DreamWorks Animation

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Michelle Kim

By Michelle Kim

Dreamworks Animation Logo [1]

1000 Flower St
Glendale, CA 91201-3007

Main website: www.dreamworksanimation.com

Executives

Jeffrey Katzenberg – CEO [2]

Lewis W. Coleman – CFO [3]

Ann Daly – COO [4]

Overview
Dreamworks Animation has gone through various phases during the winter and spring season. After years of releasing successful franchise movies such as Shrek and Madagascar, the company made plans to release two films for spring and summer. The first one, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, was released in theaters on March 7, 2014. However, it did not do well in the box office, setting back the animation company as it has for past recent films such as Turbo from July 17, 2013. Perhaps to make up for its loss from Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Dreamworks Animation is planning on releasing it’s biggest film this year, the sequel to its 2013, $500 million box office hit, How to Train Your Dragon, taking place five years into the future from the events of the first film. [5]

Dreamworks Animation Office [6]

Company Profile
Dreamworks Animation is an independent animation company founded in October 12, 1994 by current CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen. Located in Glendale, California, the company debuted in 1998 with The Prince of Egypt. In later years, Dreamworks Animation released major franchises such as Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda and is planning on releasing the second installment of How to Train Your Dragon for summer 2014.

Financial Snapshot
According to the newest filed annual 10-K report, revenue was reported to be $706.9 million in 2013, with a gross profit of $257.1 million and a net income loss of $55.7 million.

Stock-wise, prices ranged from 16.16 to 35.74 throughout 2013. In the fourth quarter, the highest stock price was $35.74 and the lowest was $27.05. [7] According to an article on entertainment news site “Variety,” Dreamworks Animation suffered from stock prices plummeting from $35 to $21 after the release of Mr. Peabody and Sherman on March 7, 2014, which grossed $65.4 million in U.S. from a budget of $145 million. [8] As of April 21, 2014, stock prices are 27.37. [7]

Recent Releases

Promotion of Mr. Peabody and Sherman [9]

On March 2014, Dreamworks Animation released Mr. Peabody and Sherman, directed by Rob Minkoff and written by Craig Wright. Based on the book by the deceased Jay Ward, Mr. Peabody and Sherman tells the story of genius and accomplished hyper-advanced dog Mr. Peabody and his adopted human son Sherman traveling though time and space in Mr. Peabody’s time machine, the WAMBAC to fix a problem that Sherman caused. In the midst of trying to impress his friend Penny Peterson, mischievous Sherman creates a rip in the universe, altering major events in history that would cause havoc in the present. During the journey the three go on throughout the film, Mr. Peabody learns how to do the hardest thing in all of history: how to be a parent.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman Promotional Poster: Mr. Peabody (left) Sherman (middle) Penny (right) [10]

Prior to being released in theaters, Dreamworks Animation promoted the film through posters, banner ads, flyers, the film’s main website, the company’s social media platforms, and trailers that were released via the company’s Youtube channel starting October 25th of last year. The company also released the trailers in various languages so as to engage their audiences from non-American countries.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman Trailer (Youtube)

Mr. Peabody and Sherman starred Ty Burrell (Mr. Peabody), Max Charles (Sherman), and Ariel Winter (Penny Peterson). It had an estimated budget of $145,000,000 and brought in $32,207,057 on the film’s opening weekend. As of April 15, 2014, the film grossed $105,851,321.

According to IMDb, Mr. Peabody and Sherman is rated PG, runs for 92 minutes, and received a 7.1 rating. [11] On the movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes, the film earned an approval rating of 78%. [12]

Mr. Peabody and Sherman Mobile Game Snapshot [13]

After the release of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Dreamworks Animation added multimedia into the movie’s main website such as videos and games involving the three main protagonists. These games include a jigsaw puzzle and personality quiz. In addition to their online games, Dreamworks Animation also released a downloadable game app for mobile devices, consisting of the player going back in time on the WAMBAC from the movie and answering questions to proceed throughout the game.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman Main Website: http://www.mrpeabodyandsherman.com/

What’s Next for Dreamworks Animation

Hiccup and Toothless on Promotional Poster [14]

Following its release of Mr. Peabody and Sherman in the spring, Dreamworks Animation announced that they would be releasing the second movie for the How to Train Your Dragon franchise on April of 2014,. Simply titled How to Train Your Dragon 2, this sequel takes place five years after the events of the first film.[15]

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Trailer (Youtube)

According to its IMDb website, How to Train Your Dragon 2 tells the story of the protagonist Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), his dragon Toothless, and their friends discovering an ice cave inhabiting new dragon species and a mysterious being who calls himself the Dragon Rider. After running into the new dragons, Hiccup and Toothless find themselves in the middle of a major battle between humans and dragons, and must use their sense of justice and friendship to find a way to bring peace.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Main Website: http://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com/

Dreamworks Animation Future Movie Release Table [6]

According to Dreamworks Animation’s most recently updated 10-K annual financial report, the company has made plans for its film releases up till December 23, 2015. From the graph, the upcoming films are titled Home, set for release on November 26, 2014; The Penguins for March 27; B.O.O. for June 5, and Kung Fu Panda 3 for December 23 of 2015.

Seeing that Dreamworks Animation has made plans for its future film releases two years in advance of when the 2013 10-K document was filed, the company aims to bring its film production up to another level and increase its popularity by releasing films at a faster rate.

Conclusion
Dreamworks Animation has released many films since its debut and has been increasing the number of films it releases annually. For 2014 and 2015, the company has put its sights on releasing three-four films each year.

For the spring and summer season of 2014, Dreamworks Animation has released Mr. Peabody and Sherman and is planning on releasing How to Train Your Dragon 2 in theaters later in June. Although Mr. Peabody and Sherman did not do well in the box office, setting the company back, the release of How to Train Your Dragon 2 is expected to make up for the loss and bring back the company’s past successes in animated franchise.

Works Cited
[1] Dreamworks Animation Logo http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/Logopedia RT: 4/15/14
[2] Jeffry Katzenburg Dreamworks Animation Profile http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/ RT: 4/15/14
[3] “Photo Release — Northrop Grumman Board Names Wes Bush Chairman, Lewis W. Coleman Lead Independent Director” irconnect.com RT: 4/15/14
[4] Ann Duly Dreamworks Animation Profile http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/ RT: 4/15/14
[5] ” ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Details Emerged” http://screenrant.com/ RT: 4/15/14
[6] Dreamworks Animation Office Photos http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm RT: 4/15/14
[7] Dreamworks Animation 10-K http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/ RT: 4/17/14
[8] “Dreamworks Animation Stock Takes Another Hit with ‘Mr. Peabody and Sherman’ “ http://variety.com/ RT: 4/17/14
[9] Mr. Peabody and Sherman Dreamworks Animation Page http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/ RT: 4/17/14
[10] “Go time traveling in the new trailer and clip for Dreamworks’ Mr. Peabody and Sherman” http://www.joblo.com/ RT: 4/17/14
[11] Mr. Peabody and Sherman IMDb Page http://www.imdb.com/?ref_=nv_home RT: 4/18/14
[12] Mr. Peabody and Sherman Rotten Tomatoes Page http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ RT: 4/18/14
[13] “Ludia launches Mr. Peabody and Sherman trivia game on IOS” http://www.insidemobileapps.com/ RT: 4/19/14
[14] How to Train Your Dragon Poster Gallery http://www.aceshowbiz.com/ RT: 4/19/14
[15] How to Train Your Dragon 2 IMDb Page http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1646971/ RT: 4/19/14

MGM

Posted on April 11, 2014 by Jillian Davis

By Jillian Davis

[1]

MGM Studios Inc.
245 N Beverly Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210 [16]

Overview [2]

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is an American film production and distribution company. It also makes and distributes content for television. MGM has long been considered one of the most glamorous film production companies, winning over 200 Oscars since it was founded, and contributing to the Golden Age of Hollywood bragging that it had, “more stars than there are in the heavens.” As of April 2014, MGM has been celebrating its 90th year as a company with DVD and digital release promotions of its most popular film releases. The company has taken on a major role in the global market for making and distributing films and television.

Brief History [3]

MGM began in 1924 as the consolidation of Metro Pictures Corporation, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Productions at the hands of Marcus Loew; who never lived to see the glittering company of stars that later unfolded. Over the past ninety years, MGM has roped in hundreds of Oscars, including Best Picture awards like Gone With the Wind, Midnight Cowboy, West Side Story, and The Silence of the Lambs.
MGM was one of the first film companies formed in Hollywood when motion pictures became a lucrative business, and for about thirty straight years, it was the most dominating, dazzling force in Tinsel Town. The famous Leo the Lion logo has always been the face of MGM, and the emblem received its roaring sound in August of 1928 [8].

Executives

Gary Barber– Chairman and Chief Executive Officer [4]

Ken Schapiro– Chief Strategic Officer [5]

Jonathan Glickman– President, Motion Picture Group [6]

Dene B. Stratton– Chief Financial Officer [7]

Financials [9] [13] [25]

Poster of Skyfall, the most financially successful Bond film, helped bring MGM out of debt. [10]

MGM is a privately owned company. Although the company’s numbers are stable at the moment, MGM has suffered during the transition of the Digital Age in film distribution. It had to declare Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 after digitalizing many of its most popular films, and putting them on iTunes. The company acquired too much debt to pay off, so companies like Spyglass Entertainment and Lions Gate stepped in to alleviate the financial burden. MGM’s debt was also a result of its lack of DVD sales. MGM had a revenue of $464 million last quarter, which is down from $903 million the previous year (a 49% drop). The company is currently making its way out of debt, trying to mirror the successes of films like Skyfall, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Red Dawn, and Cabin in the Woods. While MGM is currently a privately owned company, it intends to be publicly traded once it buys up Investor Carl Icahn’s $590 million shares of the company.

Current Projects…

Fargo airs on FX every Tuesday at 10pm. [12]

…in television

Fargo (television series): the premier of Fargo on FX this year marked a prosperous project for MGM Television. The series is based off of the Coen Brothers’ classic 1996 dark comedy film about a no-good drifter that rolls into a small town in Minnesota and negatively influences the innocent town. The first season is so far very successful, earning a positive rating of 9.4 out of 10 on IMDb [11]. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, and Martin Freeman, this series began on April 15, 2014 and is keeping the original creators (the Coen Brothers) on as executive producers. The series is being produced alongside FX Productions.

RoboCop is a remake of the 1987 film that eventually became a successful franchise. [14]

…in Film

Robocop: this remake of the 1987 science fiction action film stars Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film is set in 2028 Detroit, and is about a top-notch cop, husband, and father who is brutally injured in a car bombing incident. The only way he can survive is by fusing his body with a computer-generated robot body suit that makes him an efficient investigating and killing machine for the corporation that built the suit. He must find a balance between the computer that he’s become, and the human soul deep inside of himself. The film has so far exceeded its budget, but is proving to be a bust for film ratings, receiving a 48% on Rotten Tomatoes [15]. The film is being produced alongside Columbia Pictures.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug became a successful blockbuster release, and is now out on blu ray. [17]

…in digital release

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was a blockbuster success during the holiday season of 2013. Starring Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, and Richard Armitage, this film is the second in a three part trilogy for the franchise of The Lord of the Rings.
Hobbit Bilbo Baggins and his team of other magical friends from Middle Kingdom go on an adventure to save the land from Smaug, while discovering the power of a mysterious yet magical ring. The film franchise has proved to be a major success since it began, and continues the financial prosperity on high-tech mediums such as blu ray, 3D, and digital quality [18] [19]. The film was distributed alongside Warner Brothers Entertainment.

What’s Next

22 Jump Street is the sequel to the popular film from 2012 “21 Jump Street” [20]

22 Jump Street is set to be released on June 13, 2014. Starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, this will be the sequel to the smash hit 21 Jump Street, which was based off of the 1987-1991 television show. The film will be about sending two low level cops undercover at a local college to find the source of a major drug deal. This film is not yet rated. [21][22] This film will be distributed alongside Columbia Pictures.

If I Stay comes out August 22, 2014 and is based off of the book by Gayl Forman. [23]

If I Stay is an upcoming drama film about a gifted young cellist who has to make the most difficult decision of her life: attend Julliard and follow her dreams, or stay with the love of her life. Her decision gets even more difficult when she and hew family are in a car accident and her very life hangs in the balance, and she must decide whether to live a difficult life, or not live at all. The film stars Chloe Grace Moretz, Mireille Enos, and Jamie Blackley, and is set to be released August 22, 2014. [24] This film will be distributed alongside Warner Brothers Entertainment.

Sources

[1] MGM logo http://movies.wikia.com/wiki/Leo_the_Lion_%28MGM%29– accessed 4/14/14

[2] MGM overview http://mgm.com/#/about/mgm-history– accessed 4/14/14

[3] MGM brief history http://mgm.com/#/about/mgm-history– accessed 4/15/14

[4] Gary Barber Image http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Gary+Barber+National+Multiple+Sclerosis+Society+-tV_OXFJT_il.jpg– accessed 4/15/14

[5] Ken Schapiro image http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/02/new-mgm-taps-ken-schapiro-as-chief-operating-officer.html– accessed 4/15/14

[6] Jonathan Glickman image http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2011/02/dc_native_jonathan_glickman_da.html– accessed 4/15/14

[7] Dene B. Stratton image http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/mgm-names-dene-b-stratton-237849– accessed 4/15/14

[8] Leo the Lion sound http://movies.wikia.com/wiki/Leo_the_Lion_%28MGM%29– accessed 4/15/14

[9] MGM financial information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer#Consortium_ownership_and_financial_troubles– accessed 4/15/14

[10] Skyfall image http://insidepulse.com/2012/09/17/daniel-craig-stars-in-new-skyfall-poster/– accessed 4/15/14

[11] Fargo information http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2802850/– accessed 4/19/14

[12] Fargo image http://www.fxnetworks.com/fargo– accessed 4/19/14

[13] MGM financial information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer#Post-bankruptcy– accessed 4/19/14

[14] RoboCop image http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/robocop-poster-shows-joel-kinnaman-2691724– accessed 4/19/14

[15] RoboCop information http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1200731-robocop/– accessed 4/19/14

[16] MGM address http://www.mgm.com/#/about/contactus– accessed 4/15/14

[17] The Hobbit image http://images3.static-bluray.com/movies/covers/24829_front.jpg– accessed 4/20/14

[18] The Hobbit information http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1170358/– accessed 4/20/14

[19] The Hobbit information (more) http://mgm.com/#/our-titles/2949/The-Hobbit:-The-Desolation-of-Smaug– accessed 4/20/14

[20] 22 Jump Street image http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/229/files/2014/01/22-Jump-Street-Poster.jpg– accessed 4/20/14

[21] 22 Jump Street information http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294449/– accessed 4/20/14

[22] 22 Jump Street information (more) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/22_Jump_Street– accessed 4/20/14

[23] If I Stay image http://24.media.tumblr.com/bcf5e3d0a80a258f9db59f8dde77b49c/tumblr_mvmmqs02OM1r287ebo1_500.jpg– accessed 4/20/14

[24] If I Stay information http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355630/– accessed 4/20/14

[25] MGM financial information http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-mgm-posts-net-income-of-12-million-in-fourth-quarter-20140326,0,4027940.story#axzz2zU6f10Ab– accessed 4/21/14

CBS Corps.

Posted on March 26, 2014 by Maggie O'Reilly

By Maggie O'Reilly

CBS Corporation

CBS Logo, photo courtesy of forbes.com

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

http://www.cbscorporation.com/

About CBS Corporation [1]

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

Key Executives [2]

Sumner M. Redstone, photo courtesy of CBS Corporate website

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

Leslie Moonves, photo courtesy of CBS Corporate website

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

Financials

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

photo courtesy of nasdaq.com

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

Assets [5]

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

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

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

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

Top Rated Programming

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

Cast of NCIS, photo courtesy of nbcpressexpress.com

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

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

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

CBS in the News

How I Met Your Mother Ends Legendary Nine Year Run

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

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

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

NCAA Basketball Tournament Draws In Big Numbers for CBS

NCAA Division I Championship Game, photo courtesy of CBS philadelphia

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

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

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

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

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

On The Horizon

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

current CBS schedule, courtesy of cbs.com

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

Sources

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Zynga

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Matthew Porter

: By Matt Porter

Zynga Logo [1]

Contact

699 8th Street San Fransisco, California 94103

Facebook: Zynga

Twitter: @Zynga

YouTube: ZyngaNetwork

Key Executives [2]

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

Don Mattrick: CEO [4]

Clive Downie: COO [5]

David Lee: CFO and CAO [6]

About [7]

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

Zynga Daily Active Users Since 2009 [8]

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

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

History

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

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

Finance

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

Zynga Stock Value Q1 2014 [9]

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

Acquisition of NaturalMotion

Natural Motion Logo [15]

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

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

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

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

Corporate Structural Change

Mark Vranesh, former Zynga CFO and CAO [18]

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

2014 Title Releases

Riches of Olympus Logo [21]

Riches of Olympus (February 6, 2014)

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

Riches of Olympus screenshot [23]

Hit it Rich! Ted (March 13, 2014)

Hit it Rich! Ted screenshot [24]

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

Hit it Rich! FarmVille (April 10, 2014)

Hit it Rich! FarmVille 2 screenshot [25]

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

FarmVille 2: Country Escape (April 17, 2014)

FarmVille 2: Country Escape on iPad [26]

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

Watch the trailer for FarmVille 2: Country Escape

Celebrations

Words With Friends turns five. [27]

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

The Future

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

Sources

[1] Zynga Logo Image

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

[2] Zynga Leadership Team Members

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

[3] Mark Pincus Photo

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

[4] Don Mattrick Photo

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

[5] Clive Downie Photo

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

[6] David Lee Photo

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

[7] About Zynga

http://company.zynga.com/about

[8] Zynga Daily Active Users

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

[9] Zynga Inc. Stock Chart

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

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

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

[11] Zynga Names David Lee Financial Chief

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

[12] Zynga’s Story

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

[13] Zynga History

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

[14] History of Zynga.org

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

[15] Natural Motion Logo

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

[16] Zynga Buys NaturalMotion

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

[17] NaturalMotion Company E-mail Update

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

[18] Mark Vranesh photo

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

[19] Zynga names David Lee new CFO

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

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

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

[21] Riches of Olympus logo

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

[22] Zynga Casino Launches Riches of Olympus

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

[23] Riches of Olympus Screenshot

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

[24] Hit it Rich! Ted Edition

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

[25] Hit it Rich! FarmVille 2 edition

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

[26] FarmVille 2: Country Escape Press Release

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

[27] Five Years of Words With Friends

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

[28] Zynga Day

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

YouTube

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Blair Shulman

By Blair Shulman

Photo courtesy of techtipsworld.com [1]

YouTube, LLC

901 Cherry Ave.
San Bruno, CA 94066

Phone: +1 650-253-0000

Fax: +1 650-253-0001

www.youtube.com

A Brief History

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

Key Executives

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

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

Steve Chen (Co-Founder) [4]

Jawed Karim (Co-Founder) [5]

Susan Wojcicki (Chief Executive Officer) [6]

Financial Statistics

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

In The News

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

Photo courtesy of marketingland.com [16]

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

Screenshot courtesy of makerstudios.com [12]

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

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

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yahoo

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Samantha Ho

By Sam Ho

Yahoo Logo [1]

701 1st Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Phone: (408) 349-3300

Company Profile

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

Key Executives [3]

Marissa Mayer, CEO, President, and Director

David Filo, Co-Founder and Chief Yahoo

Ken Goldman, Chief Financial Officer

Kathy Savitt, Chief Marketing Officer

History

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

1996 Yahoo Homepage [7]

2013 Yahoo Homepage [8]

Financial Snapshot

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

Yahoo Financial Chart [10]

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

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

Making Changes

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

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

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

Yahoo Gemini – Mobile and Native Ads [14]

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

Yahoo Screen on Roku [18]

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

The Future of Yahoo

Yahoo Smart TV [22]

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

Yahoo Buys Aviate [23]

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

Sources

[1] Yahoo Logo RT: 19 April 2014

[2] Yahoo Corporate Information RT: 16 April 2014

[3] Yahoo Executive Team RT: 16 April 2014

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

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

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

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

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

[9] YHOO Profile. RT: 19 April 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Netflix

Link

By Carly Goldstein

Company Logo

100 Winchester Circle

Los Gatos, CA 95032

(408) 540-3700

www.netflix.com

Executives [1]

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Reed Hastings, Founder and CEO

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Kelley Bennett, Chief Marketing Officer

Courtesy of Netflix.com

Tawni Cranz, Chief Talent Officer

Courtesy of Netflix.com

David Wells, Chief Financial Officer

About [2]

Courtesy of internettrailer.com

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

History [3]

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

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

Financials

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

Courtesy of Google Finance

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

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

Original Content

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

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

Courtesy of upload.wikimedia.org

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

Courtesy of upload.wikimedia.org

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

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

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

Courtesy of www.galaticnewsone.com

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

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

Looking Ahead

Courtesy of www.wired.com

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

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

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

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

Sources

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IAC

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Carlos Bonachea

By Carlos Bonachea

Courtesy of IAC Press Kit [1]

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

Key Executives

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some of the many brands owned by IAC.

Financials

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Media

Logo courtesy of IAC official Profile

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

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

Match

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

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

Sources

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AOL

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Raven Irabor

By Raven Irabor

Photo Courtesy Of: Hot Digital News

Location:

770 Broadway

New York, NY 10003

United States

Phone: 1-212-652-6400

www.aol.com

Key Executives:

(Left to Right)

CEO/Chairman: Timothy M Armstrong

Exec. VP/Chief Financial Officer: Karen E Dykstra

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

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

ABOUT AOL

Brief Overview:

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

History:

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

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

AOL: The Brand

FINANCIALS

Summary:

2013 Fiscal Overview

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

WHAT’S BEEN GOING ON

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

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

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

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

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

CITY BALLET

HARDWIRED 2.0

THE FUTURE STARTS HERE

#CANDIDLYNICOLE

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

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

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

SOURCES

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

[2] AOL Overview. April 20, 2014

[3] AOL Then. April 21, 2014

[4] AOL Now. April 21, 2014

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

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

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

[8] Analysis Tools. April 21, 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weinstein Company

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Roxanne Silver

By Roxy Silver

[1] The Weinstein Company Logo

HISTORY

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

KEY EXECUTIVES

[4] Harvey Weinstein, Co-Chairman TWC

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

FINANCIALS

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

IN THEATERS

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

“Lee Daniels’ The Butler”

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

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

“Vampire Academy”

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

AWARDS SEASON

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

[16] 20 Feet From Stardom

“20 Feet From Stardom”

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

[19] Philomena

“Philomena”

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

[22] August: Osage County

“August: Osage County”

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

STRATEGICALLY TWC TAKES ON TV

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

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

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

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

COMING SOON TO THEATERS NEAR YOU

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

“The Giver”

The Giver Trailer [34]

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

“Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”

Sin City Trailer [38]

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

“Begin Again”

Begin Again Trailer [42]

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

FUTURE OF TWC

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

Sources

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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