Viacom

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Barbara

Ryan Doody, Georgina Macdonald

Viacom’s Holdings

Viacom, Inc. (VIAB) is an American media conglomerate with particular interests in cinema with Paramount Pictures, America’s oldest film studio; and cable television as the sixth largest cable ownership company globally, in order of revenue. Viacom houses media networks that reach approximately 700 million global subscribers with leading channels including MTV, VH1, BET, COMEDY CENTRAL and Nickelodeon.

Click here to see a list of all Viacom’s holdings

National Amusements

National Amusements, Inc. have a controlling interest of the media company. National Amusements is Viacom founder and billionaire Sumner Redstone’s holding company. This company holds a majority stake in both Viacom and its sister company, CBS Corp. Viacom was originally founded by media magna Sumner M. Redstone in 1971 and then reestablished in 2005 after splitting its original format into two publicly traded companies; Viacom and CBS Corporation. Sumner Redstone then became CEO of the newly defined Viacom, Inc. until February 2016. At the age of 92, Redstone resigned from his chairmanships at both CBS and Viacom after a court-ordered psychiatric examination.

The Redstone’s Legal Battles

This court-ordered examination by a geriatric psychiatrist is just one noteworthy outcome that has come out of a continuous stream of legal battles within and around the famously fractious Redstone family. The specific inquiry into the 92 year old’s health came after the newly-dismissed Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman sued Redstone, claiming that his dismissal was proof that Sumner was under the control of his daughter, Shari Redstone. At the time there were many rumors that Sumner Redstone’s failing health had allowed his daughter to run his company for him. These rumors were further supported by his supposed successor being someone close to Shari. Dauman and the five other board members dismissed by Redstone this year have sued to prevent their ouster. Their strategy was to prove that Shari took advantage of her father’s mental incapacity in order to seize control of the billion dollar companies. Their ‘legal drama’ and public familial feuding has been highly publicized over the last few years presenting the company as volatile, unstable and, thus, detrimentally impacted their professional image.

Management

Sumner M. Redstone, Founder & Executive Chairman

Sumner Redstone, Majority Shareholder of Viacom and Nat’l Amusements ; Chairman Emeritus

Shari E. Redstone, Non – Executive Vice Chair of Board of Trustees of Viacom

Acting CEO of Viacom Inc.; President and CEO of Viacom G.E.O.

Former CEO and President of Viacom Inc.

The Country’s Oldest Movie Studio

Paramount Pictures Corporation has experienced its worst fiscal year in Brad Grey’s twelve years as Chairman and CEO of the corporation. During his comments about their dismal year, Grey painted a ‘rosier picture’ for the future of Paramount Pictures. He hinted that with the dismissal of Dauman, the era of cost-cutting and streamlined content was over. Moreover, he insinuated that this would further allow a move ahead with more inventive content by acquiring more sub companies to provide blockbuster results; as in the spirit of Disney’s buying of companies such as Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm which has set up its slates for the next decade

The development of content is certainly the main issue with Paramount Pictures. It is reported that since the departures of Marvel, DreamWorks Animation and DreamWorks SKG, the corporation has been floundering for lucrative content for development. Grey also commented on repairing Paramount’s image within the film industry. They are seen as ‘penny-pincher’ with a poor business affairs process; a destabilized management team within their production division; and an inability to successfully launch branded sequels (as seen this year with Star Trek Beyond and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles).

“Recently, we’ve missed more than we should have.’ Grey said to Deadline magazine; but he went on to say that Paramount has ‘a very strong, diverse slate ahead.’ A true statement, according to critics; their roster includes a huge range of films from Oscar contenders like Scorsese’s Silence to the next chapter of the billion dollar franchise; Transformers: The Last Knight (Click here for news and spoilers).

CBS Merger

Over the past year, Viacom has flirted with the idea of re-merging with CBS, and as of November 2016 it seems inevitable. Shari Redstone has said in an interview that she “think[s] it makes sense at this point in time to explore whether it’s in the interest of both companies to merge again” (13). Viacom’s poor cable performance has put it at a weak position when it will eventually negotiate the merger with CBS. While it is uncertain who will lead the company, the most likely contender is Les Moonves, CBS’s current CEO (4).

Cable Performance

Viacom’s cable holdings have not seen nearly as much success in the past year as they have had in the past. As of November 20, 2016, there are no Viacom channels in the top 5 cable networks during Primetime. In fact, in the list of the 15 top channels on cable based on total day viewership, Viacom channels – Nickelodeon and Nick at Night – only appear twice (10).

*Highlighted channels are owned by Viacom

Source: medialifemagazine.com

The two most notable absentees from this list are MTV and Comedy Central – two of Viacom’s major channels. Comedy Central has seen a drop in viewership mainly due to the end of two of its most popular shows – The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report. After Jon Stewart’s departure, Comedy Central’s viewership declined a painful 37% (11); the channel has yet to see a comparable replacement.

The new era of Comedy Central programming has yet to see the same success as its predecessors. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’s average rating of 0.32 is about half that of Stewart’s. The Daily Show’s lack of success represents the channels struggle as a whole. While Trevor Noah may be likeable, In the words of Hayley C. Cuccinello of Forbes Magazine: “His dimples and adorable South African accent just aren’t cutting it” (11)

MTV has described the channel’s cable ratings plunge as a “transitional era” where it’s largely youthful demographic access the channel’s content primarily OTT through the MTV app. Its TV ratings have fell 29% between 2014 and 2015, yet MTV can still boast over 49 million Facebook likes, which is significantly higher than channels like Fox News that have higher TV ratings. While it may have digital success, MTV as a cable network will have to seriously innovate its content if it wants to stay relevant (12).

Argentina’s Largest TV Station

Management within Viacom has been a revolving door in recent months. Following the controversial departures of Dauman in August and Tom Dooley in September of this year, Robert Bakish became the company’s third CEO in three months. Bakish is a Viacom veteran; he became the President and CEO of Viacom International Media Networks in 2007 after worked for the company since 1997. (16)

Bakish’s move has already influenced many of Viacom’s strategies moving forward. He claims his desire is to strengthen the company both domestically and internationally; expected due to his background in global media networks. Bakish’s promotion moves complementarily with Viacom’s acquisition of one of Argentina’s main free-to-air channels, Telefe. The massive deal was announced in November this year, with Viacom pledging $345 million for the channel. (15) This certainly was a surprise purchase due to it’s well-known financial instability. This acquisition strengthens Viacom’s already prominent standing in South America; Telefe reaches 95% of all households in the country and reportedly has attracted 33% share of viewership year-to-date in 2016. However, the fiscal impact of a $345 million buy will be interesting to watch in a company with a reported $12 billion debt. (18)

Bibliography

James, Meg. November 8, 2016. LA Times. Sony Vue Dumps Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and Other Viacom Channels. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-sony-vue-viacom-20161108-story.html
James, Meg. July 8, 2016. LA Times. Why Viacom Chief Philippe Dauman is fighting his longtime boss, Sumner Redstone. Retrieved November 26th, 2016. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-why-philippe-dauman-fights-sumner-redstone-20160706-snap-story.html
Cohan, William D. June 16, 2016. Vanity Fair. “It’s a Coup D’état Without a Doubt”: Is Shari Redstone Making Power Moves at Viacom? Retrieved November 26th, 2016. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/06/shari-redstone-power-moves-viacom
Fox, Emily Jane. November 2, 2016. Vanity Fair. Finally, There is a Winner in the Redstone Family Drama. Retrieved November 3rd, 2016. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/11/bob-bakish-viacom-compensation
Board of Directors. Retrieved November 24, 2016. http://www.viacom.com/about/pages/boardofdirectors.aspx#
Paramount Pictures. Retrieved November 1, 2016. http://www.paramount.com
Executives: Brad Grey. Retrieved November 1, 2016. http://www.paramount.com/inside-studio/studio/executives/meet-executives/brad-grey
Fleming Jr, Mike and Cieply, Michael. November 3, 2016. Deadline. Brad Grey Fights For Paramount’s Future Part Two. Retrieved November 4, 2016. http://deadline.com/2016/11/brad-grey-paramount-pictures-future-sumner-redstone-shari-redstone-1201847371/
Fleming Jr, Mike and Finke, Niki. October 8, 2010. Deadline. Paramount to End Relationship with Marvel in 2012. Retrieved November 4, 2016. http://deadline.com/2010/10/disney-paramount-marvel-restructure-marketing-distruibution-deal-76534/
Media By The Numbers: This Week’s Cable Ratings. November 23, 2016. Retrieved 28, 2016. http://www.medialifemagazine.com/this-weeks-cable-ratings/
Cuccinello, Hayley C. April 28, 2016. Forbes. Trevor Noah’s ‘Daily Show’ Reaches 100th Episode, But Noah Is Still Struggling. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/hayleycuccinello/2016/04/28/trevor-noahs-daily-show-reaches-100th-episode-but-noah-is-still-struggling/#67c25575820e
Zara, Christopher. April 15, 2015. International Business Times. MTV Ratings Decline Raises Relevance Questions As Young People Cut Cable Cord For Devices. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://www.ibtimes.com/mtv-ratings-decline-raises-relevance-questions-young-people-cut-cable-cord-devices-1881468
Walters, Natalie. November 23, 2016. TheStreet. Viacom (VIAB) Merging With CBS Again ‘Might Make Sense,’ Shari Redstone Says. Retrieved November 29, 2016. https://www.thestreet.com/story/13890410/1/viacom-viab-merging-with-cbs-again-might-make-sense-shari-redstone-says.html
Fox, Emily Jane. October 19, 2016. The Hive. Will Les Moonves Soon Run Viacom, Too? Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/10/les-moonves-cbs-viacom-merger
Steele, Anne. November 15, 2016. Wall Street Journal. Viacom to Buy Argentina’s Telefe for $345 Million. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://www.wsj.com/articles/viacom-to-buy-argentinas-telefe-for-345-million-1479231471
James, Meg. October 31, 2016. LA Times. Viacom Names Robert Bakish as Acting CEO. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-viacom-ceo-20161031-story.html
James, Meg. November 9, 2016. LA Times. Paramount Quarterly Profit Plummets; Paramount Loses $137 million. Retrieved November 27, 2016. http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-viacom-earnings-paramount-20161108-story.html
Orr, Emma and Shaw, Lucas. August 24, 2016. Bloomberg. Viacom Said to Rethink Resistance to $12 Billion Downgrade. Retrieved November 27, 2016. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-24/viacom-said-to-rethink-resistance-to-12-billion-debt-downgrade

Cablevision

Link

by Steven Spohr

Summary

Source – Cablevision.com

Founded in 1973, Cablevision Systems Corporation is a leading telecommunications company that primarily offers television, phone, and Internet services to millions in the NY metropolitan area. Initially serving a mere 1,500 customers on Long Island, Cablevision has since expanded to offer WiFi, a leading local newspaper, and business communications solutions to its over 3 million subscribers. Former properties include Madison Square Garden and Rainbow Media Holdings. [1]

Source – Optimum.com

Cablevision’s television, phone, Internet, WiFi, and business solutions all operate under the ‘Optimum’ brand name. These include (but are not limited to) –

Optimum TV – exclusive home of News 12 Networks, a series of local news channels
Optimum Voice
Optimum Online
Optimum WiFi
Optimum Lightpath – a “leading provider of integrated business communications solutions that meets the needs of larger companies” [1]

Source – www.newsday.com/

Cablevision also owns Newsday Media Group, which runs two local papers. Newsday is a Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper that has been in circulation since 1940. Over 70% of Long Island adults read Newsday, and its articles and reporting have won numerous awards and made it the top paper on Long Island. To provide the most local news possible, Newsday works closely with MSG Varsity (part of the News 12 Networks) to provide detailed coverage of local high school and college sports. amNewYork offers a quick read of city news and events. In addition to the papers, NMG owns Star Community Publishing, which producers weekly shopper publications in Long Island and Queens. It is the largest publisher of its kind in the Northeastern United States. [2]

Leadership

The Dolan family founded Cablevision and continues to lead the company today. Key personnel include [3] –

Charles Dolan – Founder and Chairman / Source – Sean Smith, The Boston College Chronicle

James Dolan – Chief Executive Officer / Source – Al Iannazzone, Newsday.com

Kristin Dolan – Chief Operating Officer / Source – Variety.com

Brian Sweeney – President / Source – POST Online Media

Gregg Seibert – Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer / Source – Business Wire

Hank Ratner – Vice Chairman / Source – The Madison Square Garden Company

Financials

A detailed map of Cablevision’s stock pricing in 2014. / Source – Yahoo! Finance

2014 has seen Cablevision’s stock (CVC) prices gradually increase throughout the year. Starting the year at $17.22/share, CVC stock stands at $20.32/share as of November 29th. February 3rd saw the year’s low of $15.85. Prices peaked in late July, mid-September, and late November. [4]

The following financial information is from Cablevision’s Third Quarter 2014 Results.

Net revenue increased 3.7% to $1.62 billion.
Cable advertising revenue grew 6.8%
Average Monthly Cable Revenue per Customer increased 5.7% to $154.50/customer/month. [5]

These figures represent a continued loss of subscribers for Cablevision across the board. Between satellite TV providers, rival phone companies, and the public’s shift to watching TV online, Cablevision’s audience is becoming fragmented. The company chose to increase its subscription rates in response to decreasing numbers, which is represented by the net revenue and AMCR/C increases. [6]

Recent News

The latter half of 2014 has been a busy one, with notable hirings, financial news, legal troubles, and more.

August 4th

August 4th saw Cablevision’s announcement that it has hired David Dibble as Chief Technology Officer, a newly-created role. Dibble is formerly of Yahoo!, and his hiring is part of Cablevision’s efforts to “become the premier connectivity provider in the market, delivering a peerless customer experience”. [7]

November 7th

A New York Times article revealed a major legal proceeding against Cablevision. The National Labor Relations Board has charged Cablevision CEO James Dolan with “illegally threatening to deny company technicians in Brooklyn a pay increase unless they voted to quit their union”. The NLRB also charged Cablevision itself with “illegally [undermining] the union’s representation of those workers by sponsoring a nonbinding poll to determine whether they wanted to leave their union”, while some workers reported they were being ‘spied on’ during the vote. Federal law states that such a vote can only be conducted by the labor board, not the company. CEO Dolan fired back, calling the NLRB “a tool of Big Labor” and questioning the validity of its findings. The case is ongoing, and Cablevision has stated it will appeal to federal courts, if necessary. [8]

CEO Dolan has plenty of reasons to be frustrated, especially with his ongoing legal troubles with the National Labor Relations Board. / Source – ESPN.com

November 11th

Cablevision teamed up with Time Warner Cable to release the first ever “New York Television Audience Insights Report”. The report sampled the 3.5 million subcribers of Cablevision and TWC in the New York area, which is half of the TV homes in the region. Its aim was to help advertising and marketing departments and companies get better value out of their advertising purchases. Some key findings include –

74% of all TV programming watched was outside of traditional TV ‘prime time’ (8-11PM).
On average, a subscriber will only watch 25 channels in a month.
a whopping 90% of all viewing comes from a mere 100 channels. [9]

These new insights will help create better statistics for TV viewership and aid advertisers in spending money more efficiently.

November 18th

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the city is planning an extensive new WiFi network across the five boroughs. The project, dubbed LinkNYC, would provide not only free WiFi, but also no-cost domestic calling and video chat. The 10,000 hotspot system would replace the city’s decaying network of archaic payphones and operate completely with money generated through advertising. Projected to cost around $200 million, LinkNYC would bring in over $500 million over the next twelve years, according to city officials.

This announcement led some to think Cablevision’s Optimum WiFi network would be threatened by this new, massive competition. Cablevision officials have not only dismissed these musings, but have actively worked with New York City on a number of initiatives, possibly including LinkNYC itself. [10]

Mayor-Elect De Blasio Makes Announcement

Mayor de Blasio’s ambitious project looks to dramatically improve WiFi services within the five boroughs. / Source – PIX 11

November 22nd

The Lewisboro Ledger revealed that Cablevision has a new deal with the town of Lewisboro (Westchester County). The deal, which primarily concerns franchising fees, has a number of key improvements –

Over $270,000 in new franchising fees are expected in 2015.
Free cable would be provided to 16 municipal and school buildings, including the public library.
New offers would include a senior discount for those aged sixty-five and older.
Town Board meetings would become available for live-streaming.
The town’s parks and baseball fields will become WiFi-equipped. [11]

November 25th

Kids video-on-demand network Kabillion announced a carriage deal with Cablevision. Kabillion, which is the only independently-owned VOD network ranked in the Top 10 Kids Free On Demand list, will now reach over 50 million homes nationwide. The deal is beneficiary to Cablevision too, as Kabillion reports views exceeding 65 million in 2014. [12]

Bibliography

Time Warner Cable

Link

By Gauraa Shekhar

The Time Warner Company logo

History

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

Key Executives

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

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

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

Dinesh C. Jain, courtesy of Time Warner Cable

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

Financials

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

Recent Acquisitions and Activities

Acquisition of DukeNet Communications

DukeNet Communications, courtesy of DukeNet Communications

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

Merger with Comcast Corporation

Comcast Time Warner Cable Merger, courtesy of The Wrap

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

Sponsorship Deals:

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

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

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

Upcoming Projects:

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

Time Warner Cable’s New “Max”:

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[11] New “Max” Service RT: 4/21/14

Univision

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Tiana Flores

by Tiana Flores

Univision logo courtesy of Univision.com [1]

Univision Communications Inc.
605 3rd Ave.
New York, NY 10158
United States
(212) 455-5331

www.Univision.com

Brief History:

In 1979 Galavisión was the first spanish-language cable network to launch nationwide. During the 1980’s Hallmark Inc. and it’s minority partner First Chicago Venture Capital bought the Spanish International Network television stations, which included Galavisión. The new owners renamed the Spanish International Network to what is now known as Univision Network.[2]
In the 1990’s A. Jerrold Perenchio, Televisa and Venevision acquired Univision from Hallmark Inc. Since then Univision has expanded into various media platforms including radio and digital. Univision Communications Inc. owns and operates various television networks that broadcast sports, music, films, dramatic stories, reality shows, etc. Univision is considered to be the leading media company serving Hispanic Americans. [2]

Media Properties:

Univision Communications Inc.
De Película
UniMás
De Clásico
Galavisión
TeleHit
Univision Deportes
Ritmosan Latinos
Univision News
Tenovelas Univision
UVideos
BANDAMAX
Clásico
FOROTV
Univision Communications Inc. Local Media
Univision Communications Inc. Radio
Univision Communications Inc. Interactive Media

Main Executives:

-President & Executive Chief Officer: Randy Falco Photo courtesy of Univision.com

-President & Executive Chief Officer: Randy Falco
Photo courtesy of Univision Corporate [3]

Falco joined the Univision team back in 2009. Under Falco’s leadership, Univision has added three cable companies and digital offerings.Falco has increased Univision’s revenue and expanded across various multimedia platforms. [4]

Senior Executive VP & Chief Financial Officer: Andrew W. Hobson Photo Courtesy of Univision.com

Senior Executive VP & Chief Financial Officer: Andrew W. Hobson
Photo Courtesy of Univision Corporate [5]

Hobson has been with Univision since 1993 and throughout his time with the company he has held several leadership roles. Before assuming his current position in 2005, Hobson was the Chief Strategic Officer. [6]

Financials:

Third quarter 2013 net revenue increased by 10.1% to $692.7 million from $628.9 million in 2012. Also stated is the adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) increased by 9.2% to $301.8 million from last year’s $276.5 million. The third quarter came to an end on September 30, 2013 and for the past nine months, the net revenue increased by 9.1% to $1,931.2 million from $1,770.3 in the previous year. Meanwhile the OIBDA also increased to $824.3 million from $713.9 million in 2012. [7]

Recent News:

Photo Courtesy of Global Football Today [8]

Univision Deportes Leads the Pack in the 2013 Third Quarter

Univision Deportes Network (UDN) is a 24-hour Spanish-language sports network dedicated to providing the Hispanic community with the most sports on a daily basis.UDN was launched in April 2012 and it’s owned by Univision Communications Inc. In the third quarter of 2013 UDN outperformed ESPN Deportes and Fox Deportes, making UDN the number one Spanish-language sports network nationwide. UDN also announced that Nielsen will now be able to publicly report ratings for the sports Network. [9]

Primetime viewing audiences for the 2013 third quarter [9]:
Univision Deportes Network 52,000 Adults 18-49; 83,000 P2+
FOX Deportes 31,000 Adults 18-49; 55,000 P2+
ESPN Deportes 31,000 Adults 18-49; 54,000 P2+

These numbers insinuate that Univision Deportes Network is the fastest growing Spanish-language sports channel on the air. Since the recent Time Warner agreement, UD currently reaches 35 million households .

The UDN surpasses all the other Spanish-language sports networks in various aspects. In the 2013 third quarter, Univision’s sports network broadcast more live sporting events than it’s Spanish-language competitors. It reportedly aired 176 live events, which is more than both ESPN Deportes and Fox Deportes.

UDN also had a very strong third quarter in the social media department. Since July, Univision Deportes Facebook page has been engaged by fans about 4 times as much as Fox Deportes page and 8 times as much of ESPN Deportes. Meanwhile during the Gold Cup game, Univision Deportes received more social media activity and engagement than Fox Soccer. Throughout the tournament, UDN had about a 25% larger audience on Twitter per match than Fox Soccer. It also had a 30% average Twitter activity per match than Fox Soccer. [9]

Courtesy of Ignites Social Web [10]

Univision Deportes App for Xbox One

In early November 2013, Univision Communications Inc. announced the launch of the Univision Deportes app for Xbox One, which will make it’s debut on November 22, 2013. This app will be the first Spanish-language sports app launched on Xbox One in the country. [11]

The Univision Deportes app will give fans a rare soccer experience by providing them with live streaming and VOD content of Liga MX, the Mexican National Teams and the 2014 World Cup, which are all considered to be some of the most popular sports properties worldwide. [11]. The app will also give sports fans 24/7 worldwide soccer coverage, which includes sports news updates, real-time scores and stats, videos and photographs of all the important soccer tournaments and leagues around the world.

Photo Courtesy of Brands of the World [12]

HSN Partners Up With Univision to Create an Online Boutique

HSN, the home shopping network, has partnered up with Univision Communications to reach a large amount of the hispanic market. The three-year partnership includes the development of a new shopping portal called Boutique Univision on Univision.com.

Boutique Univision offers electronics, fashion beauty, home decor and cookware products. The shopping portal will also include popular brands such as Vince Camuto, Samsung, Apple, Curtis Stone and Lancôme. These products and brands have been specifically selected for Hispanic costumers.[13]

Promotions for the online boutique began last Thursday (Nov. 14), with popular HSN host Lesley Ann Machado as a special guest on Univision’s morning show “Despierta América.” During the show, Machado and original host Maggie Jiménez announced the creation of Boutique Univision.

HSN has also been promoting the new portal on its network. HSN featured live feed of the announcement during a segment that included chef Lorena Garcia. Jiménez was a guest on the HSN show “Beauty Report” and discussed the fashion and beauty products available on Boutique Univision.

HSN decided to partner up with Univision due to the company’s ability to reach a large number of the Hispanic demographic. The chief marketing and business development officer at HSN Inc., Bill Brand noted “We are able to reach this Hispanic consumer through the most trusted brand in their community, and that’s Univision. That’s an unprecedented opportunity for us.”[13]

Photo courtesy of Famous Logos website [14]

Univision & Toyota Announced Trans-media Partnership

Earlier this month, Univision Communications Inc. and Toyota announced a trans-media partnership that integrates Toyota automobiles into Televisa’s brand new telenovela “Lo Que La Vida Me Robo.” Part of the partnership includes, Toyota as the main sponsor of this new telenovela, which first aired November 18, 2013. Through this partnership Toyota will be able to reach and influence an entirely new demographic across all media platforms. The two companies have combined various media platforms such as television, digital and social media in order to provide consumers with an immersive multi-platform experience and also to introduce exclusive and interactive opportunities. [15]

Throughout the broadcast of “Lo Que La Vida Me Robo” fans have access to the main characters of the telenovela through a digital correspondence feature, which allows them to become active participants in every new plot twist [15]. Additional content related to the telenovela is also made available to fans. Another way for fans to gain access to exclusive content is through Univision apps but only users who opt to sync up with the Toyota experience will gain access.

Sources:

[1] Univision Logo From Univision.com
[2] The Univision Story
[3] Randy Falco Photograph From Univision Corporate
[4] About Randy Falco
[5] Andrew Hobson Photograph From Univision Corporate
[6] About Andrew Hobson
[7] Bloomberg Financials on Univision Communications Inc. Third Quarter 2013
[8] Univision Deportes Network Photograph From Global Football Today
[9] Univision Deportes Leads the Pack in the 2013 Third Quarter From Univision Corporate
[10] Xbox One Logo From Ignites Social Web
[11] Univision Deportes App for Xbox One From Univision Corporate
[12] HSN Logo From Brands Of The World
[13] HSN Partners Up With Univision to Create Online Boutique From The New York Times
[14] Toyota Logo From Famous Logos Website
[15] Univision & Toyota Announce Transmedia Partnership From Univision Corporate

Netflix

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Jamie Zaslav

By Jamie Zaslav

-Netflix Corporate Logo- [18]

Netflix Corporate Headquarters

100 Winchester Circle

Los Gatos, CA 95032

Tel: (418) 540-3700

Fax: (418) 540-3737

Email: info@netflix.com

www.netflix.com

Brief History:

Netflix Headquarters. Photo Courtesy of Business Cloud News [23]

Netflix, co-founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings, began as a pay-per-rental service of TV programs and movies on DVDs delivered by mail. Netflix, based in San Francisco, California, was a mail-order competitor to Blockbuster and other local video rental stores that were operating in the US. In 2000, Netflix changed its payments model from each rental to a monthly flat-fee for unlimited rentals of programs delivered by mail. Since the companies inception 13 years ago, Netflix has transformed into one of the most successful media streaming services, by not only having newer content available, but also by creating their own content. Today Netflix reaches of 37 million monthly subscribers around the world via broadband and it still has subscribers that receive programming on DVDs through the mail service. [1]

Key Executives:

Reed Hastings, Co-Founder & CEO

Co-founder & CEO Reed Hastings, Courtesy of Netflix

David Wells, CFO

CFO David Wells, Courtesy of Netflix

Neil Hunt, CPO

CPO Neil Hunt, Courtesy of Netflix

Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer

Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, Courtesy of Netflix

Kelly Bennett, Chief Marketing Officer

Chief Marketing Officer Kelly Bennett, Courtesy of Netflix

About:

Photo courtesy of Netflix [19]

Netflix is a video on-demand monthly subscription service delivered through broadband on the internet or delivered through DVDs in the mail to subscribers. By subscribing to Netflix for a monthly fee of $7.99, subscribers gain unlimited access to Netflix’s video library of TV shows and movies. Netflix is primarily in North America, but they’ve also expanded into South America, the UK, and several other countries. Unique to Netflix, they developed a recommendation algorithm that suggests TV shows and movies to subscribers based on what they rented to help their subscribers find programs they might like [2]. This is innovative because Netflix was using each individual’s viewing data to recommend programs they might like. Netflix creates a direct connection to the consumer business model and therefore it knows all of its subscribers, has a relationship with them, and can access all the data on how users use Netflix.

Netflix App, Available on almost all video platforms. Photo courtesy of Netflix [20]

This is very different from other premium series like HBO or Showtime, which have a relationship with the cable distributor who sells t the consumer. As broadband developed in the US, Netflix started to offer access to all of its TV and movie programs over broadband in addition to the mail service for the same monthly fee. Netflix worked hard to make content available on most video platforms including: Playstation, Xbox, Wii, Mac, PC, iPad, Tablet, Mobile and more [3].

They have recently started producing their own content, they have three web series and each earned Emmy nominations. Netflix has launched numerous original series in the last two years (House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Russell Peters Vs. The World, Arrested Development Season 4, Lilyhammer and Bad Samaritans). House of Cards was their first series to earn a primetime Emmy Award nomination for outstanding series. All of Netflix’ content is delivered without commercials [4].

Netflix Original Series, House of Cards. Photo courtesy of Netflix [21]

In addition, Netflix makes full seasons of all of its TV programs available to Netflix users. In watching how users consume content, Netflix noticed that users began to watch full seasons of TV programs all at once. Netflix calls this “binge viewing” of TV content [5]. Netflix has been innovative by having all episodes of its original programming available on Netflix at once. When Netflix launched its first original series, House of Cards, it launched all 13 episodes on February 1, 2013 at once. Critics and viewers watched all the episodes over a short period of time giving the consumer full choice of how to watch the series rather than making it available once a week which has been the traditional TV model. House of Cards was a big success with Netflix subscribers and Netflix has launched and announced a number of additional original programs all of which will be made available in full seasons at the same time [6].

Finances:

Netflix generated approximately $3.2 billion in revenue for the first nine months of this year, up 20% versus the same period in 2012. However, this translated into only $146 million of operating income due to high marketing costs spent to attract new customers. Marketing costs this year are up 18% versus the first 9 months of 2012 and while that is a big increase, the level of increase is slowing. In 2012 marketing expense for the year was up nearly 30% with revenue growth only 13%. The marketing spend speaks to their focus on increasing new customers, which is working. They have increased their total domestic subscribers to nearly 30 million (more than HBO), up from 24 million a year ago and international subscribers to 8 million from only 4 million a year ago. The result has been rapid share price appreciation [17].

Growth:

Netflix has stated that it would like to grow to 50 or 60 million subscribers [7]. One of the biggest questions is whether Netflix has become more of a competitor with cable and satellite providers. Another big question is whether Netflix will reach its limit on customers like HBO and Showtime. Central to those questions is whether Netflix users feel they get enough content from the site and don’t need a cable subscription with all the cable channels [8]. Netflix primary business is in the US where it has over 30 million broadband subscribers and Netflix has expanded into South America, Canada and Europe bringing their total subscribers to 37 million worldwide.

Netflix Just for Kids Homepage. Photo courtesy of Netflix [22]

Content:

Netflix has a strong children’s programming library which includes such popular shows as Curious George, Sesame Street, Bob the Builder and Super Why. Kids have become some of the biggest users and fans of Netflix. As a result, Netflix has done a number of deals to add original children’s series to the Netflix platform. Netflix announced it will do 4 original children series with Disney [9], as well as several original series produced by DreamWorks Animation [10]. Netflix also has deals for content with Cartoon Network [11] and HUB Network [12]. The HUB shows are available on Netflix exclusively. These deals for original children’s shows will be available on Netflix, not any of its competitors.

Netflix has also struck a deal with CBS to show the Showtime series Dexter on Netflix [13].

Competitors:

Netflix has many competitors. Amazon and Hulu compete with Netflix for monthly broadband subscribers. Amazon’s subscription service is called Prime and is available at a yearly rate of $79 [14]. Hulu has a monthly fee of $7.99 a month with limited advertising [15], which is similar to how Netflix is offered. Also, HBO Go and Showtime Anytime offer monthly subscription services but they are offered through the cable operator or satellite providers as an add on to the users’ HBO or Showtime monthly fee [16]. HBO has been in business for 30 years and reached about 30 million homes and Showtime reaches about 20 million homes. Netflix is offered directly to consumers and has the advantage of having a direct relationship with its subscribers. Netflix can communicate directly with its subscribers and gets all the data on how its subscribers are using Netflix.

Sources:

[1] How Netflix Started (11/10/13)

[2] Netflix Recommendation Algorithm (11/10/13)

[3] Netflix Sign-Up (11/11/13)

[4] Netflix Vs. Hulu Video Streaming (11/9/13)

[5] “Binge Watching” (11/13/13)

[6] 5 New Original Series in the works for 2014 (11/19/13)

[7] Netflix Closes on HBO Boasting an Estimated 30 Million Paying Subscribers (11/3/13)

[8] Netflix Rivals Cable (11/12/13)

[9] Disney and Netflix are Powerful friends (11/12/13)

[10] DreamWorks Animation and Netflix make deal for new shows (11/15/13)

[11] Cartoon Network and Adult Swim shows now on Netflix (11/17/13)