Time Warner Cable

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Eric Zidar

TIME WARNER CABLE

by: Eric Zidar

Headquarters

Time Warner Cable Inc.

60 Colombus Circle

New York, NY 10023

Phone: (212) 364-8200

(2)

About

Time Warner Cable is an independent cable and satellite distribution company operating in The United States. With 15.2 million customer relationships, Time Warner Cable operates primarily as a triple play distributor with 10.8 million residential video subscribers, 11.7 residential high speed data subscribers, and 5.3 million residential voice subscribers. Time Warner Media, the advertising arm of TWC, offers advertising solutions to national, regional, and local businesses. Another arm of the company is Time Warner Cable Business Class, which offers data, video, and voice services to all types of businesses, In March 2009, Time Warner Cable spun out from its parent company, Time Warner Inc., in order to become an independent company. Time Warner Cable is now a publicly traded company under the title NYSE: TWA. (3) Time Warner Cable is currently the second largest cable provider in the U.S. In February of 2014, TWC announced a plan to merge with Comcast, the leading cable provider in the nation. (4)

Corporate Structure (5)

Robert D. Marcus – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Dinesh C. Jain – Chief Operating Officer

Arthur T. Minson, Jr. – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

History

In 1973, American Television and Communications was purchased by Time Inc. during the building stages of Warner Communication’s Warner Cable. After the two companies joined forces with a landmark merger in 1989, it only took 3 years for the new company, Time Warner Inc., to conjoin its two television subsidiaries and form Time Warner Cable. In 1996, TWC took its first steps into the world of internet with the first cable-delivered high speed internet service, Roadrunner. Soon after, TWC introduced digital cable, VOD, and a digital phone service that formed one of the first “triple play” services. In 2007, TWC became a publicly traded company, and broke off from Time Warner Inc. in 2009 to become an independent company. While serving as one of the top providers in the industry, TWC continued to grow in size with acquisitions of Adelphia, NewWave Communications/Navi Site, Insight Communications, and DukeNet Communications. After industry legend Glenn Britt stepped down in 2013, Robert D. Marcus was elected the new chairman and CEO of TWC. (3)

Financials

Time Warner Cable became a publicly traded company in 2007. Here are their revenues in thousands for the past three years (5):

2012: $21,386,000
2013: $22,120,000
2014: $22,812,000

In 2013, Time Warner Cable had a decent year by generating a 3% increase in total revenue. This past year they did equally well by bumping up the total revenue by another 3%. TWC’s stock price has been doing well in 2015 so far increasing .07% from 144.28 per share on 1/12/15 to the current price of 158.20 per share on 4/16/15. The company is currently valued by Yahoo Finance at 68.2 billion dollars. (6)

Acquisitions:

Adelphia (2006): TWC completed a joint purchase with Comcast for all of Adelphia’s assets, systems, and employees. The acquisition cost the two companies $12.5 billion in cash, and 16% of Time Warner Cable’s common equity. (7)
NewWave Communications (2011): Time Warner Cable acquired this midwestern small time cable provider and 80,000 of its subscribers for $260 million dollars in cash. (8)
Insight Communications (2011): This medium sized cable provider was also acquired in 2011 to further broaden Time Warner Cable’s presence in the Midwest. A price tag of $3 billion in cash was agreed upon with Carlyle Group in exchange for assets and 750,000 customers in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. (9)
DukeNet Communications (2014): After many negotiations throughout 2013, Time Warner Cable completed the acquisition of DukeNet Communications for $600 million dollars from Duke Energy Corporation and investment funds managed by Alinda Capital Partners. This southeastern regional fiber optic network added an estimated 8,700 miles to TWC’s network. (10)

Time Warner Cable Media

Time Warner Cable Media (TWCM) is the advertising division of Time Warner Cable. They offer geographical marketing solutions and advertising networks for businesses of all sizes. This arm of TWC is fairly lucrative, generating $1.18 billion in revenue in 2013. (4) Due to Time Warner’s Cable’s reach in television, TWCM has advertising networks on virtually every channel offered on Time Warner Cable in 14 different states, including Texas, California, and New York. This arm of Time Warner Cable is expected to be expanded after the Comcast Merger.(11)

(4)

Comcast Merger

In February of 2014, Comcast and Time Warner Cable announced a full merger of the two companies worth $45.2 billion. With Comcast leading the CATV and Broadband industry in marketshare and Time Warner standing in second, the merger would make the two own over 30% of the market share in both Pay TV and Broadband.(12)

This has raised the alarm for many competitors, customers, and politicians across the nation. The LA Times reported a story on a handful of consumers, advocacy groups and content creators protesting in downtown Los Angeles. Opponents of the merger argue that Comcast and TWC would have a monopoly over the Broadband and Cable industries and have the power to drive up prices in markets such as California where they would have a service footprint over 80% of the state. (13) Other major media companies like Netflix, Discovery Communications Inc., and Glenn Beck’s The Blaze have publicly opposed the merger due to fear that Comcast is growing to large. With it’s purchase of FreeWheel Media in April of 2014, many of these companies want a piece of their growing advanced advertising technology. Comcast has even gone as far as accusing companies in court such as Netflix of extorting their support in exchange for rights to yet-to-be launched TV networks, pay higher carriage fees for channels, allow interconnection of web traffic without charge, and to share access to advanced advertising technology.(14)

The merger was expected to be finalized in late 2014, but Time Warner Cable and Comcast continue to sort our legal issues with the FCC.

Company News

In the midst of the merger, Time Warner Cable still stays competitive in the market. Recently, TWC announced that it would be raising internet speeds free of charge starting in Charlotte, NC. This is a response to the continuous growth of Google Fiber, Google’s new high-speed fiber internet service. With the money and power of Google, Time Warner Cable will be forced to lower prices and improve quality in order to stay competitive. (15)

Time Warner Cable also just announced the launch of it’s new Enhanced DVR system. This features the ability to record 6 shows simultaneously, and store 6x the amount of content. The new and improved storage of the Enhanced DVR has TWC customers very excited as it is a sizable improvement from the two-show at a time limit that is currently implemented on TWC DVR systems. The new product is low cost, only an additional $3 for single DVR customers, 7$ extra month for whole-house customers, and $10 a month for consumers who don’t have the DVR system. In addition, TWC now offers DVR control from a smart phone app for all DVR users. (16)

Sources

“Time Warner Cable Credit Spreads Surge Amid Charter LBO Talks” Forbes.com – RT: 4/17/2015
“Time Warner Cable Corporate Office” corporateofficehq.com – RT: 4/16/2015
“Company Overview” timewarnercable.com – RT: 4/16/2015
“Time Warner Cable” trefis.com – RT: 4/17/2015
“TWC Income Statement” yahoofinance.com – RT: 4/16/2015
“Key Statistics” yahoofinance.com – RT: 4/16/20215
“Comcast and TWC Complete Adelphia Communications Transactions” corporate.comcast.com – RT: 4/16/2015
“Time Warner Cable Acquires NewWave Communications” stopthecap.com – RT: 4/16/2015
“Time Warner Cable to Buy Insight for $3 Billion” reuters.com – RT: 4/16/2015
“Time Warner Cable completes Acquisition of DukeNet Communications” timewarnercable.com – RT: 4/16/2015
“Time Warner Cable Media” – timewarnercablemedia.com – RT 4/16/2015
“TWC to Merge With Comcast to form World-Class Technology and Media Company” corporate.comcast.com – RT:4/16/2015
“Groups Rally Against Comcast-Time Warner Cable Merger Ahead of PUC Merger” latimes.com – RT:4/16/2015
“Comcast, TWC Blast Critics of Merger” wsj.com – RT: 4/16/2015
“Time Warner Cable Boots Internet Speeds To Compete With Google Fiber” ign.com – RT: 4/16/2015
“Time Warner Adds DVR That Can Record Multiple Shows At Once” buffalonews.com – RT: 4/17/2015

Warner Bros. Pictures

Posted on March 29, 2015 by John Hopkins

by JOHN HOPKINS

-Warner Brothers Logo- Courtesy of housepr.com

Corporate Headquarters

4000 Warner Blvd. Burbank, CA 91522

Phone: (818)- 954- 6000

www.warnerbros.com

History

Founded by Albert, Sam, Harry, and Jack L. Warner on April 4, 1923, Warner Bros. Entertainment is a fully integrated, broad based entertainment company that leads the industry in feature films. Warner Bros. Pictures first saw success in 1927 when the four brothers The Jazz Singer, the first synchronized-sound feature film. The company is a subsidiary of Time Warner and produces 18-22 films each year, creating little risk and maximizing productivity. Warner Bros. has released many popular films ranging from Goodfellas (1990) to classic series movies such as Star Wars (1977-2005), Harry Potter (2001-2011), and Academy Award-winning films such as American Sniper (2014), which grossed 347,300,219 domestically.

Key Executives

Kevin_Tsujihara_2014

-Kevin Tsujihara, Chairman and CEO

-Dan Fellman, President, Domestic Distribution

-Paul Broucek, President, Music

Chris+de+Faria+2nd+Annual+Japan+Cool+Content+SYLDNhMY1I9l

-Chris deFaria, President, Animation, Digital Production and Visual Effects

-Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution

Financials

Warner Bros. Pictures maintains worldwide distribution rights as they fully finance or co-finance their films with companies such as Village Roadshow Pictures. Currently, Warner Bros. is at the top of the list for distributors as they currently have 21.1% of the market share with their overall gross being 621.2. The top grossing movie was American Sniper which grossed 345,881,971 playing in 3.885 theaters. Warner Bros. Pictures also experienced a 7 percent rise in the last quarter. In 2014, Warner Bros. Pictures made 1.56 billion domestically in the box office, totaling a 4.73 billion globally. Both of these surpassed the billion-dollar mark for the 14th year in a row.

-Courtesy of Google Finance

In Theaters

“Focus” (2015)

-“Focus” is a romantic dark comedy film written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.

The dark comedy film starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie took the #1 rank during the opening weekend releasing in 3,323 theaters garnering a total of $18,685,137. The film has grossed a total of 53,415,316 domestically in addition to the 94,800,000 domestically. Warner Bros. Pictures and IMAX announced they would also release the re-mastered version of the movie on February 27, 2015. The film released made 13 million in the UK, 3.1 million in Russia, and 1,765,832 in the Netherlands. This came out to a total gross of around 12 million being released in the theaters of 39 markets of other territories in the same opening weekend.

“Get Hard” (2015)

MV5BMTc3OTc1NjM0M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjAyMzE1MzE@._V1_SX214_AL_

“Get Hard” starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart had a domestic gross of 72,872,676, along with 13,400,000 foreign totaling a gross amount of 86,272,676 with their budget being at 40million. In it’s opening weekend “Get Hard” took the number 2 rank behind Home (52.1 million) as the comedy grossed 33.8 million. Ferrell’s third highest opening for an action film, it was released in 3,175 theaters for the opening weekend with each theater averaging around $10,647, taking the total percent of the total gross to 46.4%. “Get Hard” premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 27th.

Recently Released

“American Sniper” (2014)

“American Sniper” opened with a limited release on December 25, 2014 playing at four theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas, earning 850,000 during this limited release. The limited release was successful as it was nominated for numerous academy awards among many other awards including best picture, best actor, and best adapted screenplay. The movie won an academy award for best sound editing and an American Film Institute award for top 10 films of the year among many others. The movie the next weekend had an average of 169,277 at each venue, which proved to be the second-biggest weekend average for an action movie. The limited release was extremely successful for Warner Bros. Pictures because it earned $3.4 million in only three weekends. The film then took North America by storm on January 16 in 2015 as it grossed 30.5 million on its opening day at 3,555 different theaters. In addition to that, the movie also set an IMAX record as it earned a total of 10.6 million in the month of January. The film then expanded and reached out to 3,705 theaters and set the record for eighth largest second weekend gross. BoxOfficeMojo predicted “American Sniper” would be the highest grossing film in 2014 in just its second week released. The film remained at the top through its third week earning $30.66 million in gross earnings. Although the movie did extremely well, Warner Bros. Pictures suffered some controversy with many people believing it celebrated the bloodshed during the Iraqi war and turned it into a fairy tale. In light of the criticism, the movie received strong reviews including a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Upcoming

“Entourage”

A comedy film based off the HBO TV series starring Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, and Jeremy Piven, will be released on June 5, 2015. Directed by Doug Ellin, Entourage follows the career of a movie star named Vincent Chase along with his group of friends from home, and their lives in Hollywood. The movie’s previous release date was June 12, 2015 but Warner Bros. moved it up a week.

“Arms & the Dudes”

Warner Bros has undergone principal photography on a new movie staring Oscar nominee Jonah Hill and Miles Teller directed by Oscar nominee Todd Phillips (Borat). The story chronicles two friends in their early 20’s living in Miami during the Iraqi war that make money by bidding on U.S Military government contracts. Phillips co-wrote the script along with Jason Smilovic and Stephen C. Chin based off of a rolling stone article. Bradley Cooper and Todd Phillips are producing the film under their company 22nd & Green Productions along with Mark Gordon under The Mark Gordon Company. This film is a promising project for Warner Bros. Pictures as many prominent people who have had recent successful films are involved in the movie, which gives it a great chance to become another success for Warner Bros. Productions.

Projections for Warner Bros. Pictures

With American Sniper being named the highest grossing film of 2014 and receiving numerous academy award nominations, Warner Bros. Pictures is looking towards an amazing upcoming year with the buzz that has already been created for this year. The upcoming year has already had stellar moves released by Warner Bros. including American Sniper, Focus, and Get Hard among many others. Warner Bros. The studio has numerous upcoming movies that will be sure to create a buzz including Entourage, Magic Mike, Tarzan, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Tarzan, and King Arthur. Tsujihara has also come up with an expansion plan that has Warner Bros. releasing three LEGO-branded films over the next four years coming off of the $468 million worldwide box office success that was “The Lego Movie”.

Sources

[1] “Warner Brothers – House PR.” House PR. 2015 House Public Relations, 3 Mar. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.housepr.com/portfolio/warner-brothers/>.

[2]”The Water Diviner – WarnerBros.com – Movies.” The Water Diviner – WarnerBros.com – Movies. Warner Bros. Pictures, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.warnerbros.com/water-diviner?sec=in>.

[3] “Paul Broucek – WarnerBros.com – The Studio.” Paul Broucek – WarnerBros.com – The Studio. Executives- Warner Bros. Pictures, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/paul-broucek>.

[4]”Time Warner.” – Investor Relations. Quarterly Summary- Time Warner, 12 Mar. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://ir.timewarner.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=70972&p=irol-reportsannual>.

[5]”Focus – Official Trailer [HD].” YouTube. YouTube, 14 Jan. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btI7yHxn1NU>.

[6]”Focus (2015) (2015) – Box Office Mojo.” Focus (2015) (2015) – Box Office Mojo. Focus Movie – Box Office Mojo, 15 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=focus2015.htm>.

[7] “Get Hard – Official Trailer [HD].” YouTube. YouTube, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTi-h6zNDLg>.

[8] “Get Hard (2015) – Box Office Mojo.” Get Hard (2015) – Box Office Mojo. Get Hard – Box Office Mojo, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gethard.htm>.

[9] “American Sniper – Official Trailer [HD].” YouTube. YouTube, 15 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99k3u9ay1gs>.

[10]”American Sniper (2014) – Box Office Mojo.” American Sniper (2014) – Box Office Mojo. American Sniper – Box Office Mojo, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=americansniper.htm>.

[11] “Entourage – Official Main Trailer [HD].” YouTube. YouTube, 15 Mar. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGSE_XPF4_g>.

[12] “Entourage (2015) – Box Office Mojo.” Entourage (2015) – Box Office Mojo. Entourage- Box Office Mojo, 4 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=entourage.htm>.

[13]”Shooting Begins on “Arms & the Dudes” From “The Hangover” Director Todd Phillips – WarnerBros.com – The Studio – News.” Shooting Begins on “Arms & the Dudes” From “The Hangover” Director Todd Phillips – WarnerBros.com – The Studio – News. Arms and Dudes- Warner Bros. Pictures, 14 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/news/shooting-begins-arms-dudes-hangover-director-todd-phillips>.

[14]”Warner Bros. Makes Its All-Digital Projection Debut Today With “The Perfect Storm” In Three Countries – WarnerBros.com – The Studio – News.” Warner Bros. Makes Its All-Digital Projection Debut Today With “The Perfect Storm” In Three Countries – WarnerBros.com – The Studio – News. About Warner Bros. Productions, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/news/warner-bros-makes-its-all-digital-projection-debut-today-%E2%80%9C-perfect-storm%E2%80%9D-three>.

[15]”Time Warner Cable – Investor Relations – Financial Reports & Filings – Annual Meeting Materials.” Time Warner Cable – Investor Relations – Financial Reports & Filings – Annual Meeting Materials. N.p., 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://ir.timewarnercable.com/investor-relations/financial-reports-and-filings/annual-reports/default.aspx>.

CBS Corp. (TV broadcast & cable properties only)

Link

by  PATTY TERHUNE

CBS Corporation Logo – photo courtesy of imgarcade.com (1)

Headquarters

51 W. 52nd Street

New York, NY 10019-6188

1-212-975-4321

www.cbscorporation.com

Key Executives

Sumner Redstone, Executive Chairman (2)

Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation (3)

Anthony G. Ambrosio, Senior Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Human Resources Officer, CBS Corporation (4)

About

CBS Corporations holds the most watched television network in the U.S., CBS Broadcast Network, and is one of the largest players in creating global content (5). While the company’s holdings span nearly every medium (cable, publishing, radio, film and more), they play a particularly strong roll in television. They have 29 television holdings including CBS, CBS Sports Network, The Smithsonian Channel, The CW (a 50/50 joint venture with Time Warner’s Warner Bros.), Decades (a 50/50 joint venture with Weigel Broadcasting), Pop (a 50/50 joint venture with Lionsgate), and the Showtime Networks (6). The CBS Network is home to the #1 drama scripted program, NCIS, the #1 sitcom, The Big Bang Theory, the #1 newsmagazine, 60 Minutes, and the #1 daytime drama, The Young and the Restless (7).

The CBS “Eye” Logo – photo courtesy of logos.wikia.com (8)

History

CBS Corporation, often referred to as “The Eye Corporation” because of the company’s memorable logo, was founded in 1941. The company started as a radio heavyweight in 1927. The company was also formerly known as “The Tiffany Network” since the company maintained such a high quality of programming under its founder William S. Paley (9). The company has held many official names over time. However, in its time as a broadcast network it has only gone by three names. From 1928 until 1974 it held the name Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. In 1974 it was shortened to CBS Inc. As of 1997 the official company name is CBS Corporations (10).

Viacom’s logo – courtesy of cbsnews.com (13)

In 2000 Viacom purchased CBS (11). This is particularly noteworthy as Viacom was originally created as a spin-off of CBS in 1971 (12). However, in 2005, Viacom split itself into two entities, keeping Viacom and CBS Corporation separate. Sumner Redstone, who is a heavy hitter in media as both the chairman of National Amusements and the Executive Chairman of Viacom, still currently owns CBS.

The CBS Building in New York City – image courtesy of digitaltrends.com (14)

Financials

CBS is traded on the NASDAQ under the abbreviation CBS. As of April 16th, 2015 the stock was being traded for $61.78. At a record low on September 9^th, 2009 the stock was being traded for $3.06. Since then the stock as been increasing and is currently within a dollar of its highest asking price ever (15). The fourth quarter revenues for 2014 were up 3% from last quarter, hitting $3.7 billion and the diluted earnings per share were up 8% to $.77. This was CBS Corporation’s best fourth quarter revenue and diluted EPS to date (16).

Channel News

The Harris Poll logo – courtesy of whatsupwiththat.com (17)

Television Network Brand of the Year in 2015 Harris Poll Equitrend Study

The Harris Poll Equitrend Study is an annual study conducted by Harris Poll on brand equity. The EquiTrend Brand Equity Index rates companies on their familiarity, quality and consideration. The Harris Polls have become a staple in the media industry – due to its ability to give relevant insights to the industry after comprehensive and precise public opinion polling. In its 27^th annual study in 2015, CBS Corporations took home first place (7).

Showtime’s Logo – courtesy of sho.com (18)

Bell Media and CBS Corporation Announce Long-Term Contract To Bring Showtime to Canada

For the first time, Showtime and the entirety of its media content will be brought the Canada. In an unprecedented deal between Bell Media and CBS Corporation, hundreds of hours of past, present and future Showtime programming will be brought the Canada and accessible on all Bell Media platforms. This will open up hundreds of thousands of new potential consumers for the already esteemed network (19).

CBS All Access – courtesy of slashgear.com (20)

CBS All Access Meets with Affiliates

In mid-April, CBS met with affiliates to discuss their over-the-top streaming service, CBS All Access. Among these affiliates was Steve Hammel, VP and general manager at Capital Broadcasting’s WRAL Raleigh. He, as well as other affiliates, was optimistic about the future of the service and seemed willing to work together to increase the reach of both themselves and the network. However, like many, he said that he would wait until more information was available to opt-in. As of last month, the service has 100,000 subscribers. Currently, a dozen station groups, as well as all stations owned-and-operated by CBS, are on board, representing 55% of all households (21).

CBS Studios – image courtesy of onelip.com (22)

Company News

Viewers to Volunteers logo – image courtesy of cbsaltitudegroup.com (23)

CBS-Toyota Charity App

Viewers to Volunteers, or V2V, is a Toyota sponsored app run by CBS where viewers can give to charity without needing to open their wallet. Viewers watch short video clips, like a CBS news clip about Toyota or a documentary-type clip about a local area hospital, to gain credits. These credits can be exchanged for donations to causes like the Special Olympics or Meals on Wheels America, which CBS will make. CBS is advertising the application on four CBS owned-and-operated stations, as well as by collaborating with non-profit partners such as the Starlight Children’s Foundation to help expand reach. The application premiered nationally in April (24).

Nielsen’s logo – image courtesy of evigo.com (25)

Data-Driven Initiative for Network Advertisers

CBS has introduced a new-data driven style to analyzing the effectiveness of advertising. They are called it the Campaign Performance Audit or CPA. They have been trialing this technique on specific advertisers since last fall. However, they are now opening it up to all advertisers that are looking to take advantage of Nielsen analytics to make sure that they get the best return on investment in the company (26).

David Rhodes – image courtesy of cbsnews.com (27)

David Rhodes Extends Contract as President of CBS News through 2019

CBS News President David Rhodes who has held the position since 2011, will continue as president of the news division of CBS until 2019. Rhodes was one of the creators of CBS This Morning and also helped to expand Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer and is credited with helping it become the #1 Sunday Public Affairs Show. In addition to his work in broadcast, he also spearheaded CBSN, which is the first digitial streaming news network and has made major contributions the news on CBSNews.com and on CBS News Radio (28).

Interns Tour CBS Channel 2 in NYC – image courtesy of red-pr.com (29)

CBS Corporation and CBS Radio being Sued By Former Intern

Former CBS Radio intern Camille Demere, who was an intern into 2009-2010, filed a class-action-seeking complaint in January of 2015 for unfair treatment as an intern by being “excluded from minimum wage.” In March the company responded by saying that they want the entire case thrown out. They also requested that the court deny every request that the Plaintiff (Demere) had, and reimburse the Defendant (CBS Corp.) for all costs spent in defending the law suit (30).

Sources

(1) “CBS Logo,” Imgrarcade, RT: 4/17/15

(2) “Sumner Redstone,” CBS Corp, RT: 4/17/15

(3) “Leslie Moonves,” CBS Corp, RT: 4/17/15

(4) “Anthony G. Ambrosio,” CBS Corp, RT: 4/17/15

(5) “About CBS,” CBS Corp, RT: 4/17/15

(6) “Who Owns The Media?” FreePress, RT: 4/17/15

(7) “2015 Brand of the Year,” CBS Corp, RT: 4/17/15

(8) “CBS Eye,” Logos.wikia, RT: 4/17/15

(9) “Creator: CBS,” TVTropes, RT: 4/17/15

(10) “CBS Corporation,” Encyclopedia Brittanica, RT: 4/17/15

(11) “Viacom Set to Acquire CBS,” Partners.NYTimes, RT: 4/17/15

(12) “Viacom Inc. History,” FundingUniverse, RT: 4/17/15

(13) “Viacom Makes Split Official,” CBSNews, RT: 4/17/15

(14) “Transaction in Own Shares,” Article.wn, RT: 4/17/15

(15) “CBS,” Nasdaq, RT: 4/17/15

(16) “Investor Relations,” CBS Corp, RT: 4/17/15

(17) “Harris Polls,” Whatsupwiththat, RT: 4/17/15

(18) “Showtime,” Sho, RT: 4/17/15

(19) “CBS, Bell Media Pact,” Deadline, RT: 4/17/15

(20) “CBS All Access,” Slashgear, RT: 4/17/15

(21) “CBS Station Chiefs Ponder All Access Offer,” BroadcastingCable, RT: 4/17/15

(22) “Judge Throws Out Fraud Claim,” Onelip, RT: 4/17/15

(23) “Turning Viewers into Volunteers at CBS,” CBS Altitude Group, RT: 4/17/15

(24) “CBS Unveils Charity App,” Wall Street Journal, RT: 4/17/15

(25) “US Nielsen,” Evigo, RT: 4/17/15

(26) “CBS Introduces New Data-Driven Initiative,” CBS Corp, RT: 4/17/15

(27) “David Rhodes,” CBS News, RT: 4/17/15

(28) “CBS Announces New Agreement,” CBS Corp, RT: 4/17/15

(29) “CBS Sued Over Unpaid Internships,” Red-Pr, RT: 4/17/15

(30) “CBS Spurns Intern Lawsuit,” Deadline, RT: 4/17/15

Comcast

Gallery

Posted on March 27, 2015 by William Skalmoski

This gallery contains 8 photos.

By Will Skalmoski Comcast Corporation Comcast Center 1701 JFK Boulevard Philadelphia, PA 19103 About Ralph Roberts founded Comcast Corporation with the purchase of a 12,000-subscriber cable system in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1963. The corporation now includes two businesses, Comcast Cable … Continue reading →

AMC Networks Inc.

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Hsin-Tzu Lin

by Hsin-Tzu (Teresa) Lin

ABOUT AMC NETWORKS INC. :

[1] AMC Networks Inc. Logo

Founded in 1980 (formally known as Rainbow Media Holdings LLC), AMC Networks Inc. [2] is an American Entertainment company currently standing as the one of the leading cable television broadcasters in the United States. AMC Networks owns and operates various popular channels within the cable television realm: AMC, The Independent Film Channel (IFC), Sundance TV, Women’s Entertainment TV (WE tv), and IFC Films [3]. The company also acquired Chellomedia in 2013 and through a joint venture with BBC Worldwide, now operates BBC America as well [3]. With an impressive programming portfolio, the cable network has aired many critical and popular series such as “Breaking Bad”, “Walking Dead”, and “Mad Men”, reaching more than 95 million households across the country [4].

HEADQUARTERS ADDRESS:

11 Penn Plaza,

New York, NY 10001,

United States

EXECUTIVES:

: Charles F. Dolan – Executive Chairman

: Joshua W. Sapan – President and Chief Executive Officer

: Edward A. Carroll – Chief Operating Officer

[5]

FINANCIALS AND STRATEGIES:

AMC Networks Inc. is a publicly traded company with a stock price of $77.27 as of April 16^th 2015 [3]. In its fourth quarter reports of 2014, AMC Networks exceeded expert estimates with the reported $1.15 earnings per share, vastly beating the prediction of $0.99 [6]. Its fourth quarter also showed promising numbers as the company’s revenue increased 40%[7] to $609.44 million [8], and also revealed a 24.3% jump in advertising revenues [7] to $255 million [9]. The company continues to expect the advertising sector to be the “growth driver” of the year. AMC Networks’ First Quarter 2015 report will be released May 4^th [10].

[17] Chellomedia’s Logo

It has been a fruitful and successful season for AMC Networks. With its strategic acquisition of Chellomedia[17] and partnership with BBC Worldwide, AMC Networks has greatly boosted its international revenue by 516% to $110.3 million [11], helping the company exceed estimated Q4 earnings. The company also seeks further development through striking a deal with Dish Network Corporation: to include AMC’s “Walking Dead” and “Mad Men” in Sling TV, its newly launched online video streaming service [12].

SPRING 2015 – THE SEASON OF NEW SERIES SPINOFFS:

AMC has carried numerous programs throughout its 30 years of existence. Amongst its most popular and successful are “Breaking Bad”, “Walking Dead”, and “Mad Men”. The former two of these series have sprung a spinoff off their original plot-lines, in hopes to further continue the series’ monumental success and keep their fan-base after losing “Breaking Bad” after the series has aired [26].

♦Breaking Bad and its spinoff “Better Call Saul”♦

Game changer underdog series “Breaking Bad” has finished its run, ending with 10.3 million viewers and a 5.2 rating within the adults the 18-49 demographic[13]. From its previous season (premiered in 2013), Walter White and Jesse Pinkman have brought in an astonishing 442% increase in viewership within just two years[13]. With this kind of result, AMC released a trial prequel spinoff series “Better Call Saul” earlier this year to extend the popular series further. “Saul” wrapped its first season with amazing results, raking in $2.53 million viewers overall, and very positive reviews (Click here to read why people think “Saul” might just be better than “Breaking Bad”). AMC Networks turned their best assets into best revenue generators, working to increase consumption of their most popular series even after it is gone.

♦“The Walking Dead” and its spinoff “Fear the Walking Dead”♦

One of AMC’s most popular cable television shows, “The Walking Dead”, delivered stellar numbers on its season finale. The Season 5 finale episode drew in an averaged rating of 8.2 within the adults 18-49 demographic[16] (and gathering 15.8 million viewers overall)[14]. This has been the highest rated season of “The Walking Dead” in this television season. Seeing the previous spinoff “Better Call Saul’s” success, “The Walking Dead” creator, Robert Kirkman, green-lighted another series spinoff “Fear the Walking Dead” to air in Summer 2015. The six-episode prequel mini-series[15] has already created significant anticipation within the “The Walking Dead” fan base, keeping the audience in the loop as they wait for Season 6 of “The Walking Dead” premiering in October[15].

: “Breaking Bad” spinoff – “Better Call Saul”

: “The Walking Dead” Prequel – “Fear the Walking Dead”

[18] [19]

This tactic of releasing spinoffs in order to maintain and possibly increase their audience base is currently working extremely well for AMC Networks Inc. “Better Call Saul” ended its first season strongly, and “Fear the Walking Dead” has generated great potential for its release in the summer. The success of “The Walking Dead” and “Breaking Bad” has been extremely beneficial to the company and creating a prequel/spinoff to the original series was a wise direction to lead to.

OTHER PROGRAM NEWS

AMC Networks also houses the growingly popular series “Orphan Black”, and the critically acclaimed, award winning “Mad Men”.

[21] Orphan Black Season 2 Cast

Just recently, Season 3 of “Orphan Black” ran across all 5 network channels of AMC Networks (AMC, SundanceTV, IFC, We TV, and BBC America) as a way to boost the series’ audience reach. AMC Networks COO Edward A. Carroll quotes…

“AMC Networks is a channel group known for high-quality storytelling and creating a premiere television event for ‘Orphan Black’ is a perfect opportunity to use our programming assets to help extend the reach of this quality series.”

[20]

[22] Mad Men in AMC Networks is not doing as well as it should

Although considered as one of the best dramas in cable, “Mad Men” does not pull as much of an audience as it should [23]. Unfortunately, “Mad Men” was ranked #21 amongst other cable dramas last year [23]. Despite this, AMC Networks announced that the ad spaces on “Mad Men’s” season finale on May 17^th have been completely sold out [24], still indicating the affluence and importance of the show.

WHAT IS NEXT?

As AMC Networks Inc. develops, CEO Josh Sapan quotes that international expansion “continues to be a focus” and allowing AMC Networks to “capitalize long term on international pay TV growth and drive long-term value for our shareholders.” [11] With the acquisition of Chellomedia and BBC America, AMC is now transitioning towards a more global distribution to show it’s content. AMC now is available in 120 countries as well as the Sundance Channel in 70 countries [25].

AMC Networks Inc. has a bright future ahead of its path. Not only is the company busy with its national expansion with series spinoffs, but it is also seeking to expand globally to distribute its contents to the world. Global distribution would only propel AMC Networks’ development forwards and bring the company to the next level of the cable television realm.

SOURCES –

[1] AMC Network Inc. Logo. Logosandbrands.com, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[2] AMC Network Inc. Website. Amcnetwork.com, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[3] AMC Network Company Profile. Yahoo Finance, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[4] AMC Network Company Information. Hoovers, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[5] AMC Network Executives. Amcnetwork.com, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[6] “AMC Networks Now Covered by Piper Jaffray (AMCX). Dakota Financial News, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[7] “AMC Networks’ Walking Dead Finale Sees Record Closing”. Zacks.com, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[8] “AMC Networks Receives “Hold” Rating from Evercore Partners Inc. (AMCX)”. Mideasttime.com, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[9] “AMC Networks Ad Revenue Jumps on Demand for Original Programming”. Wall Street Journal, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[10] “AMC Networks to Report First Quarter 2015 Results”. Yahoo Finance, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[11] “AMC Networks International Operations Help It To Beat Q4 Earnings Expectations”. Deadline.com, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[12] “Dish Network Rolls Out Sling TV, Reaches Deal With AMC”. Wall Street Journal, Retrieved April 14th 2015.

[13] “‘Breaking Bad’ series finale ratings smash all records”. Entertainment Weekly, Retrieved April 16th 2015.

[14] “‘The Walking Dead’ Season 5 Finale is Highest Rated Finale in Series History, Garnering 15.8 Million Viewers”. TVByTheNumbers.com, Retrieved April 16th 2015.

[15] “Here’s the First Teaser for The Walking Dead Spin-Off”. Vanity Fair, Retrieved April 16th 2015.

[16] “AMC’s ‘Walking Dead’ Draws Record Finale Ratings”. Variety.com, Retrieved April 16th 2015.

[17] Chellomedia’s Logo. Chellomediapaytv.com, Retrieved April 16th 2015.

[18] Better Call Saul Photo. Amcnetworks.com, Retrieved April 17th 2015.

[19] Fear the Walking Dead Photo. fansided.com, Retrieved April 17th 2015.

[20] “‘Orphan Black’ Season Premiere to Air Across All AMC Networks Channels”. Variety.com, Retrieved April 17th 2015.

[21] Orphan Black Season 2 Cast photo. TVLine.com, Retrieved April 17th 2015.

[22] Mad Men Cast Photo. pop-break.com, Retrieved April 17th 2015.

[23] “‘Mad Men’ brings prestige, if not powerful ratings, to AMC”. CNN Money, Retrieved April 17th 2015.

[24] “AMC sells out advertising space for the ‘Mad Men’ series finale”. CNN Money, Retrieved April 17th 2015.

[25] “Investors Better Call AMC Networks, Company Is Far From Walking Dead”. Seeking Alpha, Retrieved April 17th 2015.

[26] “‘Better Call Saul’: More AMC spin-offs to join ‘Breaking Bad’ prequel” Entertainment Weekly, Retrieved April 17th 2015.

Comcast – NBCU – (broadcast properties)

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Christian Aleksandrov

by CHRISTIAN ALEKSANDROV

About

NBCUniversal is one of the world’s mass media conglomerates. Founded in 1926 as the National Broadcasting Corporation, Inc. (NBC), the company steadily expanded domestically and internationally, owning and operating a vast portfolio of broadcasting networks, cable channels, and online platforms, as well as, motion picture production and distribution enterprises, and several amusement parks.

The company initially founded by the Radio Corporation of America. Inc, became a sole unit of General Electric in 1986. In 2004, NBC joined forces with Vivendi’s Universal Entertainment and expanded its operations out of the television broadcasting field. Since 2008, NBCUniversal is owned by Comcast, the largest cable company and home Internet service provider in the United States, becoming the world’s largest in revenue mass media group.

NBC current logo

The flagship company of Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the National Broadcasting Corporation. Inc (NBC), the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. For nearly 90 years, NBC has been offering quality news, entertainment and sports programming. One of NBC’s most popular shows are the Friends, ER, Seinfeld, Saturday Night Live, the morning show Today and Nightly News.

Key Executives

Steve Burke, Chief Executive Officer

PatPatricia Fili-Krushel
Chairman NBCUniversal News Group

Financials

Comcast’s stock prices for the last three months (CMCSA)

NBCUniversal’s most recent financial report shows that in 2014, the NBCUniversal’s revenue increased 7.5% to $25.4 billion compared to $23.7 billion in 2013, making the company and specifically its broadcasting division NBC, Comcast’s major earnings booster. The Sochi Olympics was the event that brought most of the revenue to the company. Even excluding $1.1 billion of revenue generated by the Sochi Olympics in the first quarter of 2014, the revenue still increased 2.9%. Contributing to the standout performance in 2014 was also the 18% growth in operating cash flow. As of April 17, 2015, the price one Comcast’s share on NASDAQ is 58.42, which is close to the company’s record high of March 6, 2015. The report for the first quarter of 2015 has not been released yet.

Programming

NBC broadcast one of the most watched morning, daytime, primetime and late night programs. However, the current 2014-2015 television season is expected to be less successful than the previous season, when NBC was named most watched network by adults 18-34. While shows like Blacklist, Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, and Modern Family attracted enough audience to remain on the top of the ratings, other newly launched programs like the Slap, and A to Z were canceled after a couple of episodes.

Click here to find more infomation about the current programming schedule on NBC.

Controversies in NBC News

Pat Fili-Krushel, Brian Williams, Tom Brokaw, Andy Lack, Deborah Turness, and Steve Burke.
Photo Illustration by Sean McCabe; Courtesy of Vanity Fair.

In the last five years, shortly after Comcast’s acquisition of the company, NBCUniversal has been experiencing serious issues with the performance, popularity and credibility of its news division – NBC News. Lower ratings, higher competition, personnel problems, and unprofessional business and media practices caused concerns about the current state and future performance of the broadcasting network, and hurt the image of the media conglomerate as a whole.

The controversies in NBC News date back to 2012 and the surprising and “very public” departure of NBC’s morning show host, Ann Curry, from the program. Curry was replaced by Savannah Guthrie just after a year on the air as co-host of Today due to low ratings. Her departure however caused a negative response from the public due to rumors for backstage rivalry between her and co-host Matt Lauer as cause for her replacement. Even though Curry remained in the network for 3 more years after, she made only occasional appearances on the screen, which led to her departure from NBC News in 2015.

Similar to the case with Today show, NBC News Sunday morning show Meet the Press, under the moderation of David Gregory, struggled with achieving the high ratings of its predecessor Tim Russert. This led to Gregory’s encouraged by the network departure from the program in 2014, and, indeed, to another controversial personnel replacement for NBC News.

However, the greatest challenge for the news division of NBC came in 2015. On February 4 broadcast of Nightly News, the most watched news program in the United States for years, Brian Williams, the host and managing editor of Nightly News, confessed that he had reported a misinterpreted information about an incident from the War in Iraq in 2003. Williams apologized for the story he had told on the January 30 Nightly News broadcast, and back on March 26, 2003 that a military helicopter he was traveling in had been forcibly taken down by an RPG. Shortly after, NBC News President Deborah Turness decided to suspend Williams for six months without being paid in order to quell the scandal, but the news about his false reporting remained in the agenda of most media outlets for days.

Williams’ controversy seriously affected the credibility of NBC News. This event, together with the identity crisis in Meet the Press and Today finally led to changes in the executive personnel of the news division. A month after the scandal with Brian Williams, Andrew Lack, a former president and COO of NBC, was named the new head of NBC News, replacing the TV veteran Pat Fili-Krushel Under his supervision, Today, NBC Nightly News and Meet the Press were all on the top of the ratings in the 90s. NBCUniversal’s executives also hope that Lack would work to improve MSNBCs low ratings momentum, as well.

Unfortunately, shots have continued to be fired at NBC News credibility. On April, 16, 2015, after a thorough investigation initiated by New York Times and only two months after Williams’ suspension, NBC News revised another report. This time of the 2012 kidnapping of its chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel. In the statement, NBC said that Engel’s reporting that he had been abducted by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was incorrect. In fact, he was kidnapped by the Sunni militants, who at that time were supported by the United States. The public response and NBC’s further actions regarding the case are yet to be detirmined.

What’s next?

Even though NBCUniversal has been contributing to the growth of its parent company Comcast with high ratings and increasing revenue, the recent controversies behind the news division of the company had been hurting the public image of the media conglomerate. With the new changes in the executive figures, the company is hoping to bring back the old leadership of the flagship news programs and to make them equally successful as NBCs primetime programs The Voice, The Blacklist, Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live. It’s still not determined what Andrey Lack’s plans are for the future of NBC News – would he keep Brian Williams and bring him back next fall, or he would replace him with his current interim Lester Holt, who continues to bring relatively high ratings for Nightly News. On the primetime schedule, NBC is hoping to attract more audience with some new shows – Eva Longoria’s comedy Telenovela, David Duchovny’s limited series Aquarius and Will and Grace’s star Megan Mullally new futuristic dramedy Apocalypse. NBC’s upfront, when the company is officially reveiling its plans for the upcoming television season is scheduled to be on May 11, 2015.

Sources

[1] NBC Logo. Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://awfulannouncing.com/2013/cbs-sports-chairman-sean-mcmanus-on-that-other-pregame-show-concussions-and-fantasy-football.html

[2] NBCUniversal Who we are. Retreived April 17, 2015 from http://www.nbcuniversal.com/who-we-are

[3] Steve Burke. Retrieved November 18, 2014, from http://www.nbcuniversal.com/who-we-are

[4] Patricia Fili-Krushel. Retreived April 17, 2015 from http://www.nbcuniversal.com/who-we-are

[5]Andrew Lack Returns to NBC As News Chief, Will Face Challenges Restoring Credibility. Retreived April 17, 2015, from http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/andrew-lack-will-face-challenges-in-return-to-nbcu-as-news-chief-1201447765/

[6] Ann Curry Out At NBC News; Forming NBCU-Backed Startup – Update. Retrieved Retreived April 17, 2015, from http://deadline.com/2015/01/ann-curry-leaving-nbc-news-today-show-1201349168/

[7] NBC: Brian Williams Suspended for 6 Months. Retrieved April 17, 2015 from http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/02/10/brian-williams-nbc-suspended/23200821/

[8] NBC News Alters Account of Correspondets Kidnapping in Syria . Retrieved Retreived April 17, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/business/media/nbc-news-alters-account-of-correspondents-kidnapping-in-syria.html?ref=media

[9] Pilot Season for ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, and NBC 2015-2016. Retreived April 17, 2015, 2014, from http://tvline.com/2015/01/29/pilot-season-abc-cbs-cw-fox-nbc-2015-2016/6/

[10] NBC Greenlight 10 Episode Futuristic Dramedy Apocalypse Starring Rob Lowe and Megan Mullaly. Retreived April 17, 2015, from http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/01/21/nbc-greenlights-10-episode-futuristic-dramedy-apocalypse-starring-rob-lowe-megan-mullally/353254/

[11]The Inside Story of the Civil War for the Soul of NBC News.Retreived April 17, 2015, from http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/04/nbc-news-brian-williams-scandal-comcast

[12] Comcast Repots 4th Quarter and End of the Year 2014 Results. Retreived April 17, 2015 from http://www.cmcsa.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=897872

Disney/ABC– (TV broadcast & cable properties only)

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Michael Torres

by MICHAEL TORRES

Disney/ABC Television Group logo provided by https://images1.onmogul.com/uploads/company/thumbnail/290/abc-logo.jpg [1]

Corporate Headquarters [2]

500 South Buena Vista Street Burbank, CA 91521-4581

818-560-1000

www.disneyabctv.com

Key Executives [3]

Ben Sherwood
– President of Disney/ABC TV Group
– Co – Chairman of Disney Media Networks [12]

Tom Ascheim
– President of ABC Family [13]

John Skipper
– President of ESPN [14]

History:

The Disney/ABC Television Group is made up of all of the Walt Disney Company’s Disney and ABC television channels. This includes the ABC Television Network, including ABC Daytime, ABC Entertainment, and ABC News. The group also owns a 50% stake in A&E Television Networks and an 80% stake in ESPN Inc. Although ESPN is a part of The Disney/ABC Television Group, it operates as a separate unit of Disney Media Networks. [3]

Top Competitors:

Financials:

Operating income at Cable Networks decreased 2% to $1.3 billion for the quarter. This decrease occurred due to a decrease at ESPN. This was a result of higher programming costs, production costs, and marketing. Another aspect that contributed to this drop was a lower advertising revenue. These decreases were partially offset by things such as affiliate fee contractual rate increases and an increase in subscribers [10].

Current Events:

Expanded relationship with Yahoo

On March 12, it was announced that The Disney/ABC group and Yahoo would be expanding their relationship through what they are calling “an extension and expansion” of their three year business deal.

[15]

Starting on March 16, The Disney/ABC Television group started supplying airtime to Yahoo personalities. In return, Yahoo agreed to promote ABC shows online. They kicked off this expansion with a segment on Good Morning America. The segment was called “Yahoo Your Day” and it offered everyday tips in the fields of style, beauty, health, and diet.

In exchange for this air time, Yahoo Screen and Yahoo TV agreed to feature clips from popular Disney/ABC shows such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, and many others.

This deal is expected to prove beneficial to both parties involved and further expand the success that each company brings each other. The addition of more video to Yahoo is expected to benefit the company by bringing in new ways for marketers to display their messages through advertisements. The Disney/ABC Television Group is expected to benefit through the showing of specialized trailers that will appeal to the target audience [4].

Expansion to DISH Network

On April 1, DISH Network Corporation and The Disney/ABC Television Group announced the availability of live and on-demand programming to DISH Network. This deal was made possible through the options of WATCH ABC, WATCH ABC Family, WATCH Disney Channel, WATCH Disney XD, and WatchESPN. The option to include these live and on-demand capabilities allows DISH’s 14 million customers to access entertainment and sports programming through numerous devices such as laptops, tablets, gaming consoles, etc.

[16]

As of right now these options are only available to customers in the New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Fresno, Philadelphia and Raleigh-Durham regions. However, being that these capabilities have just been introduced, the regions of coverage are expected to continuously expand and incorporate much more of the country

Another benefit of these capabilities is the ability to watch ABC and ABC Family television shows the day after they air online at ABC.com [5].

Verizon Cloud Ties in Disney/ABC Software

A new platform that provides a new process for ad insertions has been acquired by Verizon from The Disney/ABC Television Group. This new platform is called Translate and allows for digital ad insertion.

“By adding Translate to our Video Lifecycle Solution, we not only raise the bar for best-in-class capabilities, we tap the potential of the broadcaster of tomorrow.” – Bob Toohey (president of Verizon Digital Media Services).

Translate is a step forward that brings improvement to the way that ads are inserted and allows for the replacement of linear ads with digitally inserted ads that are specified to different target audiences, making advertising more relevant to the interests of different individuals [6].

Translate also allows viewers to create their own replacement rules for restricted program content, providing an easy way for broadcasters to make sure the right audience it receiving the right content at the right time [7].

“As TV viewing habits change at whirlwind speeds, Verizon Digital Media Services gives Disney/ABC Television Group a next-generation video platform that provides a world-class viewing experience.” – Vince Roberts (chief technology officer and executive vice president of global operations for Disney/ABC Television Group) [6].

Disney Channel in Canada

A new announcement was just made on April 16^th that brings the Disney Channel to Canada.

Corus Entertainment Inc., a leading media and entertainment company in Canada, just announced that Disney Channel’s content will be available in Canada in both English and French. Through a multi-year licensing agreement with Disney/ABC Television Group, Corus has acquired the rights to Disney Channel’s content starting on September 1, 2015.

Another part of the multi-year deal includes simultaneous streaming and video-on-demand rights for certain programs. With this capability, the Canadian Disney Channel allows fans to watch shows at their convenience and brings them ad-supported video.

“With an extensive roster of exceptional content to tap into, we look forward to delivering the full Disney Channel experience to families across the country. This deal underscores our commitment to provide Canadians with the highest quality content from around the world and reinforces our position as Canada’s market leader in kids and family-focused offerings.” – Doug Murphy (President and Chief Executive Officer of Corus Entertainment) [8].

Bringing Disney Channel and all of its content to Canada is expected to yield great benefit and profit to both Disney/ABC Television Group as well as Corus Entertainment. Disney channel is the top-performing destination for kids aged six to fourteen in the United States and with the network reaching over 96 million U.S. homes in the United States, statistics of the same caliber are expected to reach Canada [8].

Future:

Group’s Top Digital Exec. Will Step Down

Albert Cheng, executive vice president and chief product officer of digital media has announced that he is stepping down. He has controlled Disney/ABC Television’s digital initiatives for more than a decade and now feels that he has achieved his goals and it is time to step down. One of the biggest goals he achieved was making the group’s programming available on numerous digital platforms. He stepped into the business before video streaming was a huge deal and is stepping down at a time where digital distribution has changed the television world.

“Through the strategic and diligent work done by (Cheng) and the talented digital media team, Disney/ABC has evolved itself from a traditional television business into a vibrant, fully integrated, future-focused company with a digital-first mindset and a reputation for smart and bold risk-taking.” – Ben Sherwood (President of Disney/ABC Group) [11].

Sources:

[1] Disney/ABC Television Group Image Retrieved April 17, 2015

[2] Company Overview Retrieved April 17, 2015

[3] The Walt Disney Company Retrieved April 17, 2015

[4] ABC And Yahoo Expand Infotainment Cross-Promotion Deal Retrieved April 17, 2015

[5] Deal With DISH Retrieved April 17, 2015

[6] Verizon Cloud Software Retrieved April 17, 2015

[7] Verizon Cloud Software (2) Retrieved April 17, 2015

[8] Corus and Disney/ABC Television Agree to Deal Retrieved April 17, 2015

[9] Disney/ABC Competitors Retrieved April 17, 2015

[10] Financial Reports Retrieved April 17, 2015

[11] Albert Cheng to Step Down Retrieved April 17, 2015

[12] Ben Sherwood Retrieved April 17, 2015

[13] Tom Ascheim Retrieved April 17, 2015

[14] John Skipper Retrieved April 17, 2015

[15] Yahoo Image Retrieved April 17, 2015

[16] DISH Network Retrieved April 17, 2015

Scripps Networks Interactive

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Katherine Bernhardt

by KATE BERNHARDT

Scripps Network Interactive Logo [1]

Headquarters

9721 Sherrill Boulevard

Knoxville, TN 37932

(865) 694-2700

http://www.scrippsnetworksinteractive.com [2]

Key Executives

: Kenneth Lowe – Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer

: Joseph Necastro – Chief Development Officer

: Burton Jablin – President

: Lori Hickok – Chief Financial Officer

: Jon Steinlauf – President of National Ad Sales & Marketing

: Henry Ahn – Executive Vice President, Content Distribution & Marketing

A full list of SNI executives may be found here [3].

Company History

Founded as the successful newspaper company known as The Penny Press by E.W. Scripps in 1875, the company has turned into a leading network for lifestyle media. After launching HGTV in 1994 and the Food Network in 1997, the company evolved into what is now known as the Scripps Network Interactive. With platforms such as cable television, digital, mobile and publishing, SNI continues to expand their six main lifestyle brands: HGTV, Food Network, The Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, DIY Network and Great American Country [4].

Media Brands

: Home & Garden Television Logo

: Food Network Logo

: Cooking Channel Logo

: DIY Network Logo

: Travel Channel Logo

: Great American Country Logo

As the first addition to SNI, Home and Home and Garden Television (HGTV) represents the ultimate binge-watching cable channel. According to recent reportings, HGTV dominates the market in holding the #1 most ad receptive audience in cable, #1 channel inspiring viewers to purchase and #1 channel in captivating one of the most upscale audiences in cable [5]. SNI President of National Ad Sales & Marketing Jon Steinlauf explained, “HGTV is arguably the hottest network in the country right now on year-to-year growth.” A new goal for HGTV is to expand their audience base beyond women. By inviting men into the network, they’re up 34% in viewership and have also added more male hosts to their shows, and made shows concentrate more on the financial aspects of projects. [6] As SNI prepares for fall, they’ve announced renewals of the popular shows House Hunters Renovation, Lakefront Bargain Hunt, Island Hunters and Tiny House Hunters [7].

Although critics remain skeptical as to whether the Food Network is remaining profitable, recent calculations have shown that viewership peaked over the past year in November with 8.5 million viewers, while now the channel is at a low with only 6 million viewers. The Food Network recently announced that Aarti Sequeria was signed to a new series: 10 Minute Meals with Aarti Sequeria [8]. In addition, the media brand is attempting to cater to more kids and families by renewing popular shows such as Chopped Teen, Guys Grocery Games Family Tournament, Rachael Ray’s Kids Cook Off and Kids Baking Championship [9].

In 2014, The Cooking Channel saw it’s best year yet, proving to be an up-and-coming brand at SNI. The brand saw a ratings increase of 17% among ages 25-54 [10]. Successful shows such as Mo Rocca’s My Grandmother’s Ravioli, Extra Virgin and Real Girl’s Kitchen only helped skyrocket The Cooking Channel to be a larger content generator to SNI. In February, The Cooking Channel acquired Avec Eric, a high-rated cooking show featuring world-renowned chef Eric Ripert [11]. In addition, the brand announced that the new cooking show with Tia Mowry, Tia Mowry at Home will debut on April 29th [12].

In an interest to generate more viewership, the DIY Network has renewed five popular series for the upcoming fall such as The Vanilla Ice Project, Kitchen Crashers, Barnwood Builders, Sledgehammer and Yard Crashers [13]. DIY Network also announced that performer, actor and comedian Jim Belushi will be coming to the network in his new show, Building Belushi. In the six-episode series, Belushi will be followed as he builds a riverfront retreat cabin in Oregon [14].

The Travel Channel proves to be less robust in content, as not as many new shows have debuted this year. The new series, Breaking Borders premiered March 15th, as journalists and food lovers sat down to gather all sides of a conflict for a real conversation at the dinner table [15]. The Travel Channel also announced their big network event and sweepstakes known as “The Trip” in January, where viewers could enter to win a trip to the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kuaui, Lanai and Hawaii [16].

Great American Country has experienced similar challenges to the Travel Channel, as the brand has somewhat stunted in producing new content. Premiered on January 17th, actress Betty White profiled Smartest Animals in America [17]. In addition, the brand introduced the show, A Very Barry Branson on February 5th in which Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch) revives a 1970s musical variety show [18].

SNI’s New Marketing Guru

After recently naming Jon Steinlauf as President of National Ad Sales & Marketing at SNI in February, the company is hoping to get a revamped marketing plan. Says former predecessor Jon Gigliotti, “Jon has been integral to establishing Scripps Networks’ lifestyle brands as essential for advertisers looking to reach an upscale audience…He inspires and motivates the incredible teams who work for him, and his leadership has been instrumental in helping the company deliver a series of $1 billion upfronts” [19]. Steinlauf explained that SNI has continued to maintain a great Return on Relationships, meaning the return a company gets on immersing brands inside content. SNI offers to sell marketers commercial that will run within the same three minute interval on all channels and websites. This tactic has allowed the company to increase 21% in net income from $109 million in 2013 to $132 million in 2014 [20]. In addition, revenues have increased by 2.3% to $699 million in the past year while ad revenues are only marginally rising by 0.7% to $454 million in the past year.

Global Expansion

The Scripps Network Interactive recently launched a plan to grow the U.S. based company into a significantly more global network. After purchasing 53% ownership of the Polish content Producer, TVN, SNI amounted in $1.5 billion in cash and assumed debt [21]. From this expansion, the company is expecting international sales to make up 25% of the total revenue (representing an eight-fold increase from the previous year) [22]. Currently, Food Network and HGTV reach an estimated 200 million homes around the world and 180 countries worldwide. SNI reports that the acquisition of TVN only represented a “key pillar” in their strategy for global expansion [23].

In addition to European expansions, SNI also announced plans to expand their brands in Latin America. As of the beginning of April, Food Network was launched with DIRECTV reaching more than 6 million viewers across the region of Brazil [24]. Not only will the Food Network be broadcast in Standard Definition, but also in High Definition. Jim Samples, the President of Scripps Network International stated, “Expanding Food Network’s distribution in Latin America is a testament to Scripps Networks’ commitment to expanding the company’s regional footprint and to building scale for our international division.” [25] With stronger footholds in Europe and South America than ever before, SNI is now setting their sights on Asia in the hopes of increasing their presence in homes there.

Resources

Actress Tia Mowry Offers a Taste of Her Life in Cooking Channel’s ‘Tia Mowry at Home’ (accessed April 17th, 2015)

‘Building Belushi’ Newest Series to Expand DIY Network’s Celebrity Renovation Portfolio (accessed April 15th, 2015)

Cooking Channel enjoys its best ever year in 2014 (accessed April 15th, 2015)

Emmy Award-Winning Series ‘Avec Eric’ Joins Cooking Channel Lineup (accessed April 7th, 2015)

Food Network Stats (accessed April 15th, 2015)

HGTV and DIY Network to Premiere Eight New Shows This Fall (accessed April 15th, 2015)

History (accessed April 14th, 2015)

Is The Food Network Still Relevant? (accessed April 8th, 2015)

More Programmers Are Thinking Globally (accessed April 17th, 2015)

MKM Partners Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Scripps Network Interactive (accessed April 7th, 2015

Scripps Networks Expands Latin America Footprint (accessed April 7th, 2015)

Scripps Networks Interactive names Jon Steinlauf to top advertising sales position (accessed April 15th, 2015)

Scripps Networks Interactive’s (SNI) CEO Kenneth Lowe on Q2 2014 Results – Earnings Call Transcript (accessed April 7th, 2015)

Upfront Notebook: Scripps Adds Familiar Faces to Boost Brands (accessed April 15th)

03/19/2015: Scripps Network Interactive (accessed April 5th, 2015)

Time Warner (TV/Cable channels only)

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Jesse Katzenstein

by JESSE KATZENSTEIN

[1]

Time Warner Inc.
One Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019-8016
212-484-8000
www.timewarner.com
[2]

About

Time Warner Inc. is one of the largest media corporations in the United States, specializing in TV, film, and entertainment. Its operating divisions consist of Turner Broadcasting System, Home Box Office Inc., and Warner Bros. Entertainment. [3]

Executives

Chairman and CEO – Jeff Bewkes

[4]

EVP and CFO – Howard M. Averill

Howard M. Averill Executive Vice President and CFO

[5]

EVP and General Counsel – Paul T. Cappuccio

Paul T. Cappuccio, Executive Vice President and General Counsel

[6]

Financials and Company Plans

Time Warner is a publicly traded company. In 2014, their revenue grew to $27.36 billion, which is up 3% from their 2013 annual revenue of $26.46 billion. [7] In the release of Time Warner’s Full Year 2014 Financial Results, Time Warner stated that their fourth quarter revenues decreased by 1% to $7.5 billion and can be attributable to a decrease in income from Warner Bros. It was also stated that Home Box Office Inc., or HBO, and Turner Broadcasting Company were responsible for counterbalancing an even larger decrease in revenue. [8]

In a story released by Bloomberg.com, it was said that CBS Corp. was thinking of a merger deal with Time Warner. CEO of CBS Corp., Leslie Moonves, is said to have mentioned the idea to CEO Jeff Bewkes in meetings between the two companies last year. [9] Critics claim this merger would benefit both companies regarding their position in sports broadcasting, and this powerful advantage would make this powerhouse “a good alternative for ESPN.” [10] However, Jeff Bewkes seems to be satisfied with keeping Time Warner and CBS separate.

Lulegacy.com released an article on April 16th revealing the results of 30 ratings firms who have been analyzing Time Warner’s stock. The average stock price target came out to $91.71. A little over two-thirds of the analysts put a “Buy” recommendation on the stock, while just 9 of the analysts gave the stock a “Hold” recommendation. [11]

HBO

[12]

According to Time Warner’s company website, HBO is the top domestic premium pay television service in the United States. This service offers both HBO programming and Cinemax programming. [13] HBO is known for its original television series such as Game Of Thrones, Girls, True Detective, and Silicon Valley. [14] Cinemax is known for its original television series such as The Knick, Banshee, and Strike Back. [15] Both services also offer programming of movies released theatrically. HBO’s most popular and successful show, Game Of Thrones, has won Primetime Emmy Awards in every year of its existence. [16] Its fifth and most current season debuted on April 12th of this year, but was subject to many news stories when almost half of the season was linked on illegal websites all over the world. Jeff Bewkes’ comments were surprisingly optimistic when he explained that these leaks can offset some paid advertising, and joked about how distributing the most pirated show in the world is “better than an Emmy.” [17]

On April 7th, Time Warner announced that HBO NOW is now available to Apple and Optimum Online customers. HBO NOW is HBO’s streaming service where consumers can stream all available episodes from their favorite HBO shows on all compatible devices. The service costs $14.99 per month, but if consumers purchase the service in the month of April, they are granted with a 30-day free trial. [18]

Turner Broadcasting System

[19]

Turner Broadcasting system controls and manages some of the leading television networks in the country. These networks cover programming in entertainment, news, sports, and animation, among other television genres. Turner’s networks TNT and TBS are most notably known for their broadcasting of major sporting events such as the NBA Playoffs and the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. [20]

TNT and TBS both had a huge turnout this year during the NCAA tournament. Time Warner released a statement on March 29th stating that the Kentucky vs. Notre Dame broke the record for the most-viewed and highest-rated college basketball game in cable TV history. As of that day, total viewership was up 2% from the previous year. [21] A little over a week later, the semifinal game between Kentucky and Wisconsin broke one of those records; the most-viewed college basketball game in cable TV history. Total audience for the Final Four across all networks (TBS, TNT, truTV) attained 41.7 million viewers, a 24% increase from 2014. [22]

As for original content, Turner delivers the #1 comedy with adults 18-49 in The Big Bang Theory (TBS), and delivers the #1 original animated series in Mr. Pickles and Squidbillies (Adult Swim). For kids, Cartoon Network is the leading channel that holds “49 of basic cable’s top 50 telecasts for young boys.” Turner recently announced a revamp of the Cartoon Network live streaming app in Australia called Cartoon Network Watch and Play. [23]

In the news genre, CNN is Turner’s premier news network. It is one of the first 24-hour news networks that provides breaking news across all media platforms. Its popular programs include Anderson Cooper 360, Newsroom, Situation Room, and State of the Union. [24]

Warner Bros. Entertainment

[25]

Warner Bros. Entertainment is a studio responsible for Time Warner’s influence in the TV, film, and home entertainment industries, as well as being a global distribution company. [26] For it’s work in film, 2014 became the 14th consecutive year Warner Bros. Picture Groups grossed $1 billion or more at both the domestic and international box office. [27] It has also done what no other studio has done, which is gross over $3 billion at the international box office for two consecutive years. On March 30th, Warner Bros. reported their new agreement with Redbox, a company that provides self-service kiosks for consumers to purchase movies and video games on various platforms. There are 35,000 kiosks across the country. This two-year agreement leaves a 28-day window for consumers to purchase Warner Bros. films on Blu-ray and DVD. [28]

The Future for Time Warner

The future may or may not be bright for Time Warner. At this point in the year, their action plan should be to play the waiting game and see how all of their assets perform. There are high hopes for the current season of Game Of Thrones despite the leaking scandal. Warner Bros. has an exciting lineup of movies coming out in late spring/early summer including The Water Diviner, Pan, Magic Mike XXL, and San Andreas.

Sources

[1] – Time Warner Logo, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[2] – Time Warner Contact Info, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[3] – Time Warner Inc. Company Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[4] – Jeff Bewkes Bio Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[5] – Howard M. Averill Bio Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[6] – Paul T. Cappuccio Bio Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[7] – Time Warner Annual Earnings, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[8] – Time Warner Q4/Full Year 2014 Results, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[9] – “Moonves Said To Have Mulled Time Warner Deal As CBS Plots,” Bloomberg Business, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[10] – “Karmazin: CBS and Time Warner Inc. Need To Merge,” Fierce Cable, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[11] – “Time Warner Recieves $91.71 Consensus Price Target From Brokerages,” The Legacy, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[12] – HBO Logo, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[13] – HBO Company Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[14] – HBO Website, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[15] – Cinemax Website, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[16] – Game Of Thrones Awards List, IMDb, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[17] – “Game Of Thrones Season 5 Premiere Set Rating Record Despite Episode Leak,” Forbes, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[18] – HBO NOW Press Release, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[19] – Turner Broadcasting System Logo, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[20] – Turner Broadcasting System Company Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[21] – “2015 NCAA Scores Highest Average Viewership in 22 Years,” Time Warner, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[22] – “2015 Final Four Semifinals Reach More Than 41 Million Viewers,” Time Warner, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[23] – “Cartoon Network Activates Live Streaming App,” Time Warner, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[24] – List of CNN TV Shows, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[25] – Warner Bros. Entertainment Logo, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[26] – Warner Bros. Entertainment Company Website, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[27] – Warner Bros. Entertainment Company Page, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

[28] – “Redbox, Warner Bros. Announce New Agreement,” Time Warner, Retrieved, April 17, 2015

Viacom

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Jacqueline Perrelli

by  JACKIE PERRELLI

Viacom Logo [1]

Company

Viacom is an entertainment powerhouse responsible for connecting with audiences through a variety of platforms. With approximately 700 million global subscribers [2], Viacom distributes their content across television, and more importantly, online. Lately, Viacom has been focused on restructuring the company and finding new ways to reach audiences. With his recent two-year contract extension, Philippe Dauman, [3] both CEO and President, is believed to be the right man in charge to handle the Viacom reboot.

Dauman’s leadership is especially important in a time when Sumner Redstone, founder of Viacom, is in questionable health. Redstone was not able to attend the last shareholder meeting held in early March [4]. The company is prepared; however, for a post-Sumner world. A board of trustees is in place consisting of current CEOs and family members, ready to protect the Viacom empire. It has even been rumored that Viacom will merge with another media conglomerate, but told not during Redstone’s reign [5].

Background

Viacom TV Channels [23]

MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, BET, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and TV Land are a few channels inclusive to the Viacom brand. In 1987 Redstone, controlling shareholder, bought the company for $3.4 billion dollars [6]. Today, Viacom’s share price is 69.77 [7]. This number is the result of a 14 percent decline last year and already another 8.8 percent downfall in 2015 [8]. Within the past 52 week period the Viacom share price has been as high as 89.76 [7]. One source of the drop in stock price can be attributed to poor ratings.

Stock Price [9]

Viacom Ratings [11]

Viacom pinpoints Nielsen ratings and their inability to calculate views from online sources [10]. Due to the fact that most traditional viewers are switching to some sort of online viewing, ratings from online sources are imperative to Viacom. Since last year, most Viacom channels have declined greatly and are down 30 percent ratings wise [11]. For this reason and many more is why Viacom is in the middle of a reconstruction period.

Online Content

Noggin is a new mobile subscription service for preschoolers.

Noggin Streaming Service [13]

With the goal of staying relevant in a world that skews online, Viacom created a streaming service outside their traditional cable package. This streaming service, Noggin, is through Nickelodeon and aimed at a younger demographic. Due to an 18 percent tumble in audience viewership last quarter, Viacom introduced the service in order to compete with other companies. However, known for their television bundle, Viacom has to be careful not to turn viewers completely online, resulting in subscription cancellation. The livelihood of other channels like VH1, MTV, and TV Land, are at risk if viewers abandon their subscriptions [12]. Viacom is already in risky territory with Suddenlink, the seventh-largest cable operator in the U.S, having recently discontinued their services with Viacom [14].

Viacom VS Suddenlink [22]

Not wanting to pay significant increases for channels, Suddenlink got rid of the bundle completely. Although Suddenlink lost significant viewers from the Viacom split, 99.7 percent of their customers continued to pay for Internet services [14]. At a time with such a strong online presence, Viacom fears that other cable companies could follow in Suddenlink’s footsteps and drop the channel lineup; resulting in solely online streaming. In preparation for the future of television, Viacom has planned to reorganize their company. This has resulted in the favoring of employees with technical capabilities rather than traditional workers as content continues to move online [12].

Viacom Restructuring

Along with a changing platform for providing content, Viacom is experiencing changes throughout the entire company. Most of the changes occurring in the company today stem from both low ratings and advertisement sales. To ameliorate the ad sales, Viacom is going into upfront season with a new strategy to boost advertisers participation within the network. With the Nielsen ratings not sustaining the amount of klout they once had, Viacom has chosen to guarantee success for the advertiser’s ads by broadcasting to very niche audiences [15].

[16]

That in mind, the company outlined a plan that would restructure the Viacom brand moving forward. This business plan included the layoff of 400 jobs across the company ranging from New York to Los Angeles, and encompassing some highly ranked positions. With the elimination of some jobs and cancellation of underperforming shows, Viacom aims to save $350 million dollars annually once the restructuring is complete. But before this can happen, Viacom put a halt on their share buyback program, which aims to shrink the number of outstanding shares, and recorded a $785 million in pre-tax charge for the compensation of laid off workers, abandonment of ineffective programming, and declining ratings due to online competition [17].

To learn more about the Viacom reboot period and which shows are getting cut from the Viacom lineup: click here [18].

Another part of the Viacom restructure deals with the consolidation from three television network groups into two. The first group includes: Comedy Central, MTV, Spike, Logo, and VH1, while TV Land and CMT are now placed with Nickelodeon. The first group will focus towards general content, while the second network group will have a more family-entertainment aspect to it [19]. The Viacom reboot has a significant focus on a shift from traditional TV to more digital content, having a more niche staff, and investing in areas that progress Viacom as a company.

New Audiences

Funny or Die Logo [20]

As Viacom attempts to save money and explore new options, the company has two audience-building transactions in the works. The first transaction deals with the acquisition of three comedy websites. The Onion, Funny or Die, and CollegeHumor, give Viacom more ways to tap into digital and online audiences. [12]

International Revenue [21]

The second transaction involves new audiences and opportunities for Viacom in India. With a very saturated, highly online, U.S. market, Viacom is looking to places overseas worth investing in. While U.S. viewers tend to get most of their content in ways other than the traditional TV, India offers more pay-for-tv customers. Viacom already owns Channel18 in India and is now vying for five more local entertainment channels. The company sees India as a place to invest with over 250 million households with pay-TV service and subscriptions. A benefit of investing in areas overseas are the low-budget production costs and the ability to expand Viacom’s American channels to new countries. Foreign markets allow Viacom to tap into potential audiences outside The United States [21]. India is a popular market not only for Viacom, but also other television companies that are beginning to see the potential in investing overseas.

Overview

It is apparent that many changes are taking place at Viacom, and will continue to take place until the company feels ready and back on its feet. The reorganization of the company, streaming service, and plans for the future are all positive ways in which Viacom can grow and prosper.

Sources

[1] Stempel, Jonathan (March 12 2015). Viacom Agrees To $7.21 Million Settlement To End Interns Wage Lawsuit. Huffington Post. Retrieved: April 9 2015.

[2] About Viacom. Viacom. Retrieved: April 9 2015.

[3] Hagey, Keach and Stynes, Tess (January 15 2015). Viacom Extends CEO’s Contract by Two Years. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved: April 2 2015.

[4] Szalai, George (March 12 2015). Sumner Redstone to Miss Viacom Shareholder Meeting. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved: April 2 2015.

[5] Atkinson, Claire (March 14 2015). Post-Sumner CBS-Viacom power a mixed bag. New York Post. Retrieved: April 9 2015.

[6] The Autumn of Sumner. The Economist. Retrieved: April 9 2015.

[7] Viacom Stock Price. Google Finance. Retrieved: April 10 2015.

[8] Sakoui, Anousha (April 6 2015). Viacom Halts Buybacks, Sees $785 Million Restructuring Costs. Bloomberg Business. Retrieved: April 9 2015.

[9] Viacom Stock Price. Yahoo Finance. Retrieved: April 9 2015.

[10] Hagey, Keach and Ramachandran, Shalini (February 11 2015). The Picture Gets Fuzzy at Viacom. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved: April 9 2015.

[11] Layoffs, restructuring leads to chaos at Viacom. Fox Business. Retrieved: April 14 2015.

[12] Steel, Emily (January 29 2015). Nickelodeon to Offer a Streaming Service as Viacom Steps Up Digital Efforts. The New York Times. Retrieved: April 9 2015.

[13] Perez, Sarah (February 25 2015). Nickelodeon Unveils “Noggin,” A Mobile Subscription Service For Preschoolers Arriving In March. Tech Crunch. Retrieved: April 13 2015.

[14] Steel, Emily (March 8 2015). Provider’s Dispute With Viacom Highlights Skirmish Over the Cable Bundle. New York Times. Retrieved: April 6 2015.

[15] Steinberg, Brian (April 13 2015). Time Warner, Viacom Back Away From Nielsen Guarantees For Ads. Variety. Retrieved: April 15 2015.

[16] Ryssdal, Kai (April 14 2015). Make more upfront: Viacom, Turner discuss new ad model. Marketplace. Retrieved: April 14 2015.

[17] Gottfried, Miriam (April 7 2015). Viacom: Buyback Step Back Isn’t a Setback. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved: April 9 2015.

[18] Viacom faces behemoth $785M charge. Youtube. Retrieved: April 15 2015.

[19] Viacom restructures to take $785 mn charge, brings TV networks into two units. Television Post. Retrieved April 10 2015.

[20] Hunsucker, Andy (November 10 2011). A Place For Film Interviews – Funny Or Die Producers. Indiana Public Media. Retrieved: April 14 2015.

[21] Sharma, Amol (January 19 2015). Why Viacom Is Looking to India for a New TV Audience. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved: April 9 2015.

[22] Goff, Andrew (October 2 2014). Ack! The Suddenlink vs. Viacom War Now Hurting Humboldt’s Ability to Watch the Daily Show Online. Lost Coast Outpost. Retrieved: April 13 2015.

[23] Dampier, Phillip (April 1 2015). Viacom Demands 100% Rate Increases for Hundreds of Small Cable Systems, Military Bases. Stop the Cap! Retrieved: April 13 2015.