2014

[10] “Weekend Box Office: ‘Lee Daniels’ The Butler Wins Again”, Movie Fone, 8/25/2013, RT: 4/12/201

[11] Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013), BoxofficeMojo.com, RT: 4/13/2014

[12] Vampire Academy Movie Poster, themidnightgarden.com, RT: 4/14/2014

[13] “BOX OFFICE: Vampire Academy’ Has No Bite”, Yahoo Movies, 2/10/2014, RT: 4/14/2014

[14] Vampire Academy (2014), BoxofficeMojo.com, RT: 4/14/2014

[15] OSCARS: Nominations By Studio & Distributor, Deadline Hollywood, RT: 4/12/2014

[16] 20 Feet From Stardom Movie Poster, Filmberg.com, RT: 4/13/2014

[17] “20 Feet From Stardom Synopsis”, 20feetfromstardom.com, RT: 4/12/2014

[18] “Oscars 2014: ’20 Feet From Stardom’ wins for documentary”, Los Angles Times, 3/02/2014, RT: 4/12/2014

[19] Philomena Movie Poster, impawards.com, RT: 4/14/2014

[20] Oscar Nominations By Picture, Deadline Hollywood, RT: 4/14/2014

[21] Philomena (2013), Boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/14/2014

[22] August: Osage County Movie Poster, broadyway.com, RT: 4/15/2014

[23] “Harvey Weinstein on disappointing Oscar showing for ‘Osage County’ have only myself to blame”, Entertainment Weekly, 2/21/2014, RT: 4/15/2014

[24] August: Osage County (2013), Boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/15/2014

[25] “The Weinstein Co. Finalizing $370 Million Credit Facility: Report”, Deadline Hollywood, 9/19/2013, RT: 4/16/2014

[26] “The Weinstein Company: stirring drama”, ScreenDaily.com, 4/02/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[27] “TWC Closes Deal for U.S. Rights to Italy’s ‘Gomorrah’ Skein”, Variety, 4/07/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[28] “Weinstein to build Gomorra in US”, c21media.net, 3/08/2014, RT: 4/17/2014

[29] Weinstein Co Acquires Italian Crime Drama Series ‘Gomorra’ , Deadline Hollywood, 4/08/2014, RT: 4/15/2014

[30] Marco Polo (TV Series 2014), IMBD, RT: 4/18/2014

[31] “‘Marco Polo’: Production underway for Weinstein Company’s Netflix Show”, Entertainment Weekly, 4/08/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[32] “Gannett (GCI) and The Weinstein Co. Enter First Look Film And Television Deal”, Streetinsider.com, 4/02/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[33] “Gannnett Co., Ince And The Weinstein Company Enter Into A Unique First Look Film And Television Development Deal”, PR News Wire, 4/02/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[34] The Giver Trailer, YouTube, 3/19/2014, RT: 4/14/2014

[35] “Weinstein Dates ‘The Giver’ Starring Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges for August 2014”, IMBD, 9/21/2013, RT: 4/16/2014

[36] “Jeff Bridges Talks About Your Next Favorite Movie”, Moviepilot.com, 2/12/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[37] “‘The Giver’ trailer: Meryl Streep! Jeff Bridges! Color?!”, Entertainment Weekly, 3/19/2014, RT: 4/17/2014

[38] “Sin City 2″ Trailer Release”, Weinsteinco.com, 3/17/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[39] Sin City: A Dame To Kill For Trailer, YouTube, 4/06/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[40] Sin City (2005), Boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/17/2014

[41] “5 Reasons you should be excited for Sin City: A Dame To Kill For”, Metro, 3/07/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[42] Begin Again Trailer, YouTube, 3/28/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[43] “‘Begin Again’ Movie 2014 Official Trailer Released Starring Adam Levine and Keira Knightley”, Hallels.com, 4/01/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[44] “Trailer and Poster for Begin Again Starring Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo”, Movienewz.com, 4/03/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

[45] “Begin Again To Close Tribeca Film Festival”, Triebcaflim.com, 3/20/2014, RT: 4/16/2014

Warner Bros. Pictures

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Kyohei Kawada

By Ken Kawada

Courtesy of Deadline

Brief Overview

The Warner Brothers Pictures was founded on April 4, 1923, and it is one of the major studios in Hollywood. The studio handles production and distribution of films, and finances or co-finances their films. They collaborate with other studios such as Village Roadshow Pictures, Castle Rock Entertainment and RatPac-Dune Entertainment. The studio is known for producing award winning films such as The Dark Knight, Inception and Argo. [1]

Key Executives

Greg Silverman

Courtesy of Deadline

Silverman is the President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production for Warner Brothers Pictures. Appointed in June 2013, he oversees the studio’s development activities, global production and budget. He also works with the studio’s senior management to seek opportunities for the company. [2]

Steven S. Spira

Courtesy of Variety

Spira is the President, Worldwide Business Affairs for Warner Brothers Pictures. Promoted on January 2004, he is responsible for overseeing the business aspects of the studio’s operations that include development, production and distribution of films. [3]

Sue Kroll

Courtesy of Film Independent

Kroll is the President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution for Warner Brothers Pictures. She oversees the strategic creation and marketing campaigns for the studio’s international releases. [4]

Recent Releases

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Courtesy of Movie Wallpapers

Continuing the success of Peter Jackson’s epic fantasy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Warner Brothers Pictures released its latest sequel on December 2, 2013, just in time for the award season. The film follows the titular character, Bilbo Baggins as he continues his journey with the dwarves to reclaim their homeland from the dragon Smaug. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel of the same name, this anticipated sequel is the second film in the The Hobbit franchise. [5]

The film’s release was the fourth best opening weekend for the month of December, slightly behind the first Hobbit film. On Metacritic, the film received an average review score of 66 out of 100, which indicates generally favorable reviews from critics. Many critics have highlighted the overall improvement from the first film in the series, but still criticized the length. [7]

It has grossed over $950 million at the worldwide box office to this date, making it the fourth highest-grossing film of 2013. The Desolation of Smaug received 3 nominations at this year’s Academy Awards, including best visual effects. [6]

The LEGO Movie

Courtesy of Forbes

This 3D animated film is this year’s unexpected hit. Starring the voices of Christ Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman and Will Arnett, the film tells the story of an ordinary LEGO construction worker, mini-figure who joins a quest to stop an evil tyrant from destroying their world. [8]

The film’s mass appeal to both children and adults contributed to the film’s success at the box office. The studio has already announced a sequel for the film, potentially starting a new franchise for Warner Bros. As of now, the sequel is set to be released in 2017. Jared Stern and Michelle Morgan were hired to pen the script for the sequel, but it is still unknown whether writer/director of the first film, Phil Lord and Chris Miller will return. The plot is also still yet to be determined. [9]

The film received an average review score of 82 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating an universal acclaim from critics. The film’s release was the second best opening weekend for the month of February, behind Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. Grossing over $400 million to this date on a $60 million budget, the film is projected to continue its success in Blu-Ray and DVD sales. [10] [11]

300: Rise of an Empire

Courtesy of Nerdlocker

7 years after the release of their blockbuster film, 300, the studio finally released the long anticipated sequel on March 7 of this year. The film was initially scheduled to be released last August, but due to unknown circumstances, the film was pushed back to March of this year. Based on Frank Miller’s yet to be published graphic novel Xerxes, the film tells a story of Greek general Themistokles, and his charge against the Persian forces led by Xerxes and Artemisia. Zack Synder, who directed the first film in the series, served as the writer and producer for this film. [12]

As of April, the film has grossed over $300 million on a $110 million budget. 67.9% of the total gross comes from the international market. Compared to its predecessors, the film is not as successful, but still on a good track thanks to the international market. On the critic side, the film had a similar average review score with its predecessor, scoring 48 out of 100 on Metacritic, indicating mixed or average reviews. Fans of the first film have criticized the storyline, but praised the visual style. [13] [14]

86th Academy Awards

Courtesy of International Business Times

In addition to the financial success for Warner Brothers Pictures, the studio also collected 21 nominations at the 86th Academy Awards, personal best for Warner Brothers. Gravity, which was released last October, tied with American Hustle for most nominations. By the end of the night, Gravity won seven awards, including Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron, who was the first Hispanic director to ever win in the category. Spike Jonze’ Her also received 5 nominations, including Best Picture. The film eventually won Best Writing for an original screenplay. The studio won a total of 10 Oscars by the end of the night. [15]

Financial

In 2013, Warners Brothers Pictures had the most successful theatrical year in company history, taking the number one spot in domestic, international and worldwide box office. The studio cumulated $1.893 billion in domestic box office, and $3.145 in international box office, surpassing the $5 billion mark, which is the first for the studio and only the second time that the feat has been achieved by any studio in Hollywood. Bolstered by the successes of films like The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Gravity, and Man of Steel, Warners Brothers was able to beat other major competitors like Disney. [1] [16] [17]

Coming Soon…

Warner Brothers Pictures will be releasing Transcendence, starring Johnny Depp, and directed by cinematographer, Wally Pfister, making his directional debut. Pfister is a usual collaborator of Christopher Nolan, known for The Dark Knight and Inception. As of now, the critical reception has mostly been negative, which can greatly impact the box office result. Hoping to continue their success from last year, they will be releasing more blockbusters as we approach the summer season. Godzilla, Edge of Tomorrow and Jupiter Ascending are other films that are slated to be released later this year. [18]

Sources

[1] Warner Bros. Pictures

[6] The Hobbit Box Office Mojo

[7] The Hobbit Metacritic

[8] The LEGO Movie IMDB

[9] Cinema Blend, The LEGO Movie Sequel

[10] The LEGO Movie Metacritic

[11] The LEGO Movie Box Office Mojo

[12] 300: Rise of an Empire on IMDB

[13] 300: Rise of an Empire Box Office Mojo

[14] 300: Rise of an Empire Metacritic

[15] The Hollywood Reporter Oscar Coverage

[16] Warner Bros. Leads Global Market Share

[17] Comingsoon.net Warner Bros. Pictures 2013 Box Office

[18] Deadline Hollywood coverage on WonderCon

Universal Pictures

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Debora Kaya

By Debora Kaya

ABOUT

Universal Pictures is a division of NBC Universal that is responsible for the production and/or distribution of theatrical and non-theatrical filmed entertainment for a global audience [1]. The mother company, NBC Universal has several divisions, including Universal Television, Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Parks & Resorts, Focus Features, Working Title Films, Illumination Entertainment, and Universal Animation Studios. With these numerous divisions, NBC Universal is able to cater various entertainments to its vast audience [2].

Universal Pictures also offers services for television episodes, commercials, and films. Universal Pictures has studios that include restaurants, theaters, shops, boutiques as well as entertainment venues.

HISTORY

Universal began in 1906 with Carl Laemmle, a German immigrant who opened his first nickelodeon theater. He then established the Independent Moving Pictures Company of America and was involved in production, distribution, and exhibition. This made the company vertically integrated. Universal Pictures is known for its diverse films. Hit films released by Universal Pictures have been Jaws, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, the Jurassic Park series, and the more recent Despicable Me 2 and The Purge [3].

POPULAR & RECENT FILM RELEASES

Les Misérables

A very popular film Universal Pictures co-produced with Working Title Films, Relativity

Les Misérables (2012) – courtesy of imdb

Media and Cameron Mackintosh Ltd. is Les Misérables. Les Misérables is based on a musical of the same name (by Alain Boublin and Claude-Michel Schonberg). The movie stared a few well known actors including High Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried. Coming out in 2012, this movie was nominated for a myriad amount of awards and won several. It won Best Production Design and Best Sound among others at the British academy Film Award. It also won Best Motion Picture Golden Globe Award along with an Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Overall, this movie was very well received grossing $441,809,770 in the box office [4].

47 Ronin

Released December 25, 2013, 47 Ronin was co-produced with Relativity Media, H2F Entertainment, Mid Atlantic Films, Moving Picture Company and Stuber Productions. Featuring the actor Keanu Reeves, this movie tells the tale of Ronin in 18th century Japan who seek to avenge the death of their lord [5].

COMING SOON

Universal Studios Japan – [6]

Universal Pictures has been known to open theme parks to bring to life movies and television productions. Projects for new attractions are in the works including Universal Studios Japan’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter that is due to open July 15th. This project, which has taken $500 million to construct is similar to the attraction at Universal Orlando resort that opened in 2010.

The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

Universal Pictures doesn’t only act as a theatrical distributor but also produces a number

The Purge: Anarchy movie cover – courtesy of imdb

of films. Universal Pictures is producing a sequel of the very popular movie The Purge (2013), a science fiction horror thriller. The Purge was a huge hit in theaters making $89, 328, 627 with a budget of $3 million. This sequel, The Purge: Anarchy is set to be released worldwide on July 18th, 2014. Unlike the first movie that took place within the confines of a suburban home, The Purge: Anarchy will focus on a couple on the outside, who find themselves in the middle of the purge commencement after their car breaks down. This movie is expected to be yet another box office hit [7].

Lucy (2014)

Lucy follows the story of yet another memorable female action hero brought to life by Luc Besson (writer/director for both La Femme Nikita and The Fifth Element among others). In this story, the protagonist Lucy finds herself involved in a dark deal by accident and is able to eventually break free from her captors using her newly found abilities.

Lucy (2014) – courtesy of imdb

This movie, which features both Scarlett

Johansson and Morgan Freeman, is set to be released on August 8th 2014 in the United States. Universal Pictures is responsible for its distribution worldwide except for France, Benelux and China. [8]

Get On Up (2014)

Another film Universal Pictures is responsible for distributing is Get On Up. This movie, is about the life of James Brown. It is directed by Tate Taylor who is also responsible for his four-time Academy Award-nominated blockbuster The Help. Get On Up chronicles the rise of James Brown from his living in extreme poverty to becoming a very influential musician. This movie is set to be released on the first of August in 2014. Universal Pictures will distribute in the United States while Universal Pictures International (also referred to as UPI) will distribute in France and the Netherlands (2015) [9].

Get On Up – courtesy of imdb

SOURCES

[1]-http://www.google.com/finance?cid=2848820

[2]-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBCUniversal

[3]-http://www.nbcunicareers.com/our-businesses/universal-pictures

[4]-http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/

[5]-http://injapan.gaijinpot.com/work/work-tips/2011/01/24/foreigners-in-business-working-at-universal-studios-japan/

Principles & Practices

Website by the students of TRF235

Monthly Archives: March 2014

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