Disney-ABC

Posted on April 21, 2014 by eamoomey

By Nicolas Claro

Company History

On January 4^th, 1996, Michael Eisner and the Walt Disney Company came to an agreement with Capital Cities/ABC on a merger between the two companies, forming what is known today as Disney-ABC TV [1]. In addition to ABC Television Network, Disney-ABC owns multiple cable channels including Disney Channel Disney XD, ABC Family and ABC News, as well as a controlling stake in ESPN and an equity holding in A+E Networks.

Corporate

ANNE SWEENEY

Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks
President, Disney/ABC Television Group (2005-2015)

KEVIN BROCKMAN

Executive Vice President, Global Communications, Disney/ABC Television Group

REBECCA CAMPBELL

President, ABC Owned Television Stations Group

PAUL LEE

President, ABC Entertainment Group

GARY MARSH

President and Chief Creative Officer, Disney Channels Worldwide

BEN SHERWOOD

Co-President, Disney/ABC Television Group (2010-2015),

Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks
President, Disney/ABC Television Group (2015-)

[2]

Q1 EARNINGS

The Walt Disney Company’s first quarter of the fiscal year ended on December 28, 2013. Since the first quarter of the 2013 fiscal year, The Walt Disney Company’s media networks have seen a 4% increase in revenue, and an operating income increase of nearly 20%. However, the company saw a decrease of almost $85 million in income, due in large part to contractual rate increases to Modern Family and other long-tenured shows on the network. [3]

PROGRAMMING

The cast and crew of Modern Family winning their fourth Emmy in four years. [4]

Disney-ABC has done a very fine job of diversifying their TV offerings, broadcasting programs for every sort of viewer imaginable. The company’s two most popular offerings are 4-time Emmy winner Modern Family [4] and the company’s longest running primetime drama, Grey’s Anatomy. In addition, ABC has created successful shows based on existing third-party content, such as Once Upon a Time and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ABC also airs a large number of successful unscripted shows, such as The Bachelor and Dancing With The Stars, talk-shows in both the morning (The View) and late-night (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), live college football and NBA games, and national news shows such as Good Morning America.

Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes (left) and the show’s star Kerry Washington. Rhimes also created ABC’s long running Grey’s Anatomy. [5]

ABC Family and the various Disney channels offer popular youth-oriented series such as Pretty Little Liars and the cartoon Gravity Falls.

In this upcoming season, Disney-ABC plans to bolster its broadcast schedule even further by collaborating with well-respected directors and producers such as David O. Russell and Bryan Singer on the shows The Club [6] and Black Box [7] , respectively.

Director Bryan Singer, well known for his directorial work on the X-Men films, is bringing a show to ABC this year. [8]

New King of Late Night?

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel (Left) and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon (Right) [9]

On April 3, 2014, Late Night host David Letterman announced his retirement from the show, and from late-night TV in 2015. Stephen Colbert will replace him on CBS in the same time slot after his departure. [10] With David Letterman’s retirement in 2015, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel will have the longest active run of late night hosting on broadcast TV with a consecutive 11 years on the air. Along with Colbert, Kimmel has already begun competing with the recently appointed Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon on NBC, who’s show shares a timeslot with Kimmel.

So far, among the two shows, The Tonight Show has dominated in TV ratings. However, Jimmy Kimmel Live is fast on Fallon’s heels in the digital department. After a stellar debut week (avg 6.2 million viewers), Fallon’s ratings have come back to Earth (avg 1.8 million viewers in its 2^nd week). A report from Nielsen “SocialGuide”’s data, the number of impressions on Twitter for each show are comparable, and Kimmel’s uptick in viewership means that the margin between the two shows is closer than you think. These two talk-show stalwarts look to be set to compete for years to come, and ready to take on all challengers. [11].

The End of an Era?

Will this Aereo antennae (left) be the end of TV as we know it? [12]

On February 14, 2012, a company called Aereo created a product that was designed, in their eyes, to be the future of television. Aereo created a mini-sized antennae that effectively replaced a cable box and allowed consumers to “break free” from cable companies [12], all for a very affordable price of $80 a year. However, by doing so, Aereo was breaking many rules by not paying retransmission fees to the networks it carried, something that the cable providers are required to do. As such, cable companies swarmed Aereo with suits and injunctions within months, but to no avail [13]. 2+ years later, Aereo is still operational, and now more faces have joined in the fight against them, including ABC.

Aereo founder Chet Kanojia [15]

Specifically, their case against Aereo is set to go to Supreme Court review on April 22, 2014, and will likely be resolved by the end of June. If they lose, Aereo could be a signal of what is to come, with other startups following suit, and ducking retransmission fees. However, even if the networks win this battle, has the issue gained enough traction that it has gone down an irreversible path? Many Aereo subscribers, and consumers fed up with their cable companies, are embracing this new technology and championing it as the next big thing. Nobody knows just how this case will play out, but everyone knows that the repercussions will be massive [15][14]

Fighting Fire with Fire

: Scandal’s growing social media numbers

Scandal’s growing social media numbers [16]

Recent advances in broadcast technology have seriously hindered TV’s chances at remaining a top broadcast medium in the past few years. Internet piracy, DVR and online streaming services have all impeded on the television’s reign atop the media market. However, it seems that ABC has found a way to turn the tables and use these new developments to their advantage.

The best example of this is ABC’s smash hit show Scandal. ABC has allowed the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, to run rampant on social media, and she does so with finesse. Her constant involvement and interaction with fans throughout the show’s run has led to a massive social media following for everyone from Rhimes, to the show’s star, Kerry Washington, to Scandal’s official social media accounts.

To show just how astronomical its rise has been, take Scandal’s social media growth from its premiere up to the third season finale on April 17, 2014. At the former, Scandal had about 500,000 connections on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube combined. As of the third season finale, Scandal has 1.4 million views on its official Youtube page, 2.6 million followers on Twitter and almost 5 million fans on Facebook. As you would expect, Scandal’s most popular demographic is in the 18-49 range, who – not so coincidentally – are the demographic most present on social media networks [16].

Works Cited

[1] THE MEDIA BUSINESS;Disney and ABC Shareholders Solidly Approve Merger Deal

[2] All portraits courtesy of disneyabctv.com

[3] THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY REPORTS FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS FOR FISCAL 2014

[4] Modern Family – The Television Academy

[5] girltalkhq – ‘Scandal’ & ‘Greys Anatomy’ Creator Shonda Rhimes To Receive Diversity Award

[6] Deadline – Soapy Drama From David O. Russell & Susannah Grant Gets ABC Series Order

[7] Deadline – Bryan Singer To Direct & Exec Produce CBS Series ‘Battle Creek’ From Vince Gilligan & David Shore

[8] IMDB – Bryan Singer photos

[9] tvovermind – Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Agree To Play Nice

[10] CBSNews – Stephen Colbert to replace David Letterman on “Late Show”

[11] thewrap.com – Jimmy Fallon vs. Jimmy Kimmel: The New Late Night Fight, by the Numbers

[12] “Love is in the Aereo” – Aereo.com press release

[13] “Aereo Prevails” – Aereo.com press release

[14] USAToday – Supreme Court case could test future of broadcast TV

[15] Fortune – What happens if broadcasters lose the Aereo case?

[16] How Social Media Helps Drive ABC’s ‘Scandal’

Clear Channel

Image

By Billy Eisenberg

Overview:

Clear Channel Communications was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and B.J. McCombs. After initially purchasing their first station in San Antonio, the company’s explosive growth began when new rules for ownership were established in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. With a focus on local programming for talk and music, both integrated with syndicated programming, Clear Channel Radio is now a subsidiary of Clear Channel Media and Entertainment. Clear Channel remains headquartered in San Antonio, Texas and is the largest radio station conglomerate, with 850 stations nationwide and a reach of 110 million listeners weekly. Clear Channel employs approximately 20,000 people worldwide. Unlike Sirius, XM and many other broadcast companies, Clear Channel is committed to a policy of zero tolerance for indecency in their programming. For example, following the September 11th attacks, they strongly advised banning of numerous songs that had lyrics referencing bombs and burning buildings, including “Free Falling” by Tom Petty and “Live and Let Die” by Paul McCartney. Today, Clear Channel has sold their TV rights, but remains the largest privately owned radio station conglomerate globally. [1.]

Key Executives

Chairman and CEO – Bob Pittman

Bob Pittman came to Clear Channel in 2011, having been a key member of the team that helped get MTV launched. He has served as a CEO for MTV, AOL, SixFlags and Time Warner. With his earlier, extensive background in radio station programming, Pittman has been doing great work, helping Clear Channel reach more listeners weekly. He is a very influential figure in the world of Broadcast. [2.]

President and CFO – Richard J. Bressler

Richard Bressler was a partner at a private equity firm prior to joining the Clear Channel team in 2013. He brings extensive experience in managing financial business development and technology functions. With his impressive career, Bressler serves as an important voice in Clear Channel executive decision making. [3.]

Exec. VP and CCO – Wendy Goldberg

Wendy Goldberg is responsible for overseeing all external communications with brands and other marketing partners. Goldberg has years of experience giving counsel to senior leaders of companies on external relationships. She has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer since 2011. [4.]

Financials

Clear Channel Communications in 2008 was acquired by Bain Capital and Thomas H Lee Partners. In 2012, Ryan Seacrest Media agreed to partner with Clear Channel and its new ownership to bring new programming. This will cost THL and Bain $300 million to create this partnership. Clear Channel has the reach but has struggled financially recently and they believe this deal can potentially save the company. Clear Channel will receive a minority stake in RSM while Seacrest cannot have an affect on their business decisions. At the same time, Clear Channel will use Seacrest for new creative programming to reach a targeted audience and diversify their assets. [5]

Time Warner Cable

Link

By Gauraa Shekhar

The Time Warner Company logo

History

Time Warner Cable, Inc. was founded in 1990 when Time, Inc. merged with Warner Communications. Being the second largest cable provider in the United States, the company owns and manages cable systems in over 29 states as of date. Time Warner Cable offers a vast array of customer-friendly family oriented home entertainment, including high speed Internet, digital cable, on-demand video, and phone services. [1]

Key Executives

Being a massive corporation, Time Warner Cable has a staff of over 10,000 employees. In 2013, Glenn Britt, who had been with the company for twelve years, announced his plans to retire and was thereby replaced as chairman and CEO by the Chief Operating Officer, Robert D. Marcus for the year 2014. [2]

Robert D Marcus, courtesy of Time Warner Cable, Inc.

Marcus started working at Time Warner Cable in 2005 as the Senior Executive Vice President and gradually moved up the ladder by moving the company forward through its consumer centric focus. He carefully coordinated TWC’s move from a private company to a publicly traded one, and played a huge part in getting the company to where it is today.

Dinesh C. Jain, courtesy of Time Warner Cable

The current Chief Operating Officer is Dinesh C. Jain, who has been with the company since 2003. He held the position of Chief Financial Officer, where he closely monitored operations, and orchestrated product development, and content acquisition functions. As current COO, he holds the responsibility of overseeing the company’s sales, marketing, strategy and development marketing. [3]

Financials

Ever since the company went public in February 2007, it has delivered good results while making the investments needed for longer-term success in a competitive market. Currently, the largest segment is Cable TV which makes about 44.7% of the TWC business. Their second largest segment is Broadband Internet which constitutes of 33.8% of their stock price estimate. Though digital phone services, advertising and franchising also constitute as important segments of the company, the company generates majority of its revenue through subscription fees and pay-per-view programming. In the year of 2013 alone, Time Warner Cable Inc. generated over $22 billion in revenue, with a remarkably high market share. Their cash flow became drastically stronger, and the shares that they repurchased totaled approximately $2.7 billion. After their acquisition of Communications for $3 billion, they grew up in many key financial and operational metrics. The company also announced a merger with Comcast Corporation earlier this year. [4]

Recent Acquisitions and Activities

Acquisition of DukeNet Communications

DukeNet Communications, courtesy of DukeNet Communications

This year, TWC announced that it has acquired DukeNet Communications, LLC, a fiber optic network that enables cloud computing and high bandwidth applications for enterprise, data center, government entities, intended for wholesale carrier costumers. By this $600 million transaction, Time Warner was able to add over 8700 miles to its service network. This allows the company to target a large number of customers in the Southeast, particularly enabling them to tap into the markets in North and South Carolina. It will also enable the Time Warner Cable Business Class to put the additional fiber capacity that DukeNet offers to use by offering enterprises and commercial firms services like high speed Internet and cloud enabled hosting.[5]

Merger with Comcast Corporation

Comcast Time Warner Cable Merger, courtesy of The Wrap

Another activity that stirred a lot of controversy this year was Time Warner Cable’s merger with Comcast Corporation. Owning media companies like NBCUniversal, Universal Pictures and producer of multiple television channels including E! Entertainment Television, the Golf Channel, and NBCSL, Comcast is the largest Internet service provider and Cable Company in the United States, and the largest mass media and Communications Company in the world by revenue. The merger was a strategic win-win for both participants, as it would accelerate the delivery of Comcast’s Technologically Advanced Products and Services to Time Warner Cable’s Customers. The transaction, founded on the basis of future growth, will operate at a greater efficiency, creating multiple benefits for the two companies. They portmanteau company is looking forward to working with their team to adjust the operating cash flow levels.[6]

Sponsorship Deals:

In the past, Time Warner Cable did not have the healthiest relationship with Madison Square Garden. This was partly because they were competitors who successfully took a slice of the market share away from them by drawing fans in to switch cable companies so as to be able to watch Rangers and Islander games. However, in 2012, the two rival companies waved white flags and struck a multimillion dollar partnership instead. Time Warner agreed upon a long-term contract to become an official sponsor of MSG, replacing Absolut as a partner. [7]

Katy Perry Time Warner Concert Series, courtesy of Time Warner Cable

Time Warner Cable has since been a sponsoring company, not only to sports series but also to musical concerts, covering everything from Knicks games to Madonna shows. This year, they are the official sponsors to Katy Perry’s MSG shows. They further use this partnership opportunity to leverage their On Demand Movie service. In this case, they are also using the MSG concert series to promote the pop sensation’s documentary movie, “Part of Me”. [8] [9]

Upcoming Projects:

According to its Annual Investor’s Report, Time Warner Cable is positioning itself to continue generating strong operating results and financial results in the coming years. The company is aiming to improve its reliability, quality and customer service by revitalizing and scaling residential services, specifically video, phone, and HSD. Furthermore, TWC is emphasizing on rolling out next generation products such as DVRs with an improved video on demand capacity of 75,000 hours. Since their IP video app was so successful on tablets universally, they are also looking into expanding community WiFi beyond the 200,000 hot spots that exist currently. [10]

Time Warner Cable’s New “Max”:

Additionally, TWC intends to re-brand its previous TWC City by City with TWC Max, starting with New York City and Los Angeles by the end of this year. The company will replace set top boxes with new boxes at no cost to the customer, plant certification programs, and carry all video in crystal clear digital format only. They will also implement significantly higher speeds and state-of-the-art in-home WiFis with its new acquisition of the nationwide fiber backbone. The company is also gearing its new technology towards other states to capitalize on future growth capacity.[11]

Sources:

[1] Time Warner Cable History RT: 4/13/14

[2] Time Warner Cable’s Key Executives RT: 4/13/14

[3] About Robert D. Marcus RT: 4/14/14

[4] About Dinesh C. Jain RT: 4/14/14

[5] Acquisition of DukeNet Communications RT: 4/17/14

[6] Comcast and Time Warner Cable Merger RT: 4/13/14

[7] Time Warner Cable’s Sponsorship Deal With Madison Square Garden RT: 4/13/14

[8] Time Warner Cable Sponsors Katy Perry at Madison Square Garden RT: 4/13/14

[9] Time Warner Leverages Brand Partnership to Promote On Demand Video Service RT: 4/14/14

[10] Time Warner Cable’s Investor’s Report RT: 4/15/14

[11] New “Max” Service RT: 4/21/14

Paramount Pictures

Link

By Rachel Heffler

Paramount Pictures logo [1]

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

5555 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA

www.paramount.com

KEY EXECUTIVES

Brad Grey

Brad Grey, CEO [2]

Since 2005, Brad Grey has held the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Paramount Pictures. Grey is responsible for all development and production for the Paramount Motion Picture Group. Under Grey’s leadership, Paramount has seen the successes of hits including “Transformers Dark of the Moon“, “Mission Impossible“, “Star Trek“, “Paranormal Activity“, as well as many other top grossing films. [2]

Rob Moore

Rob Moore, Vice Chairman [3]

Rob Moore was named the Vice Chairman of Paramount Pictures in 2008, making him responsible for overseeing several divisions of the studio. He has been involved with Paramount since 2005. [3]

Frederick Huntsberry

Frederick Huntsberry, Chief Operating Officer [4]

In 2006, Huntsberry took on the position of Chief Operating Officer for Paramount Pictures. With this title, he manages the worldwide strategic planning and operations for the studio, with a focus on IT, human resources, and studio operations. [4]

Adam Goodman

Adam Goodman, President of Paramount Film Group [5]

Adam Goodman has held the position of the President of Paramount Film Group since 2009, after serving as the President of Production for a year. Before joining Paramount, Goodman was the President of Production at DreamWorks Studios. [5]

Paramount – 100 years [6]

BRIEF OVERVIEW

Paramount Pictures Corporation is the longest operating major studio in Hollywood, having just celebrated its 100th year in show business in 2012. This corporation is a subsidiary of Viacom, a global mass media firm. Adolph Zukor founded Paramount Pictures in 1912 under the name Famous Players Film Company. Paramount took home its first Academy Award for Best Picture in 1927 and has only grown from there, evident in its success of the highest grossing blockbuster of all time, “Titanic“. In the past 100 years, this company has emerged as an international leader and a front-runner of film and television entertainment production. [7] [8]

RECENT RELEASES

In the past four months, Paramount has released five films, including Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues; The Wolf of Wall Street; Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones; Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit; and Noah. [9]

http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=anchorman2.htm

– box office mojo [10]

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues was released on December 18, 2013 and is a comedy film. It had a production budget of $50 million and a total lifetime gross of $172,952,707 worldwide, sitting at the number 2 rank on its opening weekend behind The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. This film almost doubled its total gross from the release of the first Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, which was distributed by DreamWorks. Anchorman 2 thrived on a domestic audience, accounting for 73.6% of its viewers. This film was the last one that Paramount distributed to theaters traditionally, using a 35 mm film. [10] [11] [12]

– box office mojo [13]

The Wolf of Wall Street was released on December 25, 2013, and this black comedy saw huge successes for Paramount, as seen by its nomination for five Academy Awards. This film features big name actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, and Matthew McConaughey. It had a production budget of $100 million and a worldwide lifetime gross of 389,600,694, being the number 5 rank in theaters on its opening weekend, behind The Hobbit, Frozen, Anchorman 2, and American Hustle. This film had a much higher foreign audience than it did domestic, with international revenues accounting for 70% of its total gross. Independent of its acclaim, this film is also monumental as it is the first major film to ever have been released to theaters through digital distribution, a major accomplishment for Paramount. [13] [14]

– box office mojo [15]

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones was released on January 3, 2014 and brought in a worldwide total gross of $86,362,372. The production budget for this horror film was $5 million. This film obtained the number 2 rank on its opening weekend, behind Frozen, and appealed primarily to international audiences, who make up 62.4% of the lifetime gross of the movie. In comparison to the other Paranormal Activity films, the newest release had the lowest box office sales. This may be attributed to the fact that this was the first one in the series to offer a completely new cast and functions as more of a spinoff than a sequel, or the Paranormal series is becoming less of a commodity than it had been in the past. [15] [16]

– box office mojo [17]

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is an action thriller starring Chris Pine, and was released on January 17, 2014. After spending $60 million in production, this film brought in $134,277,412 worldwide. It ranked number 4 in theaters on its opening weekend. The release date of this film was planned in order to correspond with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. According to CinemaScore, more than 1/3 of the film’s opening weekend audience consisted of individuals over the age of 50 despite the casting of a young attractive male lead. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit was the first film of 2014 to reach over $100 million worldwide. International audiences account for 62.3% of this film’s total lifetime gross. [17] [18] [19]

– box office mojo [20]

Noah was released on March 28, 2014 and is a biblically-inspired film based on the story of Noah’s Ark. It grossed $290,674,000 worldwide and held the number 1 rank in theaters in its opening weekend. The production budget of this film was $125 million. Noah had an extremely large international audience, contributing to 67.9% of its total lifetime gross. As it takes on a biblical perspective, this film has faced some controversy. Prior to its release, Noah was banned in Pakistan, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, Middle Eastern and North African countries as the film is thought to be contradicting to Islamic teachings. [20] [21]

WHAT’S NEXT?

Paramount is set to release multiple films in the next year, including Transformers: Age of Extinction; Hercules (2014); Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014); Paranormal Activity 5; Interstellar; Hot Tub Time Machine 2; Project Almanac; Spongebob Squarepants 2; and Friday the 13th (2015). [22]

Of the nine films listed above, it is noteworthy that only two of these films are neither sequels nor remakes. This is telling of today’s film industry and the newest trends that are developing. In recent years, the number of sequels and remakes that have been made has skyrocketed.

An explanation for Paramount’s numerous sequels and remakes can be explained by this company’s strategy when it comes to choosing films to release. Paramount takes on films that portray a mix of primary branded and franchise films and smaller productions, purchased films and distribution arrangements. In order to appeal to both worldwide and smaller audiences, Paramount is interested in a variety of genres and levels of investment. [23]

Spongebob Squarepants 2 [25]

Until their contract ended in 2012, Paramount Pictures had relied on DreamWorks Animation to head any animated films they released. DreamWork Animation’s Rango, which was released in 2011, came with huge successes and inspired Paramount to generate its own animation film division. Spongebob Squarepants 2, scheduled to be released on February 13, 2015, will be this new division of Paramount’s first animated film. The budget for the animated films will be around $100 million per picture and the studio has high hopes for this new division. [24]

Another thing that Paramount is working on is coming up with innovative promotion and marketing techniques for its films. Paramount has been a front-running film company since the beginning, and it does not seem like its accomplishments will be slowing down any time soon. [23]

Works Cited

[1] Paramount Pictures logo Retrieved 4/16

[2] Key Executive Brad Grey Retrieved 4/16

[3] Key Executive Rob Moore Retrieved 4/16

[4] Key Executive Frederick Huntsberry Retrieved 4/16

[5] Key Executive Adam Goodman Retrieved 4/16

[6] New Paramount logo Retrieved 4/16

[7] 100 Years of Paramount Retrieved 4/16

[8] History of Paramount Retrieved 4/16

[9] Paramount past projects Retrieved 4/16

[10] Anchorman 2 Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[11] Anchorman Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[12] New form of distribution Retrieved 4/18

[13] Wolf of Wall Street Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[14] December 26 Box Office Details Retrieved 4/18

[15] Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[16] Paranormal Activity Series Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[17] Jack Ryan Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[18] CinemaScore Retrieved 4/18

[19] Jack Ryan demographics Retrieved 4/18

[20] Noah Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[21] Noah faces ban in Arab world Retrieved 4/18

[22] Paramount upcoming releases Retrieved 4/19

[23] Paramount’s strategies Retrieved 4/19

[24] Paramount launching in-house animation division Retrieved 4/19

[25] Spongebob Squarepants 2 picture Retrieved 4/19

Pandora Radio

Posted on November 21, 2013 by eamoomey

By Isaiah Mendez

Pandora Media, Inc.

2101 Webster Street
16th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612
510.451.4100

http://www.pandora.com/

About the Company [1]:

Pandora Internet Radio is an internet music streaming service that is only available in the United States, New Zealand and Austrailia. It provides both A major competitor with other internet radio providers such as Clear Channel Communications, SIRIUS XM Radio Inc. and CBS Radio Inc., Pandora is known for it’s Music Genome Project, which creates customized playlists for users by analyzing the musical characteristics of songs that they listen to. The internet service can be accessed using a free account or by purchasing a monthly subscription. Pandora Media Inc. was founded in Oakloand, California by Tim Westergren in the year 2000 at the same time as the the Music Genome Project. Pandora currently has additional corporate locations in Houston, TX and in New York City.

Key Executives [2]:

Brian McAndrews – Chief Executive Officer, President & Chairman

Tim Westergren – Chief Strategy Officer & Founder

Tom Conrad – Chief Technology Officer & Executive Vice President of Product

Mike Herring – Chief Financial Officer

John Trimble – Chief Revenue Officer

Delida Costin – General Counsel

Simon Fleming-Wood – Chief Marketing Office

Financial Information [3]:

As of August 22nd, 2013, Pandora Media Inc reported a successful financial year. For the 2Q14 financial period, Pandora made a total revenue of $157.4, which is a $31.9 million increase from the previous fiscal quarter ($128.5 million). Their advertising revenue for the fiscal period was a whopping $33.5 million, which included a $4.7 million in revenue relating to their subscription return reserve.

News:

Insider Selling

The Executive VP of Pandora, Thomas Conrad sold 55,000 shares of the company’s stock for a total of $1,677,500.00 [4] in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th of 2013. After this transaction, the executive VP now owns 529,190 shares of the company’s stock. The disclosure of the sale is located in a document filed by the Securities & Exchange Commission [5]. In an official research note to investors on Tuesday, November 19th, analysts at Piper Jaffray Cos., reiterated an “overweight” rating on Pandora’s shares, making note of the price target of these shares from $27.00 to $37.00.

Pandora says iTunes Radio not affecting business…

Even if the numbers seem to report otherwise. According to an Apple Insider article from November 5th of this year, Pandora lost 1.8 million listeners to Itunes Radio shortly after it was first deployed [6]. At a recent iPad event that took place on October 22, chief executive Tim Cook noted that Apple’s iTunes Radio service had a total of 20 million users on it’s debut [7] , who played a collective 1 billion songs.

Initially, before iTunes Radio was launched, Mike Herring of Pandora called the service a “credible threat [8], while at the same time showing optimism about Pandora’s continued dominance in the internet radio business. Interestingly enough, Pandora listening hours actually grew by 9 percent during the same month that iTunes Radio launched, which explains why they do not view it as a threat to business.

For one, this is believed to be caused by Pandora’s continual growth as a station. The company says that it is looking to expand it’s operations beyond it’s current boundaries of the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand in the new future, and could use some of the close to $400 million riased in September stock offering for the proposed expansion.

Another reason Pandora is not considering iTunes a credible threat may be related to the fact that they had recently waived their 40-hour-listening-cap for free users as of September of this year [9], a very bold step the company took as a precautionary business measure before iTunes Radio was released.

Oakland Raiders get their own Pandora station

Oakland Raiders

According to an article from the San Jose Mercury News, The Oakland Raiders now how their own channel on Pandora Radio as of November 15th of this year [10]. The name of the new station is the Raider Nation Station, which plays a mix of Raiders-themed songs chosen by members of the football team themselves. As a part of the great endeavor, five Raiders team members spent time at Pandora headquarters, which is also located in Oakland, California, in order to get a behind the scenes look on how Pandora allows users to customize their own music experiences. The five players who took part in this– Tyvon Branch, Rashad Jennings, Marquette King, Rod Streater and Jared Veldheer- also recorded spots that are to be played on the Raider Nation Station.

Sources:

[1]: http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Pandora_Media_Inc.2b1700451b5b52de.html

[2]: http://investor.pandora.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=227956&p=irol-govManage

[3]: http://investor.pandora.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=227956&p=quarterlyearnings

[4]: http://www.wkrb13.com/markets/230485/insider-selling-thomas-conrad-sells-55000-shares-of-pandora-media-stock-p/

[5]: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1230276/000123027613000168/xslF345X01/edgar.xml

[6]: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/05/pandora-says-itunes-radio-not-affecting-business-loses-nearly-2m-active-listeners

[7]: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/10/22/apples-app-store-hits-1m-options-itunes-radio-users-play-1b-songs

[8]: http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/10/16/apples-itunes-radio-is-credible-threat-says-pandora-cfo

[9]: http://www.webpronews.com/pandora-lifts-40-hour-per-month-streaming-cap-2013-08

[10]: http://www.mercurynews.com/music/ci_24532234/oakland-raiders-get-own-pandora-station

CBS Films

Posted on November 20, 2013 by eamoomey

By Michael Sunderlin

CBS FILMS

– The CBS Films Company Logo
Image coutesy of ramascreen.com

Contact:

100 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

(310)575-7000

http://www.cbsfilms.com

A Brief Overview

A division of CBS corporation, CBS films is a studio based in Los Angeles, California, that handles all stages of the creation of a film including production, development, marketing, and distribution. Established in 2007, CBS films has become famous for the release of nine total nine motion pictures spanning across all genres. Popular titles credited to the studio include “Extraordinary Measures”, “The Back-up Plan”, and “The Women in Black”. [1]

Key Executives

Wolfgang Hammer Co – President

-Wolfgang Hammer
Image courtesy of cbspressexpress.com

Wolfgang Hammer’s prior experience involves serving as the executive Vice President of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. Hammer’s career at CBS Films began as the COO during which period he oversaw the attainment of “Salmon Fishing in Yemen”, as well as handling several financial deals for films such as “Seven Psychopaths”. Currently, he handles much of the company’s logistical affairs, such as business, finance, law, and acquiring new films. [1]

Terry Press – Co-President

– Terry Press
Image courtesy of cbspressexpress.com

Terry Press, before involved with CBS films, was responsible for the campaigns of “Shrek”, “Gladiator”, and “Saving Private Ryan” as the Head of Marketing for DreamWorks Studios. Accordingly, her responsibilities now, as the Co-President of CBS films, include supervising the distribution and marketing of the company’s current films, as well as overseeing the company’s creative affairs and physical production. [1]

Financials

CBS Films is currently ranked 15th overall in total market share, holding approximately .7%. Through three quarters of 2013, CBS films has grossed a total of 66.5 million dollars. This value is already 34.2% higher than the total gross of 2010, and 15.8% higher than that of 2011. However, this value is 25.5% less than the total gross of 2012. Still, the total gross of the fourth quarter, including the money collected through the release of “Last Vegas”, has yet to be counted. In addition, the studio is predicted to gross more through the anticipated release of “Inside Llewyn Davis”, set to release of December 6th of this year. The profits from these films could raise the total yearly gross higher than its ever been since the company’s origination. [2] [3]

Recent and Upcoming Film Releases (September – December 2013)

“Last Vegas”

– (Left to Right) The stars of “Last Vegas”: Kevin Kline, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro, and Michael Douglas as Sam, Archie, Paddy, and Billy respectively
Image courtesy of static.rogerebert.com

On November 1st, CBS Films released the comedy “Last Vegas”, a film they themselves produced and distributed. Directed by Jon Turtletaub, the film boasts an all-star cast of Michael Douglas, Morgan Freedman, Robert De Niro, and Kevin Kline – all of whom are Oscar Winners. The story follows of four elderly men who have been friends since their childhoods. Billy, played by Michael Douglas, announces to his friends that he, in his 60’s, is marrying his girlfriend who is only 32 years old. Consequentially, the group travels to Las Vegas to attend Billy’s Bachelor party, excited to relive the olden days the group once spent in the city. [4] [5] [6]

During its time in the box office, the film has gained much media attention for its appeal to older audiences, a demographic largely neglected by Hollywood. As such, many sources mark this movie’s release as an admittance to the fact that the boomer generation still watches movies. As reported by the Huffington Post, the older generations currently make up a quarter of all movie-goers. Concurrently, the film is said to appeal to younger generations as well, doing so through its universal theme of friendship. [4] [5] [7]

The film has shown mostly positive signs in the box office, grossing over 16 million in its first weekend and over 46 million by its third weekend. If the box office success continues, “Last Vegas” may overtake “The Women in Black”, which grossed 54.3 million, as the number one grosser for CBS Films – either way, CBS films will have had its two largest grossers in the past two years. [8] [9]

“Inside Llewyn Davis”

– Oscar Isaac (Left) and Justin Timberlake (Right) as Llewyn Davis and Jim in “Inside Llywyn Davis”
Image courtesy of collider.com

Upcoming December 6th of this year, CBS films is scheduled to release “Inside Llewyn Davis”, a film directed by Joel and Ethan Coen (Academy Award Winners) and produced by T. Bone Burnett (Grammy and Academy Award Winner) – the same team responsible films such as “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”. Set in the 1960’s, the film captures the story of Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac), a wayward folk musician struggling to overcome financial and personal hardships. As with “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”, the music was produced specifically for the purpose of the film. With each song tailored to fit the point of the story in which it appears, the film’s soundtrack takes on an imitative style of folk music featuring popular artists such as Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan, who both star in the film as well, in addition to artists such as Marcus Mumford and The Punch Brothers. Receiving the Grand Prix at its premiere during the Cannes Film Festival, this film looks to award CBS with its first Oscar relative to the studio’s services. [10] [11] [12] [13]

– Marcus Mumford (Left) and Oscar Isaac (Right) play together at the “Another Time, Another Place” concert in NYC
Image courtesy of The Daily News

The promotion of the film was invested most notably within the concert entitled “Another Place, Another Time”, held in New York City. This charity concert featured the music of the film, sung by performers from the film such as Macus Mumford, as well as outside acts such as The Avett Brothers and Elvis Costello. Tickets for the concert sold out in 12 minutes. Such success prompted CBS Films to repeat the concert in Los Angeles, where an equally excited crowd was attracted and celebrities such as Steve Martin, Ed Helms, and Barbra Streisand all came to celebrate along with the rest of those in attendance. [12] [14]

Future Films (2014 and Beyond)

– Director Derek Lee as Derek in “Afflicted”
Image courtesy of Hollywood Reporter

Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan as Wallace and Chantry in “The F Word”
– Image courtesy of Hollywood Reporter

Films such as “Afflicted” and “The F Word”, both of which acquired by CBS films, have shown positive signs in their reception at the Toronto International Film Festival. “Afflicted” takes on the format of found-footage format, telling the story of two friends who travel through Europe, one of whom becomes sick after being bitten by a vampire. Directed by Derek Lee and Clif Prowse, the film looks to attract crowds of similar films such as “Paranormal Activity” and “Chronicle”. [15] [16]

CBS Films acquired he distribution rights for “The F Word” for approximately 3 million dollars. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan who play two tentative young lovers – Kazan’s character has a boyfriend. The film tracks how the two characters deal with their relationship merely as a friendship. The film is directed by Michael Dowse. [17]

Sources

[1] About CBS Films

[2] Box Office Mojo – Total Market Share

[3] Box Office Mojo – Box Office by the Studio – CBS Films

[4] The Hollywood Reporter – ‘Last Vegas’ Premiere: Director, CBS Execs Say Elderly Comedy Is For Everyone

[5] AARP – The Stars of ‘Last Vegas’ Have Fun – Lots of Fun

[6] IMDb – Last Vegas

[7] Huffington Post – 7 of the Best Movies for Grownups

[8] Box Office Mojo – Last Vegas

[9] IndieWire – Weekend Top Ten: ‘Thor Bashes Box Office, ‘Ender’s game’ Collapses

[10] NPR – First Listen: Soundtrack, ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’

[11] Inside Llewyn Davis Website – Story

[12] The Hollywood Reporter – New York Film Fest: Weekend Highlighted by ‘Inside Llewyn Davis Primiere’, Star-Studded Charity Concert

[13] L.A. Times – An early look at Oscar best picture contenders

[14] The Hollywood Reporter – ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ Caberet in Santa Monica Draws A-Listers and Oscar Voters

[15]Firstshowing.net – Favorite Films of the 2013 Toronto Film Festival + One Final Recap

[16] The Hollywood Reporter – Toronto: Audience Member Becomes ‘Afflicted’ at Midnight Madness Screening

[17] The Hollywood Reporter – Toronto: CBS Films’ Deal to Acquire ‘The F Word’ Nearing $3 Million

Hulu

Posted on November 20, 2013 by eamoomey

By Jiayi Jiang

HULU

12312 West Olympic Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA 90064, United States

www.hulu.com

phone:310-571-4700

About the company

Hulu is an online free video service that offers a selection of hit shows, clips, and movies from over 260 content companies. Hulu Venture was established in March 2007 and is operated independently by a team in the Los Angles office. Hulu videos currently only offer to users in USA,overseas territories and Japan In April 2009, Hulu became a joint venture of NBCUniversal Television Group, Fox Broadcasting Company, and Disney ABC Television Group. In addition to offering free content, Hulu also has a paid version called Hulu Plus, which supports more video content. [1]

Hulu plus service

HULU Plus

Hulu Plus is a paid online service that gives users access to unlimited instant streaming of TV shows, movies, trailers, and exclusive content. Hulu Plus complements the website Hulu by enabling paid users to watch episodes beyond the ones available for free.[2]

Key Person

CEO: Mike Hopkins

[3]Mike Hopkins http://www.thewrap.com//images/2013/10/Screen-shot-2013-10-25-at-2.52.35-PM.png

Mike Hopkins—–CEO

CFO: Elaine Paul

Elaine Paul——CFO

Competitors:

In the online video market, Hulu’s competitors are the other online video service companies— such as Amazon instant, Netflix, and iTunes, which offer their customes the ability to rent DVDs and to view or download streaming videos. Cable TV is another Hulu’s competitor’s.[3]

Financial information:

The company earned $695 million for 2012, which was a 65% jump over 2011. Also, according the previous CEO, Jason Kilar, Hulu plus adding over 3 million users which is double the number of 2011.The main revenue Hulu earned is form the subscription fee and AD sales. Hulu offers different of ad formats to satisfy what company want to deliver to Hulu’s user.[4]

In the news

1. Change of the Executive

Hulu’s leader ship level is tumultuous in 2013. In January, the founder CEO Jason Kilar left the company. From March, the acting CEO Andy took control of all the business in the company. Finally, on October 17th, the EX-head of distribution for FOX, Mile Hopkins, became the new parents of the Hulu. The first decision Mike did after he took the wheel of the position was nominate the new CFO, Elaine Paul, who was the previously head of strategy and business development at Disney.

The refresh of the whole executive team may bring the Hulu new energy to compete with Netflix and Amzon instant. Due to the background of the Mike Hopkins, the Fox Networks distribution chief, the business model of Hulu may change.[5][6]

2.Technology

: Free Video to Mobile devices

On October 23th, Hulu finally bring the free video to mobile. It is a big move for Hulu, after 6 years launched, they finally begin to open the market for mobile industry. However, for now,it just support clips but not full content. Also, the video are only available for mobile browser[7]

: Hulu join PS4

On November 12th, Hulu Plus officially supported for the Sony Playstation 4. For PS4 version, Hulu is trying to increase user experience by adding specific types of content like Hulu Kids, Originals. For the function part, the search engine has been introduced. User can also register account on the console itself. [8]

As mobile devices will take more important role in our life, Streaming video wbesite like Hulu has to get more ways for user to reach the information. Going to mibile is a rigth way for Hulu, but they have to work hard to increase the user experience.

3. Original Series

By far, Hulu has produced more than 25 Hulu original Series. Original Series is a way for Hulu to expand their TV Universe. Beside this, the exclusive shows also helps Hulu to earn large number of subscribers. Hulu is preparing 20 original series next year with the UK based on the splendid job of ‘The Wrong mans’ [9]

: Fugget About It

Fugget About It (October 13)A animated comedy about the misadventure of a mob family that’s forced to move to Canada.

: The strange calls

The strange calls (October 19)

This supernatural comedy about a police officer who has demoted to night watch in a town which strange calls happened every night.

: Behind the mask

Behind the mask:

A story about sports mascots and their lives in and out of Costume.[10]

Mother up!

: The Wrong mans

Mother up! ( November 6 )

An animated comedy Starring Eva Longoria, who plays a former music executive who moves to the suburbs to raise her children.[11]

The wrong mans (November 11)

A cooperated comedy series for the BBC and Hulu. British style comedy illustrated a pair of silly British work together to solve crime. This comedy was regard as the most successful comedy debutin previous eight years.[12]

Through the distribution of different types of original series of Hulu, they are on the way to attracting variety group of audiences. Not only for the western drama, Hulu now working on bring in more international drama. More content Hulu have, more subscriber they will have.

4.New Business strategy

At the developing age of Hulu, their mission was the complementary to the cable. However, After the Mike Hopkins became the CEO, the strategy changed as well.From the Report of Los Angeles Times’ Company Town.They said “The newly installed Hulu executive team is believed to already be pursuing deals with cable operators to offer subscribers access to Hulu as a way to watch current shows online, according to several people with knowledge of the situation.” [13] It is a good news for Hulu if it can successful become the platform to deliver onlince content of cable company. However, the problem is some cable company already offer the online service, so the talk is still in their early age.[14] [15]

Reference:

[1] About the company

[2]Hulu plus service

[3] Hulu’s competitors

[4] Financial information

[5] New CEO-Mike Hopkins

[6]Elaine Paul as CFO

[7] mobile video

[8] Hulu in PS4

[9] Hulu’s new original series

[10] Behind the mask

[11] Mother up

[12] The Wrong mans

[[13] Hulu’s new strategy

[14] Hulu Corporate with cable

[15] Leadership changes

Weinstein Company

Posted on November 18, 2013 by eamoomey

By Mark DiBona

The Weinstein Company Logo

The Weinstein Company (TWC) was founded in October 2005 by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, following their departure from the film studio Miramax, which they had founded 26 years earlier in 1979. Since its founding, the studio has earned a reputation for consistently putting out commercial and critical successes. Their films have had a continuous presence at the Academy Awards, including two consecutive best picture wins for The King’s Speech in 2010 and The Artist in 2011. The studio also owns Dimension Films, a genre studio founded by Bob Weinstein, best known for various horror films as well as the Spy Kids series. [1]

Key Executives

Harvey Weinstein, courtesy of TIME Magazine

Harvey Weinstein co-founded the company with his brother Bob Weinstein and has served as its co-chairman since. Weinstein also produces many of his studio films, which has led to him personally winning a best picture Oscar in 1998 for producing Shakespeare in Love during his tenure with Miramax. [2]

Bob Weinstein, courtesy of The Wrap

Bob Weinstein, in addition to co-founding The Weinstein Company and serving as its co-chairman, founded the studio Dimension Films in 1993. Focused on genre films, the studio has released such notable films as the Scream series, the Spy Kids series, and Sin City. [3]

Financials

Among the most prominent of the mini-majors, TWC has continually increased its presence since its founding in 2005. In 2012, the studio had a 2.57% market share with a combined film gross of $278, 608, 624 from 21 releases. So far in 2013, they hold a 4.78% market share with a combined $441,224,429 gross thanks to the runaway success of The Butler as well as holdovers from late releases of the previous year such as Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook, which also allowed them to end the first quarter of 2013 second in marketshare. [4], [5]

Awards

The Weinstein Company has earned a reputation as a perennial major player at the Academy Awards. Between Miramax and TWC there are 303 Oscar nominations and 75 wins. TWC alone has earned 7 best picture nominations and 2 wins since its founding. Much of this success is attributed to the Weinstein brothers, and Harvey in particular is known for his aggressive marketing techniques. For Silver Linings Playbook, which earned 8 nominations and 1 win, the cast appeared on various talk shows and discussed their personal connections to the film, such as this appearance on Katie where the director, David O. Russell, and stars Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper talk about their experiences with bipolar disorder, which is central to the film. . [1]

The Butler

Courtesy of imdb.com

Released on August 16th 2013, Lee Daniels’ The Butler details the story of an African-American man who serves as White House butler for 34 years and is inspired by a true story. It stars Forest Whitaker in the title role and Oprah Winfrey as his wife as well as featuring numerous cameos from actors like Robin Williams and John Cusack. It became a box office hit, earning $115,474,000 domestically and $31,192,066 in the foreign market against a $30 million budget and managed to hold the #1 spot for 3 of its first 4 weeks. [6]

The film is already being touted as a contender for the Academy Awards, with a possible Best Picture nomination. [7]

However, the film gained some notoriety when Harvey Weinstein publically attempted to fight the MPAA board’s decision that the film be renamed due to a 1916 Warner Brothers’ film called The Butler. This ultimately led to the film adding director Lee Daniels’ name into the title. [8]

Fruitvale Station

Courtesy of imdb.com

A smaller scale film, Fruitvale Station is a dramatization of the last day in the life of Oscar Grant III who was tragically shot on January 1st 2013 by a cop. Starring Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer, the film earned a respectable $16 million at the box office against a minuscule budget but earned critical acclaim, holding a 94% on Rottentomatoes. The Film also received large support and praise from celebrities including LeBron James, Oprah Winfrey, and drummer for The Roots, Questlove. [9], [10]

August: Osage County

Courtesy of imdb.com

Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name, August: Osage County is set for December 25th Release Date. Dealing with a large family who reunite in the Oklahoma house they grew up in following a crisis, the film features a large ensemble cast including Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Ewan McGregor. [11]

Originally considered to be a potential huge contender at the Oscars and frontrunner for Best Picture, mixed reactions from its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival have somewhat subdued these predictions. However, the film is still expected to earn at least a few nominations and also gather a large box office draw against its $25 million budget due to the presence of its stars. [12], [13]

The Future of the Weinstein Company

Courtesy of USA Today

On August 20th, TWC announced a groundbreaking multi-year deal with Netflix. The deal will make Netflix the sole subscription service for first-run films from TWC starting in 2016. The Weinstein Company already enjoyed a healthy relationship with the streaming service, using it as a pay TV home for their documentaries and various films including 2011 best picture winner, The Artist, but this deal has been described by Harvey Weinstein as “the biggest deal in the history of The Weinstein Company.” [14]

One of the most anticipated film projects beyond 2013 is Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, the long-delayed sequel to the 2005 film Sin City. As the first film earned over $158 million against a $40 million budget, the sequel is expected to do well and has been given a summer release date. It will feature a large cast of stars including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Josh Brolin, Bruce Willis, and Jessica Alba. [15], [16]

Other 2014 releases include Tim Burton’s Big Eyes starring Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams and The Giver based on the beloved young adult novel. [17]

Looking ahead, The Weinstein Company is shaping up to continue to increase its market presence and climb to the top of the mini-major studios. Through continuous presentation of quality films with savvy marketing and its expansion into new fields, TWC should continue to experience success in the near future.

Sources

1. About the Weinstein Company
2. About Harvey Weinstein
3. About Bob Weinstein
4. The Numbers
5. Weinstein Co. Beats Most Majors in First Quarter
6. Boxofficemojo
7. Gold Derby Best Picture Predictions
8. “The Butler” Title Fight
9.Boxofficemojo, “Fruitvale Station”
10. The Official Fruitvale Station Tumblr
11. August: Osage County
12.August: Osage County early reviews, a mixed bag at TIFF
13. The Guardian
14. The Weinstein Co. Agrees to Exclusive Streaming Deal With Netflix
15. Boxofficemojo, “Sin City”
16. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
17. Rope of Silicon

DreamWorks SKG Studios

Posted on April 8, 2013 by eamoomey

by Emily Moomey

– Courtesy of dreamworksstudios.com [1]

DreamWorks Studios
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
818-733-7000

Company Overview

DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company that focuses primarily on films and television programming. The original studio was founded In 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen as an independently owned entity. The studio had initial success with it’s hit television show “Spin City” and went on to release it’s first film “The Peacemaker” in 1997 [2]. The company also garnered high financial success with animated feature length films. In 2004 DreamWorks Animation was spun-off and became its own publicly traded company and Katezenberg left with the animation division to became the CEO. In 2006 the studio was sold to Viacom, the parent company of Paramount Pictures, but after two years of partnership DreamWorks left Paramount and signed a deal with the Reliance ADA Group [3]. The current DreamWorks Studios was co-created by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider along with funding from the Reliance ADA Group.

Key Figures

Steven Spielberg – Principal Partner and Co-Chairman [4]

Stacey Snider – Principal Partner/Co-Chairman/CEO [5]

Jeff Small – Chief Operating Officer [6]

Financials

DreamWorks Studios was created with initial financial backings from the original three founders. Spielberg, Katzenberg, and Gaffen all contributed $33 million and co-founder of Microsoft Paul Allen fronted $500 million to kick start the company. [7] The company worked hard to retain it’s ownership and remain an independent film studio, but some hard-hitting flops in its later years at the box office brought the company into concerning debt. In 2006 Spielberg and his constituents sold DreamWorks to Viacom and Paramount pictures for $1.6 billion, which included $400 million of debt assumptions. [8] Under Paramount the studio produced a large number of successful and critically acclaimed films. Still, just two years later Speilberg closed a deal with the Reliance ADA Group for an investment of $500 million, while J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. provided $700 million towards another independent venture. [9] Since 2008 the studio has again struggled at the box office and had to restructure it’s finances. Each year the company has tried to negotiate for more money from the Reliance ADA Group, and most recently just received another $200 million investment from them. [10]

Filmography

Although the company has had some financial struggles, DreamWorks Studios has produced many unforgettable films. In its early stages, Spielberg released “Saving Private Ryan” which earned him the Oscar for best Director that year along with four other wins out of the eleven nominations for the film. Additionally, it was the highest grossing domestic release of that year. [11] In 1999 the studio released “American Beauty” starring Kevin Spacey which kicked off a string of box office hits. These included “The Contender”, “Castaway”, “Meet the Parents”, “Almost Famous” and “Gladiator” which won the 2000 Oscar for Best Picture. With these films came a very successful year at the box office, earning the studio over $2 billion worldwide. [12] While the animation division was still a part of DreamWorks Studios they produced “Shrek” starring Mike Meyers and Cameron Diaz which brought home the first ever Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. Over the years, the company also created such box office hits as “Dreamgirls” and the “Transformers” and “Paranormal Activity” franchises. Most recently the biggest buzz coming from the studio was for “The Help” which earned over $200 million at the box office and Spielberg’s “Lincoln” that just earned Daniel Day Lewis an Oscar for Best Actor at the 2013 Academy Awards. [13]

Click on this link to view the “Lincoln” trailer – [14]

In the News

When DreamWorks Studios transitioned back into an independent company they secured a deal with The Walt Disney Company to distribute their films worldwide. Just last month, in March 2013 it was confirmed that Disney along with Showtime renewed an output deal with the studio through 2018. The agreement states “DreamWorks Studios’ films theatrically released by Disney through 2018 will air across Showtime, The Movie Channel and Flix, as well as its multiplex channels”. [15]

In film news, DreamWorks Studios has decreased the amount of films released in the upcoming years significantly compared to the number they have been known to create. Previously, the company would release on average six films a year. In 2012 they only released two, “Lincoln” and “People Like Us”. They have the same plans for 2013 with Vince Vaughn’s comedy “The Delivery Man” and a film about the Wikileaks scandal called “The Fifth Estate”. [16]

Click here to view a clip about the upcoming film “The Fifth Estate” [17]

However, there seems to be hope for the future. The studio has announced that it has acquired the rights to some exciting new films, including the script based on the true story of the a Capella group Straight No Chaser, which the film will be titled. It will tell the story of the groups rise to success through YouTube. [18] Additionally, there are two other films in the works for the studio. The first is “Need For Speed”, a racing action movie based on the Electronic Arts video game set to be released in 2014. Just recently Michael Keaton signed on to star in the film. [19] The second is not yet set for production but DreamWorks is working to buy the script for “Merry Men”. The company just offered a six-figure number for the rights to the film. Although there have been numerous versions of the Robin Hood story, this film looks to attack it from the perspective of his fellow merry men. [20]

Finally, just this month it was announced that the studio obtained the life rights to the Boston Globe’s “Spotlight Team”, the news reporters that won a Pulitzer prize for revealing the cover-up of the pedophile priests in the Catholic churches of Massachusetts. Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer have signed on to co-write the script and the studio will work with Participate to produce the film. Josh Singer also wrote the script for the “The Fifth Estate” for DreamWorks. [21]

Sources
[1] Dream Works logo
[2] DreamWorks Studios
[3] New York Times – A Studio’s Real Life Drama
[4] Spielberg photo
[5] Snider photo
[6] Small photo
[7] DreamWorks Studios
[8] reuters.com – Paramounts DreamWorks Come True
[9] reuters.com – DreamWorks Completes Deal with Reliance ADA
[10] LA Times – DreamWorks Studios Stays Alive
[11] DreamWorks Studios History
[12] DreamWorks Studios History
[13] DreamWorks Studios History
[14] Lincoln Trailer
[15] deadline.com – Showtime and Disney Renew
[16] DreamWorks Studios
[17] News on “The Fifth Estate”
[18] Straight No Chaser
[19] “Need for Speed”
[20] deadline.com – Merry Men
[21] Upcoming film release for Catholic church scandal

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