DreamWorks Animation

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Alessandra Sandhaus

by ALESSANDRA KLETTER

DreamWorks Animation SKG

Contact

1000 Flower Street Glendale, CA 91201

Phone: (818) 695-5000

Twitter: twitter.com/dwanimation

Key Executives

Cheif Executive Officer Jeffrey Katzenberg

Cheif Executive Officer and Director Jeffrey Katzenberg

Co-President Bonnie Arnold

Co-President Mireille Soria

History

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

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen in 1994

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

Financial Troubles

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

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

Restructuring Under New Leadership

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

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

Looking To The Future

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

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

References

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A+E Television Networks- Carly Cott

Posted on April 17, 2015 by htfergus

by CARLY COTT

A+E Network logo image

HEADQUARTERS

235 E. 45^th Street

New York, NY 1001

www.aenetworks.com

KEY EXECUTIVES

Headshot of Nancy Dubue. Photo Credit N/A

Nancy Dubue

President and Chief Executive Officer, A+E Networks

Headshot of Robert DeBietto. Photo Credit N/A.

Robert DeBitetto

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

ABOUT

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

HISTORY

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

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

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

FINANCIALS

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

COMPANY NEWS

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

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

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

Liz Gately. Photo Credit N/A

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

HIGHLIGHTS/LOWLIGHT OF SPRING 2015

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

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

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

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

SOURCES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lionsgate Entertainment

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Samuel Tasch

by SAM TASCH

Lionsgate

Key Executives

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

Address

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

History

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

Financials

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

Right Here, Right Now

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

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

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

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

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

Content

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

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

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

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

Future

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

Sources

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paramount Pictures

Posted on April 17, 2015 by htfergus

by ARACELI GUTIERREZ

[25] Paramount Pictures Logo

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

HISTORY

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

Key Executives:

: [2] Brad Grey, Chairman & CEO

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

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

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

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

FINANCIALS

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

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

[26] TubiTV

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

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

MARCH MADNESS: NEW CHANGES

March was a busy month for Paramount Pictures.

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

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

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

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

[28] Insurge Pictures

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

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

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

PROJECTIONS FOR PARAMOUNT

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

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

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

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

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

SOURCES

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Relativity

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Nicholas Matarazzo

by Nicholas Matarazzo

[1] Relativity Media Logo

HISTORY

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

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

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

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

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

KEY EXECUTIVES

[4] Ryan Kavanaugh, CEO of Relativity Media

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

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

FINANCIALS

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

IN THEATERS

“Desert Dancer” (2015)

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

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

SPRING 2015 RELEASES

“Black or White” (2015)

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

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

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

“The Lazarus Effect” (2015)

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

UPCOMING

“Masterminds” (2015)

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

PROJECTIONS FOR RELATIVITY

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

SOURCES

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

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

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

[4] Ryan Kavanaugh Relativity Media Retrieved April 10 2015

[5] Tucker Tooley Relativity Media Retrieved April 10 2015

[6] Robbie Brenner Relativity Media Retrieved April 11 2015

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DirecTV

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Vikram Nayyar

by VIK NAYYAR

[1]

Corporate Headquarter:

2230 East Imperial Highway,

El Segundo, California, US

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

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

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

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

[10]

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

Headquarters:

[11]

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

DEALS:

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

Legal Issues:

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

Financial Statistics:

[18]

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

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Time Warner Cable

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Eric Zidar

TIME WARNER CABLE

by: Eric Zidar

Headquarters

Time Warner Cable Inc.

60 Colombus Circle

New York, NY 10023

Phone: (212) 364-8200

(2)

About

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

Corporate Structure (5)

Robert D. Marcus – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Dinesh C. Jain – Chief Operating Officer

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

History

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

Financials

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

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

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

Acquisitions:

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

Time Warner Cable Media

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

(4)

Comcast Merger

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

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

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

Company News

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

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

Sources

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

Warner Bros. Pictures

Posted on March 29, 2015 by John Hopkins

by JOHN HOPKINS

-Warner Brothers Logo- Courtesy of housepr.com

Corporate Headquarters

4000 Warner Blvd. Burbank, CA 91522

Phone: (818)- 954- 6000

www.warnerbros.com

History

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

Key Executives

Kevin_Tsujihara_2014

-Kevin Tsujihara, Chairman and CEO

-Dan Fellman, President, Domestic Distribution

-Paul Broucek, President, Music

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

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

-Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution

Financials

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

-Courtesy of Google Finance

In Theaters

“Focus” (2015)

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

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

“Get Hard” (2015)

MV5BMTc3OTc1NjM0M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjAyMzE1MzE@._V1_SX214_AL_

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

Recently Released

“American Sniper” (2014)

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

Upcoming

“Entourage”

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

“Arms & the Dudes”

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

Projections for Warner Bros. Pictures

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

Sources

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CBS Corp. (TV broadcast & cable properties only)

Link

by  PATTY TERHUNE

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

Headquarters

51 W. 52nd Street

New York, NY 10019-6188

1-212-975-4321

www.cbscorporation.com

Key Executives

Sumner Redstone, Executive Chairman (2)

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

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

About

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

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

History

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

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

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

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

Financials

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

Channel News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CBS All Access Meets with Affiliates

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

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

Company News

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

CBS-Toyota Charity App

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

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

Data-Driven Initiative for Network Advertisers

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

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

David Rhodes Extends Contract as President of CBS News through 2019

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

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

CBS Corporation and CBS Radio being Sued By Former Intern

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

Sources

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(15) “CBS,” Nasdaq, RT: 4/17/15

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

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

(18) “Showtime,” Sho, RT: 4/17/15

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

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

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

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

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

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

(25) “US Nielsen,” Evigo, RT: 4/17/15

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

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

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

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

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

Comcast

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Posted on March 27, 2015 by William Skalmoski

This gallery contains 8 photos.

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

Principles & Practices

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Category Archives: TRF235 Spring 2015

DreamWorks Animation

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Warner Bros. Pictures

CBS Corp. (TV broadcast & cable properties only)

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