DreamWorks Animation

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Alessandra Sandhaus

by ALESSANDRA KLETTER

DreamWorks Animation SKG

Contact

1000 Flower Street Glendale, CA 91201

Phone: (818) 695-5000

Twitter: twitter.com/dwanimation

Key Executives

Cheif Executive Officer Jeffrey Katzenberg

Cheif Executive Officer and Director Jeffrey Katzenberg

Co-President Bonnie Arnold

Co-President Mireille Soria

History

In 1994, Jeffrey Katzenberg left The Walt Disney Company to join forces with historic director Steven Spielberg and music mogul David Geffen to create DreamWorks SKG. The three entertainment tycoons set their sites on making the production company into

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen in 1994

the next major Hollywood studio with Katzenberg heading the leadership of its animation endeavors. In 2004, the animation department officially became its own entity: DreamWorks Animation SKG. Katzenberg currently serves Chief Executive Officer and Director to this day. In twenty years DreamWorks Animation has amassed thirty one feature films, which have earned five Golden Globes nominations, earning one win for Best Animated Feature, and nine Academy Awards nominations, which have earned three wins. DreamWorks Animation has also created eighteen original television series.

Financial Troubles

DreamWorks Animation is in dire need of good news on Thursday, April 30, 2015 at 1:30pm when their First Quarter 2015 Results are released. Their Fourth Quarter Results 2014 were released on February 24th, 2015. Their 52-week high for 2014 occurred in the Fourth Quarter at $35.74, a number they managed to maintain for the First Quarter 2014 with the high being $35.34. However, that number drastically fell and in the Fourth Quarter 2014, their 52-week low came in at $20.28, nearly parallel to the 52 week low, which was $16.16 in the First Quarter 2013. This also mirrors their revenue decrease of over 3%, resulting in a full year revenue of $684.6 million. Katzenberg also took a major blow to his annual salary from $6.4 million in 2014 down from $13.5 million, a 53% decrease in only one year. The company received what hope to be a good omen when their stock went up due to the unprecedented success of their most recent/sole release for 2015, Home.

Until recently with the surprise hit from Home, they have struggled to have a recent release find it’s way to the top of the box office. They have released a string of (mostly) critically acclaimed flops including Penguins of Madagascar, How To Train Your Dragon 2, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, and Turbo, with their last hit being The Croods back in 2013. This decrease in profit then resulted in some serious downsizing, both financially and in employees. In late January 2015, right as PDI/DreamWorks, the in-house feature animation studio, was celebrating their Golden Globe Best Animated Feature win and their Academy Award Nomination for Best Animated Feature, How To Train Your Dragon 2, it was announced they would be shutting down the shop completely. Over 500 employees lost their spot at DreamWorks when PDI was discontinued, only for the next move towards recovery was made when DreamWorks sold their campus to SunTrust Banks for $185 million and now rent back the property from them. In addition to the downsizing, salary cuts and selling of properties, there was some shuffling of power with the executives.

Restructuring Under New Leadership

Kristine Belson, in her few years as President of Feature Animation at DreamWorks produced the company’s last hit, The Croods, and even got herself an Oscar Nomination for Best Animated Feature, but left DreamWorks to take over in the same position at Sony Pictures Animation when Michelle Raimo Kuoyate stepped down, but still remains as a producer. Belson was succeeded at DreamWorks by new co-presidents Bonnie Arnold and Murielle Soria, succesful producers of the Madagascar and How To Train Your Dragon franchises.

CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, completely reconfigured the company’s slate with a new agenda that covers the next 3-5 years, canceling multiple projects and instead green lighting more sequels in current/recent franchise hits such as Kung Fu Panda and How To Train Your Dragon. How To Train Your Dragon 2, while it did present solid numbers at the box office, the company still considers it somewhat of a flop as it failed to bounce back the company as they hoped it would to make up for the huge amount of profit lost from the disappointing recent releases. However, they will continue to add to the saga as the numbers from How To Train Your Dragon 2 will be stellar if they can recreate it once their financial situations are better sorted. This model will be used to do just that and is intended to get the company’s back on their feet with far less investment in new original films and instead continuing to build on franchises that already proved.

Looking To The Future

Katzenberg has a lot to look forward to in the coming years as he has completely reworked the slate and hopefully can find more success with upcoming sequels, television spin offs, and brand partnerships. With the surprise success of Home, DreamWorks is sure to capitalize on the Home Video demand for the film as well as profit greatly from the merchandise associated the film and its characters. They will also be continuing with their Netflix exculsive series, All Hail King Julien, spin-off of the Madagascar franchise. The show was recently nominated for five daytime Emmys and has a very receptive audience. They also will be launching a new series spin off of How To Train Your Dragon: Race To The Edge. They will also be releasing Kung Fu Panda 3 and teamed up with Denny’s for an interactive cross promotional app. DreamWorks is one of the oldest and most established animation studios, with an impressive body of work to be proud of. Hopefully with new leadership, the new money saving tactics, and the launch of new television programs and sequels, DreamWorks will regain its financial grounding. Then, they can begin to create new original content again with the profit, as well as go back to their pending projects that were cancelled in the re-slate and pick up were they left off. The recent history of DreamWorks Animation is some of its toughest ever and proves that the company is remaining level-headed and taking the steps they see fit in order to bounce them back and provide audiences from around the world with laughter, storytelling, and inspiration through beautifully crafted characters and their stories from their worlds.

Currently in theaters is Home, which premiered domestically in theaters on March 27th, 2015, ranked number one in its opening weekend against heavyweight competitors such as The Divergent Series: Insurgent and Cinderella (2015).

References

[1] http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/

[2] http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/company/

[3] http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/leadership/

[4] http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dreamworks-animation-announces-conference-call-and-webcast-for-first-quarter-2015-results-300058705.html

[5] http://ir.dreamworksanimation.com/files/doc_financials/annual/2014%20Annual%20Report/2014-Annual-Report-Final(1)_v001_x9m200.pdf

[6] http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/DWA:US/chart

[7] http://www.thestreet.com/story/13115221/1/dreamworks-animation-dwa-is-the-chart-of-the-day.html

[8] http://variety.com/2015/film/news/dreamworks-animation-names-bonnie-arnold-mireille-soria-co-presidents-of-feature-animation-1201392307/

[9] http://variety.com/2015/film/news/sony-pictures-animation-hires-kristine-belson-as-president-1201416402/

[10] http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/dreamworks-animation-disney-and-sony-ask-for-dismissal-of-class-action-wage-fixing-suit-1201402707/

[11] http://variety.com/2015/film/news/cutbacks-at-dreamworks-animation-jeffrey-katzenberg-on-what-went-wrong-1201412230/

[12] http://variety.com/2015/film/news/end-of-an-era-for-pdi-as-dreamworks-animation-closes-studio-1201412629/

[13] http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/dreamworks-animation-posts-247-7-million-loss-after-penguins-flop-company-restructuring-1201440532/

[14] http://variety.com/2015/film/news/jeffrey-katzenberg-has-a-plan-for-dreamworks-animation-to-rebound-from-rough-year-1201445520/

[15] http://www.cartoonbrew.com/real-estate/dreamworks-animations-glendale-campus-is-for-sale-again-110318.html

[16] http://seekingalpha.com/article/3034046-dreamworks-animation-prepares-for-box-office-hiatus-but-first-invites-audiences-to-go-home

[17] http://deadline.com/2015/04/animation-lawsuit-disney-sony-dreamworks-animation-dismissed-1201404681/

[18] http://variety.com/2015/film/news/dreamworks-animations-home-movie-1201462454/

[19] http://www.animationmagazine.net/internet/dreamworks-sets-dragons-dinotrux-netflix-series-for-summer/

[20] http://fortune.com/2015/04/01/dennys-dreamworks-animation/

[21] http://www.thewrap.com/kung-fu-panda-3-release-moved-up-two-months-by-dreamworks-animation/

[22] http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/youtube-kids-app-set-to-debut-in-bid-to-provide-family-friendly-destination-1201437758/

[23] http://variety.com/2015/film/news/compact-media-signs-dreamworks-animation-collections-deal-1201421707/

[24] http://www.dreamworksstudios.com/about/history

A+E Television Networks- Carly Cott

Posted on April 17, 2015 by htfergus

by CARLY COTT

A+E Network logo image

HEADQUARTERS

235 E. 45^th Street

New York, NY 1001

www.aenetworks.com

KEY EXECUTIVES

Headshot of Nancy Dubue. Photo Credit N/A

Nancy Dubue

President and Chief Executive Officer, A+E Networks

Headshot of Robert DeBietto. Photo Credit N/A.

Robert DeBitetto

President, Brand Strategy, Business Development and A+E Studios, A+E Networks

ABOUT

With it’s beginning in 1984, A+E Networks has blossomed from a collaboration between The Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company, into an international media company with 11 channels and six original brands. A+E stands for “Arts and Entertainment” and reaches nearly 160 markets worldwide, communicating to a wide array of over 60 different languages. A+E incorporates ten channels, A&E, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, History, FYI, Crime and Investigation, History (Spanish), and Lifetime Real Women. Dance Moms on Lifetime, and Duck Dynasty on A&E together are two of A+E Networks top shows, as well as most watched shows.

HISTORY

In 1984, on February 1, the Arts and Entertainment Network, now more commonly known as A+E network, was formed and began broadcasting. A show called, “Biography” is then introduced the network in 1987, as a once-a-week-prime-time series. It was not until 1990 that A+E began commissioning episodes of “Biography”. Three years later, in 1993 the Rockefeller Group decided to sell its total interest in A+E to Hearst Corporation, ABC, and NBC. The official name change from Arts and Entertainment to A+E, was made in 1995, when “Biography” became a five nights a week screened show. The History channel and Biography Chanel International were then launched in November of 1998.

When the network began broadcasting on February 1, 1984, the network hit 1,500-cable systems with nine million subscribers. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), give the network a range of rights to British programming. In just the first year, over 60 percent of A+E’s programming came from the BBC. Excitingly, the network turned its first profit in 1987, and within the year had revenues surpassing $50 million. Cable subscribers upped to a whopping 37 million, and between 1987 and 1997, the networks average growth stunted at 30 percent per year in profits and revenues.

By 2001, the History channel hit a 70 million-subscriber mark, making it the fastest growing cable network since its launch. Following, in 2009 A+E Networks combined with Lifetime Entertainment. This year, the company celebrated 30 years, and is thought to be worth around $26 billion.

FINANCIALS

A+E is a privately owned company, so there were no public financials to be found.

COMPANY NEWS

On March 17^th it was announced after 11 years working for A+E, Neil A. Cohen is leaving the network to join UTA as an Alternative TV department agent. Cohen will now be based in the New York and work with talent in cable and network. He worked at A+E as the Senior Vice President of Talent and Production, giving him what Brett Hansen noted as, “an unbeatable combination”.

Elaine Frontain Bryant and Paul Cabana. Photo courtesy of A+E Networks.

On March 18^th, it was announced that A+E had promoted their two senior programming executives after the departure of previously mentioned David McKillop. Elaine Bryant who worked as Senior Vice President of Programming moved into her position as Executive Vice President and head of programming for the A&E Network. Paul Cabana also got to Executive Vice President and head of programming for History and H2. He had previously been posted as the Senior Vice President and head of programming for H2. Bryant reports to Rob Sharenow, and Cabana reports to Dirk Hoogstra. Hoogstra and Sharenow noted both executives as being, “vital to the success of A+E Networks”.

Liz Gately. Photo Credit N/A

Liz Gateley is returning to the executive ranks and to Lifetime. Gateley has been named Executive Vice President and Head of Programming for the network. She from now on will be the head honcho in charge of movies, scripts, and unscripted series development. Lifetime has had an absent spot for head of programming since JoAnn Alfano. At the time, Lifetime was put under the watchful eye of A+E Networks’ own Nancy Dubuc.

HIGHLIGHTS/LOWLIGHT OF SPRING 2015

Spring 2015 was maybe not as exciting as Fall 2014, but had some action. Weather it was the launch of the new history website x, the collaboration and production of a new production and distribution company, or the return of a hit series, A+E Network continues to moves in a forward and upward motion into the Summer months

April 13^th, it was announced that A+E Network is launching an “Asterisk Internet Media Brand” with new spins on history, trying to spice things up a bit. So what’s the point of it all? A+E says the point is to, make history worldwide seem “less like homework”. The website, “Asterisk” features stories looking deep into contemporary culture and entertainment throughout the span of history. The site is aimed at the millennial generation, and includes mass amounts of visual stimulation, videos, photos, etc. As of the launch, the site does not have any marketing partners, but A+E says those deals are in the works. The site is split into 10 different categories including, life skills, sports, people, food and drink, ideas, arts and entertainment, work, style, travel, and tech. Evan Silverman, Senior Vice President of Digital Media for A+E Networks, says “People tend to think about history as Abraham Lincoln, but we can provide context to contemporary people, trends or places”. Silverman hopes to give viewers a daily dose of history in a new and innovative way, making it user friendly, and relevant to today’s culture.

On March 20^th, it was announced that Howard T. Owens, former National Geographic Channel president, is going back to independent TV production. The launch of a new production and distribution company, “Propagate Content”, will be run by Owens and partner David McKillop. McKillop has worked as Senior Vice President of Development and Programming at History, then as Executive Vice President of Programming for A&E, eventually moving on to work as Executive Vice President and General Manager for A&E channel. A+E Network is an equity partner for the new company, “Propogate Content”.

It was announced on January 9^th the hit series “Mountain Men” was retuning for a fourth season. The show follows six men whoa re living far from civilization, using survival skills, hunting skills, and skillful cunning efforts to stay alive, clothed, and fed. The men face chaos in the unpredictable series that prepares them for the unpredictable.

SOURCES

(1) http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/a-e-television-networks-history/

(2) http://deadline.com/2015/03/neil-cohen-joins-uta-ae-networks-executive-1201394219/

(3) http://deadline.com/2015/03/howard-t-owens-david-mckillop-production-company-ae-networks-propagare-1201401158/

(4) http://www.aenetworks.com/article/mountain-men-returns-history-spring-2015

(5) http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/ae-launches-asterisk-internet-media-brand-with-new-spins-on-history-exclusive-1201470981/

(6) http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/a-e-at-30-how-690921

(7) http://www.aetv.com

(8) http://www.aenetworks.com/article/ae-studios-announces-first-look-development-deal-feature-film-and-television-producer-rachel

(9) http://www.aenetworks.com/article/ae-network-premieres-new-series-neighbors-benefits-sunday-march-22-10-pm-etpt

(10 )http://www.aenetworks.com/news

Lionsgate Entertainment

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Samuel Tasch

by SAM TASCH

Lionsgate

Key Executives

Chief Executive Officer: John Feltheimer Vice Chairman: Michael Burns Co-Chief Operating Officer, President, Motion Picture Group: Steve Beeks [1]

Address

2700 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90404 310-449-9200 www.lionsgate.com

History

Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation was founded on July 3, 1997, by Frank Giustra. [2] It is a world-wide entertainment company specializing in film and television production and distribution based in Santa Monica, California. John Feltheimer took over as CEO in 2000 and has been running the company ever since, overseeing the launch of two of the most successful film franchises in history in The Hunger Games and Twilight. The name was consolidated to Lionsgate in 2005. [3] In television, Lionsgate works in production and distribution for 28 total shows, including Mad Men and Orange is the New Black. Together, their entire entertainment library totals 15,000 unique television and film titles, giving Lionsgate an overbearing presence in the media industry. [4]

Financials

Lionsgate is a publicly traded company. Its share price is a respectable $30.89, up from $27.25 a year ago. [5] In the period from Jan 1st through April 12th, Lionsgate has brought in just over 187 million dollars in box office revenue, which is down 17.8 percent from last year over the same period of time. This disappointing number comes despite the fact that all other film studios as a whole have experienced a 7.2 percent increase in box office revenue over that time period. Lionsgate currently occupies 7.1 percent of the total film studio market share, good for seventh among all American film studios. [6] When factoring in all earnings over the past year, Lionsgate has brought in 2.63 billion dollars in total revenue, down 2.88 percent from the same period a year ago. [2]

Right Here, Right Now

A big trend emerging right now within Lionsgate is their expansion across different platforms. They have been a large player among the television and film industries for quite some time now, and it appears as if they are attempting to break into new markets and demographics with new forms of media. Lionsgate recently invested in Telltale games, a video game developing company that has previously developed games based off of television shows such as The Walking Dead and Games of Thrones. Lionsgate could potentially be looking to develop games off of some of their most successful titles, such as The Hunger Games, in order to heighten awareness for the series and add another revenue stream. A series such as The Hunger Games lends itself to a video game series quite well due to it’s popularity as well as the action-packed nature of the films. [7]

Lionsgate has also recently partnered with Liberty Media, a major television distributer that distributes for companies such as the Discovery Channel, USA, and Starz. This partnership includes John Malone joining the Lionsgate board of directors, which could lead to an increased television presence for the company. [8] John Malone also is the controlling owner of the Atlanta Braves, and has deep ties in sports and sports media. This is important because the chairman of Lionsgate, Mark Rachesky, is currently bidding for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. If he is granted majority ownership, this would allow Lionsgate to become the television distributer of the Hawks, giving Lionsgate their first presence in sports media. [9]

In terms of expanding their television and film presence into new markets, it was recently announced that John Feltheimer will join the board of directors for Televisa, a large Mexican media company with one of the largest reaches in Mexico. [10] Lionsgate is also teaming up with Buena Vista for the theatrical release in Russia of Mockingly Part 2 of the Hunger Games series. This partnership will allow the movie to be released in more theaters across Russia, expanding Lionsgate’s reach into international markets while establishing a partnership between Lionsgate and Buena Vista that could be beneficial to both parties. [11]

Lions gate’s recent partnership with the Chinese company Hunan TV demonstrates this intended expansion into international markets as well. The deal includes film financing aspects as well as co-production aspects. This will help Lionsgate tap into the enormous Chinese market, while underscoring their desire to expand globally. [12]

Lionsgate also recently announced that they are partnering with Comic-Con International in order to launch their own subscription video on demand service. This service will feature exclusive short-from content from Lionsgate that is only available to its subscribers as well as other exclusive footage from Comic-Con. The service, set to launch later this year, will expand Lionsgate’s presence across digital platforms. [13]

Content

One of Lionsgate’s most recent releases, and arguably their most talked about release of the year, Insurgent, has been doing well at the box-office. The star-studded action flick has made over 251 million dollars world-wide after four weekends. This will probably soon surpass it’s predecessor in the series, Divergent, which made roughly 288 million dollars in 2014, and has far surpassed its own 110 million dollar production budget. [14]

On the television side, Lionsgate helps produce and distribute Mad Men for AMC. Mad Men has done well in ratings throughout its life on television, however its ratings took a hit this past week. The premier for the show’s final season brought in 2.3 million viewers live plus same day, around one million less than the pervious season averaged. [15]

In terms of digital media, Lionsgate produces two shows for subscription television services. They produce the hit drama Orange is the New Black for Netflix, and the new comedy Deadbeat for Hulu. Rating numbers are not available for both of these subscription video on demand shows. The new season of Orange is the New Black will be available on June 12th, while Deadbeat will premiere on April 20th. [4]

Coming up, Lionsgate is launching what is projected to be one of the biggest movies of the year, Mockingjay Part 2. It is expected to surpass the previous film in the Hunger Games franchise, Mockingjay Part 1, despite that movie bringing in over 752 million dollars worldwide. This will bring an end to the highly profitable Hunger Games franchise, inherently creating some uncertainty for the future of Lionsgate as a whole. [4]

Future

The immediate future of film side Lionsgate is bright, due the continuance of the Divergent franchise and the grand finale of the Hunger Games franchise. After these successful franchises end, however, that side of the company’s future becomes a little murkier. Lionsgate as a whole, however, continues their expansion of content across multiple platforms, infiltration into new markets, and the launching of new subscription services. This sustained growth will go a long way in helping to guide the success of the future of Lionsgate.

Sources

[1] LIONSGATE Governance. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.lionsgate.com/corporate/governance/

[2] Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. LGF. (2015). Retrieved from http://quotes.wsj.com/LGF

[3] Lionsgate Unveils New Corporate Name and Logo. (2014, December 15). Retrieved from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lionsgate-unveils-new-corporate-name-and-logo-55558967.html

[4] Lionsgate. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.lionsgate.com

[5] Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/lgf

[6] 2015 Market Share and Box Office Results by Movie Studio. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?view=company&view2=yearly&yr=

[7] McNary, D., & Graser, M. (2015, February 24). Lionsgate Invests in Videogame Publisher Telltale Games as Company Expands Beyond Films, TV., retrieved from http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/lionsgate-invests-in-videogame-publisher-telltale-games-as-company-expands-beyond-films-tv-1201440351/

[8] Liberty Media Corporation. (2011). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.libertymedia.com/

[9] Stein, M. (2015, March 4). Mark Rachesky bidding for Hawks. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12419889/lionsgate-entertainment-chairman-mark-rachesky-bid-atlanta-hawks

[10] Hecht, J. (2015, April 16). Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer to Be Nominated to Televisa Board. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lionsgate-ceo-jon-feltheimer-be-789356

[11] Tartaglione, N. (2015, March 5). Lionsgate, Buena Vista International Team For ‘Mockingjay 2’ Release In Russia. Retrieved from http://deadline.com/2015/03/lionsgate-buena-vista-international-hunger-games-mockingjay-2-russia-release-1201386658/

[12] Coonan, C. (n.d.). Lionsgate Unveils Film Financing Deal With China’s Hunan TV. Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lionsgate-unveils-film-financing-deal-782776

[13] LIONSGATE Press Releases. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.lionsgate.com/corporate/press-releases/1655/

[14] The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015) – Box Office Mojo. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=insurgent.htm

[15] O’Connell, M. (n.d.). TV Ratings: ‘Mad Men’ Takes a Hit in Return, Fetches 2.3 Million Viewers. Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-mad-men-takes-695940

Sirius XM Radio

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Ryan Luckman

by RYAN LUCKMAN

Headquarters

1221 Avenue of the Americas

New York City, New York, U.S.

Key Executives

James E. Meyer- CEO

Scott Greenstein- President & CCO

History

SiriusXM was originally two separate companies, Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. Sirius Satellite Radio was founded in 1990 by Martine Rothblatt, David Margolese, and Robert Briskman. XM Satellite Radio was founded in 1988 by Gary Parsons and Hugh Panero. Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio merged in 2008, to become SiriusXM Radio. They were the United States’ only two satellite radio services. The merger was being questioned for years because many people thought that it would make it a monopoly. To this date, that has been proven wrong, because it is not a monopoly and terrestrial radio is still doing fine.

About

SiriusXM is a subscription-based radio service, which currently has 27.3 million subscribers (1). SiriusXM is commercial-free, and creates and broadcasts over 175 channels. These channels range from live sports, entertainment, talk and news shows, to any genre of music imaginable (2). The company also has SiriusXM Traffic and NavWeather, along with other options to provide details on traffic and weather. SiriusXM can be listened to in a car, plane, or even on a boat, as well as on a smartphone and tablet. Click here to find out the vehicle availability of SiriusXM. SiriusXM likes to say of their service that “It’s wherever you are,” and, “It’s wherever you go.” SiriusXM’s main competitors are Clear Channel Communications, Cumulus Media, and WestwoodOne (3). These companies are competitors because of their involvement in radio, except they are terrestrial radio companies, not satellite.

Financials

SiriusXM is a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq. Its past 52-week range is 2.98-4.04 (4). SiriusXM repurchased 739 million shares in 2014, which returned $2.5 billion to the stockholders. The company also returned to the number one shorted Nasdaq stock (5). SiriusXM announced that they will be releasing the First Quarter results of 2015 on April 28th. As for 2014, their yearly revenue rose 10% to $4.18 billion. Their net income rose to $493 million, which was an increase of 31% from its net income of $377 million in 2013. Its fourth quarter net income was $143 million, compared to $65 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. These increases are staggering, but might come from the large amount of total new subscribers that SiriusXM received, 1,751,777, which completely exceeded their expectations of 1,250,000 (6).

Live Broadcasting

Recently, SiriusXM seems to have been attempting to make a huge splash with live broadcasting. The company has been and will continue to broadcast live sports and music festivals. In March, they announced that they would be offering live coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Division I Championship (7). In April they announcedthat SiriusXM would be covering the 2015 NBA playoffs. With this coverage, they will include daily programming of the SiriusXM NBA Radio (8). Also in April, SiriusXM Canada announced that they will have live coverage of every single NHL Playoff game. To broadcast the NHL playoffs, they will be using SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, SiriusXM’s main station for hockey (9). In March, SiriusXM announced that they would be broadcasting live coverage from the 2015 PGA Masters. With this, they had a total of 24 hours of live coverage spread throughout the four day tournament, plus 80 hours of never before heard audio from the Augusta National archives (10).

In March, SiriusXM had a live coverage of DJ sets from Ultra Music Festival (11). This was major because they even made a temporary station solely for this purpose, titled UMF Radio. On this station, they had the live DJ sets as well as interviews. Also, for the first time ever, Coachella, the two weekend music and arts festival in Indio, California, was broadcasted live and exclusively on SiriusXM Radio. It was broadcasted over a variety of stations, some of which are BPM and Electric Area (12).

Recent News

SiriusXM just concluded their 2015 MLB Spring Training Tour. The hosts were Mike Ferrin, Casey Stern, former General Managers Jim Bowden, Jim Duquette, and Steve Phillips, as well as World Series Champion Todd Holandsworth (13). SiriusXM does this tour yearly to provide the most in-depth coverage of the MLB Spring Training available on any radio format. Also, SiriusXM is the only radio broadcaster that covers every game live, play-by-play for every single team in the league throughout the season.

SiriusXM announced in April 2015 that its subsidiary, Sirius XM Connected Vehicle Services, made a deal with Nissan. The services that they will offer are for convenience, safety and security (14). Sirius XM Connected Vehicle Services are in nine different car manufacturers, including Nissan. On the Nissan models, there will be three different packages, the NissanConnect Services, the NissanConnect Services Premium, and the NissanConnect Services Premium Plus (14). Also in the vehicle industry, Jaguar and Land Rover announced that they will use Sirius XM Connected Vehicle Services in a way where it can connect to the vehicle’s already made infotainment systems to provide call center support for safety and security reasons (15). SiriusXM and Jaguar and Land Rover have all been working together for over ten years now, so it is a good sign that they are beginning to use SiriusXM for more reasons other than just entertainment. SiriusXM is clearly trying to expand their horizons in the vehicle industry, so that they are not just a radio service.

In March, it was announced that comedians Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy will launch their own channel exclusively with SiriusXM. The two comedians will produce the channel and have live comedy shows that can only be heard on their channel with SiriusXM, and nowhere else (16). Another new channel that was announced in March will be executive produced by Andy Cohen, the talk show host of “Watch What Happens Live.” All that is known is that he will personally select what is spoken about on the show when the time comes (17).

Overall

SiriusXM had a great year in 2014, which can be proven by the incredible amount of new subscribers and also by the revenue and net income comparisons to 2013. Hopefully these ecstatic numbers continue and SiriusXM continues to be a dominant force in the radio industry in the years to come.

Sources

1- Corporate Overview, SiriusXM Radio Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

2- SiriusXM, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

3- Competitors, Yahoo Finance, Retrieved 17 April 2015

4- SiriusXM Stock, Yahoo Finance, Retrieved 17 April 2015

5- Shorted Nasdaq Stock, 24/7 Wall Street, Retrieved 17 April 2015

6- Investor Relations, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

7- Men’s Basketball, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

8- NBA Playoffs, Yahoo Finance, Retrieved 17 April 2015

9- NHL Playoffs, Yahoo Finance, Retrieved 17 April 2015

10- PGA Masters, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

11- UMF Radio, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

12- Coachella, SiriusXM Electric Area Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

13- MLB Spring Training, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

14- Nissan, SiriusXM Website, Retrieved 17 April 2015

15- Jaguar and Land Rover, SiriusXM Website, 17 April 2015

16- Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy, SiriusXM Website, 17 April 2015

17- Andy Cohen, SiriusXM Website, 17 April 2015

Paramount Pictures

Posted on April 17, 2015 by htfergus

by ARACELI GUTIERREZ

[25] Paramount Pictures Logo

PARAMOUNT PICTURES
5555 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA
www.paramount.com

HISTORY

Paramount Pictures has been in show business for 103 years, making them one of America’s oldest motion picture companies. Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky and Cecil B. DeMille are credited as Paramount’s principal founding fathers. Today, this corporation is a subsidiary of Viacom, a global mass media firm. The company has produced classics like “Titanic”, which had a domestic gross of $658.6 million and worldwide gross of $2.18 billion [1].

Key Executives:

: [2] Brad Grey, Chairman & CEO

: [3] Rob Moore, Vice Chairman, Paramount Pictures

: [4] Frederick Huntsberry, Chief Operating Officer, Paramount Pictures

: [5] Marc Evans, President, Motion Picture Group at Paramount Pictures

: [6] Amy Powell, President, Paramount Television and Digital Entertainment

FINANCIALS

[7] “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water”

During this year’s first quarter, Paramount Pictures was ranked 5th for top grossing production companies, with a total gross of $274.6 million, which puts them in control of 9.8% of the current market share [8]. They hold an average gross of $39.2 million per release over the course of its 7 releases so far in 2015 [9][10]. Its second-highest grossing release, “Selma”, was a contender at the Academy Awards earlier this year. The movie made $50.8 million domestic. So far, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” is their biggest hit, with a domestic total of $161.3 million, more than double of its $74 million production budget. With a small production budget of $12 million, “Project Almanac” also did well with a $22.3 million domestic total.

[26] TubiTV

Paramount Pictures has seven future releases, one of them being animation, two action, and four of the horror/thriller genre [11]. Also, Tubi TV, a free but ad-supported streaming service, and Paramount Pictures joined a licensing agreement to bring more than 50 classic feature films from the studio’s library to the company’s video apps [12]. Some films featured on Tubi TV include fan-favorites such as “Top Gun”, “Basic Instinct”, “Star Trek: The Final Frontier”, and other recent releases from the past two years.

Their parent company, Viacom Inc., underwent some restructuring in March, which included cutting jobs, abandoning some acquired titles and reorganizing three of its domestic network groups into two new organizations [13]. Paramount Pictures took a related pre-tax charge of about $785 million by the end of the quarter (March 31).

MARCH MADNESS: NEW CHANGES

March was a busy month for Paramount Pictures.

On March 16, Paramount Pictures announced Marc Evans as the new president of Paramount’s Motion Picture Group to replace Adam Goodman, who was let go in early March [14]. Goodman had a year left on his contract. As a part of his exit package, Goodman was offered a production deal with Paramount. Evans has been a part of the Paramount family for 12 years now and recently served as president of production since 2010. Evans is expected to increase the studio’s output of feature film releases.

Paramount Pictures has a reputation for not making many movies. In recent years, the studio has gone months between major releases. For example, this year’s release calendar shows that there are five static months that separate the opening of the studio’s most recent film, “Hot Tub Time Machine 2,” a co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and its next opener, “Mission: Impossible 5,” which debuts on July 31 [15]. “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” received bad reviews and didn’t reach its production budget, considering that its domestic gross made only $12.3 million out of the $14 million budget [16].

Paramount, with a new switch up in its presidency, plans to change this by eventually raising the number of movies it runs annually from its current eight to 10-14 live-action titles plus an additional animated release. The studio seeks to maintain profit margins, which have plummeted party because of its discontinuation with Marvel Studios, DreamWorks Animation and Brad Pitt’s Plan B. Without these partnerships, Paramount lost a considerable deal of films [17]. Meanwhile, Paramount’s parent company, Viacom, issued major layoffs under pressure from ratings declines at its cable networks. Despite the studio’s stress over profitability, yearly profits have declined three years in a row, down 12% just last year [18]. This thin slate is also problematic because of the studio’s pending fixed overhead costs.

On March 17, the former president of worldwide home media distribution for Paramount Pictures, Dennis Maguire, stepped down [19]. Maguire’s departure was a result of the studio’s cut of 30-40 jobs across all departments as part of Viacom’s restructuring initiative. The Viacom Inc. unit named veteran executive Bob Buchi as the new replacement for Maguire in early April [20]. Buchi has a track record that speaks for itself. He has found great success in theatrical releases, acquisitions, family and television product. Also, Buchi was responsible for the strategic product marketing and management of the “Transformers,” “Star Trek,” “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Paranormal Activity” franchises.

[28] Insurge Pictures

On March 23, Paramount Pictures dismantled their microbudget film branch Insurge Pictures. No longer a separate division, Insurge will still keep its name for use as a label on specific genres [21]. When launched in 2010, Amy Powell was named president of Insurge Pictures. Powell will now be relocated to focus on her TV and digital responsibilities as president of Paramount TV and Digital Entertainment. The other executives at Insurge Pictures will be integrated under Marc Evan’s film team.

The exec suite changes established in March will have a strong impact for months to follow; similarly in April.

On April 15, Elizabeth Raposo and Geoff Stier were promoted to be co-presidents of production [22]. Paramount is elevating Raposo from senior vice president to executive vice president. Stier already holds that title. These new positions put them on the same level as Peter Kang, who’s also executive vice president of production. Raposo has been commander on both the latest Mission: Impossible and Star Trek sequels. Again, these new promotions were made in effort of bringing forth a new strategy to bolster Paramount’s lineup.

PROJECTIONS FOR PARAMOUNT

[29] “Paramount Needs to Fatten Up Skimpy Film Slate” by Eddie Guy

With the new restructuring at Paramount, it is clear that they intend to make a strong comeback. With the dismissal of their last production chief Adam Goodman, they are now confiding in Marc Evans to increase their annual film slate. There is a search for new franchises, now that former money-bringing ones like “Star Trek” and “Transformers” are beginning to fade.

Brad Grey has also shown strong interest in bolstering the animation pipeline and restoring Paramount’s television initiatives [23]. Although these are their main focuses, Paramount faces a credibility problem to overcome, especially with their constant switchups in its executive board.

In the past, Grey has announced ambitious plans for Paramount’s annual slate, and has appointed well-qualified executives, with little accomplishments done by the end of their period at Paramount.

At this time, a studio resurgence is suitable since Wall Street suggests several corporate scenarios that may unravel near the “end of the Sumner Redstone era” [24]. According to some insiders, Redstone’s deep-seated personal ‘consiglieris’ (counselors, advisors) will ensure a smooth transition, although there are still corporate rivalries within the empire.

SOURCES

[1] Boxofficemojo.com,. (2015). Paramount All Time Box Office Results. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[2] Pener, D. (2015). Paramount Pictures’ Brad Grey Joins LACMA as Trustee (Exclusive). The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[3] Zimbio,. (2015). Rob Moore in Stars at the ‘Next Gen’ 20th Anniversary Gala. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[4] Zimbio,. (2015). Rob Moore in Stars at the ‘Next Gen’ 20th Anniversary Gala. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[5] Zimbio,. (2015). Marc Evans Photos: The Science & Technology Council Of AMPAS Presents “Visualize This”. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[6] Friedman, M., & Rose, R. (2015). 6 Ways to Be More Creative Every Day. Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[7] Collinson, G. (2015). New clip from The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. Flickering Myth. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[8] Boxofficemojo.com,. (2015). 2015 Market Share and Box Office Results by Movie Studio. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[9] Boxofficemojo.com,. (2015). 2015 Market Share and Box Office Results by Movie Studio. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[10] Boxofficemojo.com,. (2015). Paramount. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[11] Boxofficemojo.com,. (2015). Paramount Upcoming Releases. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[12] Digital Trends,. (2015). Paramount pictures licenses 50 more movies to free vod service Tubi TV. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[13] Nytimes.com,. (2015). Viacom to Cut Jobs, Abandon Titles, Reorganize Network Groups. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[14] Lang, B. (2015). Marc Evans Named Paramount Motion Picture Group President. Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[15] Bart, P. (2015). Paramount Needs to Fatten Up Skimpy Film Slate. Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[16] Boxofficemojo.com,. (2015). Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015) – Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[17] Bart, P. (2015). Paramount Needs to Fatten Up Skimpy Film Slate. Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[18] Bart, P. (2015). Paramount Needs to Fatten Up Skimpy Film Slate. Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[19] Pedersen, E., Pedersen, E., & Pedersen, E. (2015). Dennis Maguire Leaving Top Job At Paramount Home Entertainment. Deadline. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[20] McNary, D. (2015). Paramount Ups Bob Buchi to Worldwide Home Media Distribution Head. Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[21] Kroll, J. (2015). Paramount’s Insurge Gets Absorbed; Bad Robot’s ‘The Cellar’ Moves to Big Studio. Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[22] Jr, M. (2015). Paramount Ups Elizabeth Raposo To Executive Vice President. Deadline. Retrieved 17 April 2015,

[23] Bart, P. (2015). Paramount Needs to Fatten Up Skimpy Film Slate. Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[24] Bart, P. (2015). Paramount Needs to Fatten Up Skimpy Film Slate. Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[25] Filmbaza.net,. (2015). index_Galeria_logos P. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[26] YouTube,. (2015). Tubi TV Teaser. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[27] YouTube,. (2015). Hot Tub Time Machine 2 – Official Trailer 2. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[28] Bloody-disgusting.com,. (2015). Paramount Insurge Is Finally Making A Movie… –. Retrieved 17 April 2015

[29] Guy, E. (2015). Paramount Needs to Fatten Up Skimpy Film Slate. Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2015

Relativity

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Nicholas Matarazzo

by Nicholas Matarazzo

[1] Relativity Media Logo

HISTORY

Relativity Studios, or simply Relativity, consists of the film and television divisions of Relativity Media LLC. Founded by Ryan Kavanaugh in 2004, the company has produced, distributed and structured financing for over 200 feature films garnering 60 Oscar® nominations. Led by President and Chairman Tucker Tooley and President of Production Robbie Brenner, Relativity has released No. 1 box office openers such as Immortals, which grossed $83 million domestically [2], and produced Academy Award Winning films such as the Internet biopic The Social Network (2010) and The Fighter (2010).

[2] "The Social Network" is one of Relativity's most critically acclaimed films, winning Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing at the 2011 Academy Awards.

[3] “The Social Network” is one of Relativity’s most critically acclaimed productions, winning Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing at the 2011 Academy Awards.

Relativity produces films for large audiences both foreign and domestic, which provide entertainment for a wide variety of target audiences and demographics. With genres ranging from heart-felt romantic dramas to action packed, adrenaline filled thrillers, Relativity strives to bring premium feature films to theaters all over the globe. Some of Relativity Studios’ most successful films include Limitless (2011), starring Bradley Cooper, and Mirror Mirror (2012), starring Julia Roberts.

In addition to film production Relativity also houses both financing and distribution divisions, equipping itself as a fully fledged vertically integrated company. The company has the resources to finance, produce and distribute a film from start to finish and has done so even more effectively since 2010 when the company absorbed the marketing and distribution holdings of Overture Films.

KEY EXECUTIVES

[4] Ryan Kavanaugh, CEO of Relativity Media

[5] Tucker Tooley, President and Chairman of Relativity Media

[6] Robbie Brenner, President of Production of Relativity Studios

FINANCIALS

Relativity ranks 9th in overall film distributor companies, owning 2.5% of the total market share as of April 12, 2015. The company’s total gross is $73.6 million with 4 films released thus far in 2015 [7]. Relativity has improved in market share from the previous year, ranking 9th with 1.8% market share and grossing $186.5 million with its 8 films that were released in 2014 [8]. Relativity saw a 22.7% decrease in gross between 2013 and 2014 due in large part to the lack of success of the McG action flick Three Days to Kill [9].

IN THEATERS

“Desert Dancer” (2015)

[10] “Desert Dancer” is biographical drama based on the cultural repression of Afshin Ghaffarian, an Iranian dancer.

The biographical story depicts the life of Afshin Ghaffarian, a dancer who fled Iran in 2009 due to cultural repression. The film originally debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France in May of 2012. In 2013, the distribution rights were acquired by Relativity at the American Film Market and the film was slated for release in the spring of 2015. In limited release, the film opened on April 10, 2015, in 23 theaters in the US. The film has a current domestic gross of just under $60,000, as of April 16th, 2015 and will move to expanded release on the 17th [11]. Andy Webster of the New York Times says “The fictionalized biopic “Desert Dancer” explores fascinating aspects of present-day Iran but suffers mightily from simplistic and sentimental tendencies” [12].

SPRING 2015 RELEASES

“Black or White” (2015)

Starring Academy Award Winners Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, "Black or White" follows a young girl caught in a custody battle, mixed within racial qualms of two seemingly different families.

[13] Starring Academy Award Winners Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, “Black or White” follows a young girl caught in a custody battle, mixed within racial qualms of two seemingly different families.

The heart felt drama was released on January 30, 2015, and saw a domestic gross of $21.5 million. In it’s opening weekend, Black or White ranked third among weekend releases, opening in 1,823 theaters, and averaged $3,408 per theater, attributed to 28.9% of the total domestic gross. Against a production budget of $9 million, the film failed to make budget in its first weekend with a $6.2 million weekend gross [14]. The film received mediocre acclaim for it’s simple and overly-stereotypical characters, and failed to live up to the promised look at the diverse world the audience is brought in to. With a 37% rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes (from 83 reviews) [15], and 45 out of 100 rating on Metacritic [16], it appears that the “inspired by true events” drama garnered average reviews at best. Says the critic consensus on Rotten Tomatoes “”Black or White” has more on its mind than your average family drama, but the film’s approach to its thought-provoking themes too often lives down to its title.” [17]

“The Lazarus Effect” (2015)

Released on February 27, 2015, this horror-thriller starring Olivia Wilde, opened at No. 5 on the weekend box office. The Lazarus Effect, opened in 2,666 theaters; the film averaged $3,827 per theater and grossed a weekend total of $10.2 million which made up 40.1% of the total gross [18]. Despite a strong weekend opening against a production budget of $3.3 million, the film’s success was short lived due to poor critic reviews. Critical consensus on the popular website Rotten Tomatoes said “”The Lazarus Effect” has a talented cast and the glimmer of an interesting idea, but wastes it all on insipid characters and dull, recycled plot points” which is no surprise given its 14% rating [19].

UPCOMING

“Masterminds” (2015)

Originally titled Loomis Fargo, and based on the true story of the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery, in which a vault supervisor for the bank stole $17 million and fled to Mexico, Masterminds is the latest comedy from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess. The film stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Ken Marino, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones. Eastbound & Down producers Jody Hill and Danny McBride both worked on the script and executive-produced [20].

PROJECTIONS FOR RELATIVITY

With few releases slated for in the first half of 2015 and even fewer in the coming months Relativity is looking at yet another decrease in total gross. Looking forward, it appears that the amount of pressure on such upcoming summer releases as Masterminds, Big Game, and Jane Got a Gun is becoming more apparent. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of the year pans out for Relativity, heading into a shaky second quarter, after a not so strong first.

SOURCES

[1] Relativity Media Logo Relativity Media Retrieved April 10 2015

[2} Box Office by Studio: Relativity Box Office Mojo Retrieved April 10 2015

[3] The Social Network Movie Poster IMP Awards Retrieved April 10 2015

[4] Ryan Kavanaugh Relativity Media Retrieved April 10 2015

[5] Tucker Tooley Relativity Media Retrieved April 10 2015

[6] Robbie Brenner Relativity Media Retrieved April 11 2015

[7] Studio Market Share: Yearly Comparison Box Office Mojo Retrieved April 11 2015

[8] Studio Market Share: 2014 Box Office Mojo Retrieved April 11 2015

[9] Studio Market Share: 2013 Box Office Mojo Retrieved April 11 2015

[10] Desert Dancer Movie Poster Movie Insider Retrieved April 11 2015

[11] Gross Domestic Box Office Results: Desert Dancer Box Office Mojo Retrieved April 12 2015

[12] Review: Desert Dancer New York Times Retrieved April 12 2015

[13] Black or White Movie Poster Mixed Nation Retrieved April 12 2015

[14] Total Gross Box Office Results: Black or White Box Office Mojo Retrieved April 12 2015

[15] Review: Black or White Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved April 12 2015

[16] Review: Black or White Metacritic Retrieved April 13 2015

[17] Review: Black or White Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved April 13 2015

[18] Total Gross Box Office Results: The Lazarus Effect Box Office Mojo Retrieved April 13 2015

[19] Review: The Lazarus Effect Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved April 13 2015

[20] 2015 Preview: Masterminds Rolling Stones Retrieved April 13 2015

DirecTV

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Vikram Nayyar

by VIK NAYYAR

[1]

Corporate Headquarter:

2230 East Imperial Highway,

El Segundo, California, US

Michael White: CEO since November 18, 2009 [2]

Pat Doyle: Executive Vice President and CFO since October 5, 2007[3]

Joe Bosch: Executive Vice President and CHRO since August 2010[4]

DirecTV provides television and audio services to 39 million subscribers through satellite transmissions. “Services include the equivalent of many local television stations, broadcast television networks, subscription television services, satellite radio services, and private video services. Subscribers have access to hundreds of channels. DirecTV competitors are cable television service and other satellite-based services”[5].

[10]

DirecTV’s history began in 1953 when Howard Hughes created Hughes Aircraft, which was sold to General Motors in 1985. GM merged it with Delco Electronics to form the Hughes Electronics Corporation. This corporation consisted of four smaller companies: Hughes Network Systems, Hughes Aircraft Company, Delco Electronics Company, and Hughes Space and Communications Company. Around the same time, Stanley E. Hubbard, who wanted to develop direct broadcast satellite service, started a company called United States Satellite Broadcasting (USSB). “USSB was awarded five frequencies by the FCC, at the coveted 101 degrees west satellite location. At the same time, Hughes Communications, Inc. was awarded 27 frequencies at the same 101-degree location” (TECH-FAQ)[6]. Over the next ten years, technological advances made it possible to build high-power satellites and the digital compression standards needed to send multiple digital television channels through a single satellite frequency. In 1990, Hughes Communications proposed a joint venture with both NBC and Cablevision, aimed at launching “Sky Power,” the first high-power digital television service. After both joint venture attempts failed, Hughes created DirecTV and arranged an agreement with USSB to build and launch the first high-power direct-broadcast satellite system. Partnered with Thomson Consumer Electronics, Hughes/DirecTV developed a digital satellite system capable of receiving 175 channels on a small 18-inch dish. Hughes was awarded the contract to build and launch the new satellites. USSB and DirecTV agreed the satellites would carry their two separate programming services and both companies launched their programming services in 1994. In 1998, DirecTV bought USSB for $1.3 billion and combined the two satellite services.In 1999, DirecTV bought PrimeStar, another competitor in the satellite television industry, for $1.8 billion. This dramatically increased DirecTV’s share of the U. S. satellite television market [7].

Headquarters:

[11]

Today, DirecTV, headquartered in El Segundo, California [7.1] has 27,000 employees. It is the second largest pay-TV provider in the United States. The largest is Comcast. In addition to 20 million US subscribers, “DIRECTV Latin America has 19 million customers through its subsidiaries and affiliated companies in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and other Latin American countries” [8]. Consumers subscribe to various packages of DirecTV programming for a monthly fee and also have the option of ordering pay-per-view, video on demand events and movies. DirecTV’s broadcast center is located in Castle Rock, Colorado [8.1]. All DirecTV programming goes to Castle Rock, where it is digitized, compressed, encrypted, converted to a high frequency signal and amplified. It is then sent to uplink antennas aimed at one of several satellites in geostationary orbit, where transponders beam the signal back to earth over a wide area [9].

DEALS:

In May, 2014, AT&T [9.1] announced that it would purchase DirecTV. The deal, approved by boards of both companies, is valued at $48.5 billion. Including assumed debt, the total purchase price is about $67.1 billion. The purpose of the deal is to increase AT&T’s market share in the pay-TV sector. AT&T’s current U-Verse has 5.7 million users in the U. S., while DirecTV has 20 million. The deal will also give AT&T access to Latin American markets, where DirecTV has 18 million subscribers. DirecTV would be able to offer its customers broadband internet service. AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson said “his company would move quickly after the transaction is closed to offer new products that bundle paid-TV content, broadband Internet and wireless service. These bundles will give customers a better alternative to cable TV by allowing them to get DirecTV’s 285 channels on mobile devices. Bundle packaging is what made competitor Comcast [9.2] successful” [12]. The deal, initially expected to take about twelve months to complete, has been stalled by the Federal Communications Commission.

Legal Issues:

Comcast’s $45 billion bid for Time Warner Cable, announced in February, 2014, is one of the reasons for the FCC stall. Federal regulators currently have both deals on hold due to concern over competition. Comcast and Time Warner Cable say they do not compete in the same markets as AT&T and DirecTV, but critics of the deal say that if Time Warner Cable and Comcast combine, “they will have too much power in the television industry. They would have vastly more power over negotiations with programmers, for instance. Consumer advocates fear the firms would be less inclined to improve customer service and make prices affordable” [13]. Although it is common for the FCC to stop the clock on merger reviews, two issues may be contributing to the current stall: an FTC lawsuit against DirecTV, and AT&T’s past cooperation with the NSA. In March, 2015 the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit charging DirecTV with deceptively advertising a discounted 12-month programming package that failed to disclose a required a two-year contract, a price increase up to $45 more per month in the second year, and early cancellation fees of up to $480 [14]. According to the FTC, DirecTV misled consumers and the FTC is seeking a monetary judgment that could be used to reimburse customers. Also in March, 2015, the Minority Cellular Partners Coalition, 90 former business partners of AT&T, warned the FCC that AT&T had a poor record on privacy and the deal with DirecTV should be carefully scrutinized. The group accused AT&T of voluntarily handing over data to the National Security Agency after the September 11 terror attacks, thereby breaking the law and AT&T’s own company policy. “By so doing, AT&T knowingly committed egregious and continuing violations of the law”[15]. The coalition called for stronger privacy oversight if the merger is approved by the FCC and the Justice Department. According to Public Knowledge, a consumer advocacy group, privacy issues will worsen if the merger goes through and gives AT&T control of even more customer data. Nevertheless, Paul Gallant, a managing director at investment firm Guggenheim Partners and former legal adviser to the FCC, said privacy issues are unlikely to hold the merger back. According to Gallant, the main focus of regulators is how mergers affect competition and the AT&T – NSA issue will not hold the merger back [16]. Neither AT&T nor DirecTV is concerned about the FCC’s current suspension of their deal. DirecTV expects the review process to resume quickly and AT&T says it still expects to close the deal in 2015[17].

Financial Statistics:

[18]

DirecTV stock trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol “DTV.” At this time, most Wall Street analysts are recommending a “Hold” on the stock.
DirecTV’s 2014 fourth quarter results were a bit higher than expected, so the hesitation to recommend “Buy” stems mainly from the pending outcome of the merger with ATT. According to DirecTV CEO Mike White, “Fourth quarter results, although marked by challenging macroeconomic conditions in Latin America and a conscious decision to reinvest in our U.S. business, capped off another strong year of operations for DirecTV” [19]. The company added 149,000 subscribers in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2014. Some of them came from Dish Network after Dish lost CNN and CBS for a short period of time. Other factors were improved retention practices and a new ad campaign in the fourth quarter.

For up-to-date stock information click here[20]

Sources:

1. DirecTV’s Logo: http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/DirecTV

2. Michael White Photo: http://www.directvpresscenter.com/executives/?p=2156

3. Pat Doyle Photo: http://investor.directv.com/corporate-governance/elected-officers/default.aspx

4. Joe Bosch Photo: http://investor.directv.com/corporate-governance/elected-officers/default.aspx

5. DirecTV “About Us”: http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/about_us

6. TECH-FAQ: http://www.tech-faq.com/directv.html

7. TECH-FAQ: http://www.tech-faq.com/directv.html

7.1 Headquarters Location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/2230+E+Imperial+Hwy,+El+Segundo,+CA+90245/@33.9303243,-118.3860541,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x80c2b6c9fb6c7585:0xb02e52ec6e23b78e

8. Mannes’ Quote: https://books.google.com/books?id=OOUDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=compressed+Direct+Tv+signals+go+to+a+satellite&source=bl&ots=eoYXlxls2B&sig=sWV-b2L7-tTyc0M8bW87-xKbj-g&hl=en&sa=X&ei=coQsVd2IMse-ggSQtYTADw&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=compressed%20Direct%20Tv%20signals%20go%20to%20a%20satellite&f=false

8.1. Castle Rock: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Castle+Rock,+CO/@39.373538,-104.8409584,12z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x876c9705cf3ab447:0x61dc7a141b5c399a

9. Mannes’ Quote: https://books.google.com/books?id=OOUDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57&lpg=PA57&dq=compressed+Direct+Tv+signals+go+to+a+satellite&source=bl&ots=eoYXlxls2B&sig=sWV-b2L7-tTyc0M8bW87-xKbj-g&hl=en&sa=X&ei=coQsVd2IMse-ggSQtYTADw&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=compressed%20Direct%20Tv%20signals%20go%20to%20a%20satellite&f=false

9.1. AT&T Corporate Website: http://www.att.com

9.2. Comcast Corporate Website: http://www.comcast.com/cable-internet-packages.html?CMP=KNC-IQ_ID_64303809-VQ2-g-VQ3–VQ6-81855834448-VQ16-c-pkw-comcast-pmt-e&iq_id=64303809

10. Howard Hughes Photo: http://blog.solidsignal.com/content.php/2445-Who-is-Howard-Hughes-and-what-did-he-have-to-do-with-DIRECTV

11. DirecTV Headquarters: http://www.mymcmedia.org/in-praise-of-directv/

12. How The Proposed AT&T-DirecTV Merger Will Affect Consumers: http://www.ibtimes.com/how-proposed-att-directv-merger-will-affect-consumers-1586590

13. AT&T, DirecTV announce $49 billion merger: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/atandt-directv-announce-48-billion-merger/2014/05/18/62ffc980-dec1-11e3Kang, Cecelia.810f764fe508b82d_story.html

14. FTC Charges DIRECTV with Deceptively Advertising the Cost of Its Satellite Television Service: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2015/03/ftc-charges-directv-deceptively-advertising-cost-its-satellite

15. AT&T’s Cozy History With the NSA Unlikely to Derail Proposed Merger: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/03/06/at-ts-cozy-nsa-history-unlikely-to-affect-directv-merger

16. AT&T’s Cozy History With the NSA Unlikely to Derail Proposed Merger: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/03/06/at-ts-cozy-nsa-history-unlikely-to-affect-directv-merger

17. AT&T, DirecTV announce $49 billion merger: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/atandt-directv-announce-48-billion-merger/2014/05/18/62ffc980-dec1-11e3Kang, Cecelia.810f764fe508b82d_story.html

18. DirecTV Stock: https://www.google.com/#q=directv+stock

19. Global Market Insight. Wall Street: http://wallstreetpit.com/106981-directv-dtv-tops-4q-forecasts/

20. Yahoo Finance: DirecTV Stock: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=DTV

Principles & Practices

Website by the students of TRF235

Monthly Archives: April 2015

DreamWorks Animation

A+E Television Networks- Carly Cott

Lionsgate Entertainment

Sirius XM Radio

Paramount Pictures

DirecTV