Hulu

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Jonah Rappaport

hulu company logo [1]

Founded: March 2007 by Beth Comstock & Jason Kilar

Jason Kilar [3]

Beth Comstock [2]

CEO: Mike Hopkins

Mike Hopkins [19]

SVP, Head of Distribution: Tim Connolly

Tim Connolly [19]

SVP, Head of Content: Craig Erwich

Craig Erwich [19]

SVP, General Counsel: Chadwick Ho

Chadwick Ho [19]

About

Hulu is an OTT (over the top) streaming service launched in 2008 to provide users with “hundreds of thousands of hours of the best of the best television programming and movies to subscribers with limited commercials” [4]. Hulu offers its services in both the United States and Japan on two pay scales: “with limited commercials for $7.99 per month or with no commercials for $11.99 per month” [4]. New users can also try Hulu for a 30-day free trial.

Compared to other OTT streaming services like Netflix and HBO Go, Hulu has the benefit of being owned by three of the largest programming distributors: NBCUniversal, Fox, and Disney-ABC. In total, Hulu has over 500 content partners [4], providing them a great advantage in programming over their competitors. On the advertising side, Hulu has partnerships with over 2,000 brand and companies, helping it gain recognition as one of “the top ad-supported online video sites” [4]. Hulu boasts a subscriber base of 9 Million users whose viewership trends are tracked by ComScore, Nielson, and Quantcast.

Background

Hulu was first announced during the Super Bowl XLII broadcast via an Alec Baldwin-starring commercial. Initially, the platform was available for free via an ad-supported system and at a premium level called “Hulu Plus” without ads. Archived content from its three powerhouse distributors (NBC/Fox/Disney) could be viewed in on an unlimited basis on both platforms. In 2011; however, Hulu announced that content would be available on the service the day after premiering once users authenticated their service-providers [5]. Later that year, the company struck a deal with the CW Network to also premiere their content next-day [6]. Two years later, Hulu signed on with BBC Worldwide North America to “bring as many as 2,000 episodes from 144 different BBC titles to a wider American audience” [7].

In Early 2015, AT&T struck a deal with Hulu to allow for streaming on “the telecom company’s websites and mobile apps” [11]. In June of 2015, Showtime became “the first premium service to be offered by Hulu” [8], in a monumental deal that allowed the company to effectively compete HBO Go by offering the addition of Showtime‘s premium content at only an additional $8.99/month as compared to HBO Go‘s $11.99/month charge [8]. This deal also showcased the Hulu platform’s ability to support premium add-ons, highlighting them as a powerful distribution tool for premium content providers. In

Original Programming

In 2011, Hulu partnered with documentary film-maker, Morgan Spurlock, on a 6-episode series titled, “A Day In The Life” [9]. The show was available to both free and premium subscribers and chronicled Spurlock as he followed a famous individual around for a day. In 2013, the company ramped up it’s original content by premiering “three original series and seven exclusive shows” [10]. As of April, 2016, the platform boasts 23 original titles, ranging from shows like The Awesomes to Deadbeat.

Exclusive Rights Deals

Currently, Hulu is focussed on acquiring rights to exclusive content and original series in order to lure potential users. This January, the company gained exclusive rights to stream “Lifetime’s critically acclaimed drama series from A+E Studios, UnREAL” [11] This move, which gambled on the success of a critically acclaimed show after it’s first season, highlights the mindset of much of the company’s moves thus far in 2016. In addition to UnReal, Hulu also picked up the rights to Chance, “a provocative psychological thriller that focuses on a forensic neuropsychiatrist who reluctantly gets sucked into a violent and dangerous world of mistaken identity, police corruption and mental illness” [12].

On January 27, Hulu announced a “landmark output deal” with IFC Films that makes “Hulu the exclusive streaming home for all future documentary releases from IFC Films, which will include all documentaries from the brands IFC Films, Sundance Selects and IFC Midnight” [15]. In a first-of-its-kind deal, all IFC films will now go directly from theaters to the Hulu platform in the first “one-window” agreement of its kind [15].

Curious George [17]

In March, Hulu and Universal announced a deal that gives the platform exclusive rights to the Curious George series for past and future releases within the window of a three-year deal [16]. In total, Hulu users “gain access to all nine seasons – over 100 episodes – of CURIOUS GEORGE^® TV series”. Additionally, Hulu will be the home to all Curious George feature-length films and the destination of “direct-to-TV specials” [16].

Content Creator

Aside from picking up the rights to existing content, Hulu sees itself as a platform for content creators to flex their muscles. Speaking at the Code/Media conference, CEO Mike Hopkins said, “What we’re trying to do is give creators the resources they need … and go for it” [14]. While the company is “lacking a defining show like “Orange Is the New Black” or “Transparent,” [14] Hulu is confident in its ability to win bidding wars for broadcast smash-hits, something apparent in the company’s success at beating out Netflix and HBO Go for the rights to Fox‘s Empire.

Virtual Reality

On March 24, Hulu announced the launch of it’s virtual reality application. Available on Samsung’s Gear VR platform, Hulu says that it will be bringing all current content to the app and will be “augmenting the experience with some of the very best 360-degree video content available” [18]. Additionally, the company states that users will be able to “watch the entire Hulu 2D library in immersive 360-degree environments” [18].

Overview

With the competitive world of OTT streaming as fiery a battle as ever, Hulu sees to distance itself from the competition by providing its users with innovative, exclusive content. To reel in new customers, the company hopes to be the first to strike gold in new ventures such as virtual reality and will continue to hope that its licensing deals continue to drive revenues.

Sources

[1] http://www.freelogovectors.net/hulu-logo-eps-file/

[2] Dan, Avi. “GE’s CMO Beth Comstock Inspires Innovation Through Instigating.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 19 Apr. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/avidan/2012/04/19/ges-cmo-beth-comstock-inspires-innovation-through-instigating/#61e6696d3de4>.

[3] Jason Kilar, Chief Executive Officer of Hulu LLC, Speaks during A…” Getty Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/jason-kilar-chief-executive-officer-of-hulu-llc-speaks-news-photo/123197454>.

[4] About Hulu.” Watch TV and Movies on Xbox, PS3, Apple TV, and More. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.hulu.com/press/about>.

[5] Stelter, Brian. “Fox to Limit Next-Day Streaming on Hulu to Paying Cable Customers.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 26 July 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/business/media/fox-to-limit-next-day-streaming-on-hulu.html>.

[6] Wasserman, Todd. “Hulu to Get Current Season of Gossip Girl and Other CW Content.” Mashable. N.p., 28 Oct. 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://mashable.com/2011/10/28/hulu-gossip-girl-cw/#0f8HZKPPEsqq>.

[7] Hulu BBC Deal: A Positive Step After Some Cloudy Times » CEOWORLD Magazine.” CEOWORLD Magazine. N.p., 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://ceoworld.biz/2013/09/18/hulu-bbc-deal-a-positive-step-after-some-cloudy-times>.

[8] Perez, Sarah. “Showtime Becomes The First Premium Service To Be Offered By Hulu.” TechCrunch. N.p., 23 June 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://techcrunch.com/2015/06/23/showtime-becomes-the-first-premium-service-to-be-offered-by-hulu/>.

[9] Emami, Gazelle. “Morgan Spurlock ‘A Day In The Life’: Original Series Premieres On Hulu (VIDEO).” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/17/morgan-spurlock-a-day-in-the-life_n_929008.html>.

[10] Gates, Sara. “Hulu Expands Original Content, Announces Three Series And Seven Exclusive Shows (VIDEO).” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/hulu-expands-original-content_n_1532718.html>.

[11] Smiley, Minda. “AT&T Strikes Deal with Hulu to Offer Subscription Service to Its Customers.” The Drum. N.p., 25 Apr. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/05/14/att-strikes-deal-hulu-offer-subscription-service-its-customers>.

[12] News.” TV Shows and Movies. Ed. Press Admin. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.hulu.com/press/posts/hulu-acquires-exclusive-svod-rights-to-unreal>.

[13] News.” Watch TV and Movies on Xbox, PS3, Apple TV, and More. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.hulu.com/press/posts/hulu-picks-up-chance>.

[14] CHMIELEWSKI, Dawn. “Hulu Finally Gets Serious With Original TV Series — But Is It Too Little, Too Late?” Recode. N.p., 18 Feb. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://recode.net/2016/02/18/hulu-finally-gets-serious-with-original-tv-series-but-is-it-too-little-too-late/>.

[15] Press Admin. “HULU STRIKES FIRST EVER DEAL FOR PAY ONE WINDOW RIGHTS WITH IFC FILMS.” Hulu.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.hulu.com/press/posts/hulu-strikes-first-ever-deal-for-pay-one-window-rights-with-ifc-films>.

[16] Press Admin. “HULU and UNIVERSAL INK GROUNDBREAKING DEAL FOR CURIOUS GEORGE® TV.” Hulu News. N.p., 17 Mar. 2016. Web. <http://www.hulu.com/press/news>.

[17] http://www.rivercenter.org/event/curious-george-2/

[18] Press Admin. “Hulu Launches Virtual Reality Application.” Hulu News. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.hulu.com/press/posts/hulu-launches-virtual-reality-application>.

[19] Press Admin. “Executives.” Hulu Executives. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016. <http://www.hulu.com/press/executives>.

Netflix

Posted on December 1, 2014 by ptharami

by Paul Haramis

Netflix Logo – Courtesy of pr.netflix.com [1]

Corporate Headquarters [2]

100 Winchester Circle, Los Gatos, CA 95032

Phone: +1 (408) 540-3700

www.netflix.com

Key Executives [3]:

Reed Hastings, Founder and CEO

David Wells, Chief Financial Officer

Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer

Neil Hunt, Chief Product Officer

Greg Peters, Chief Streaming and Partnerships Officer

Tawni Cranz, Chief Talent Officer

History [4]:

http://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/netflix-envelope-e1329161999677.jpg

Netflix didn’t offer streaming services until 2007 – Photo courtesy of qualitylogoproducts.com

Reed Hastings founded Netflix in 1997 with Marc Randolph [4]. The company was initially founded to offer online movie rentals. Customers would select a movie from the database and have it shipped directly to their home. In 1999, the company introduced monthly subscriptions, a format that the company still uses today. In 2002, Netflix first became available to the public on the NASDAQ. In 2007, Netflix began its streaming service, which has allowed the company to see exponential growth. Today there are more than 53 million members of Netflix, all of whom are scattered around the globe.

Financials [5]:

Courtesy of Google Finance

The third quarter was disappointing for Netflix as it fell short of its internal projections. They believed they would make around $1.41 billion dollars, but instead made around $1.22 billion dollars [4]. This is largely due to new subscriptions coming in at 980,000 as compared to the 1.3 million they projected. One of the biggest factors for the lower than anticipated new subscribers is believed to be the rise in price for a monthly subscription. The price rose from $7.99 a month to $8.99 a month. As part of their damage control, Netflix said that sometimes they over-predict their growth and sometimes they undersell it. This was to much avail as Netflix saw a 25% decrease in their stock after their third quarter earnings were released [6]. Some entrepreneurs saw this as an unbelievable opportunity. Netflix addressed fears that this was due to competition by saying, “Since our per-member viewing and retention in the US are as strong as ever, we don’t think increased competition from piracy, TV Everywhere, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Hulu, etc., is a major factor” [5]. This still didn’t prevent stock from dropping another 4% when HBO announced that HBO Go will be offered as a stand-alone streaming service and users won’t need an HBO cable subscription [5]. Netflix has been predicting this since 2011 and believes that since the content available on both is different, that both companies can continue to grow moving forward [5].

Original Content:

Netflix’s original content continues to be extremely strong and Netflix responded by creating additional new content as well as renewing current shows. In the third quarter, Netflix released an adult animated show “BoJack Horseman” as well as two new seasons of their hit shows “Orange is the New Black” and “The Killing” [5]. In addition, today Netflix announced that season 3 of the hit-show House of Cards, will be premiering on February 27, 2015 [7].

According to a Centris survey, 72% of domestic subscribers have watched some type of Netflix original programming [8]. This is up 15% from the first quarter of 2014 and is a great sign for Netflix that their subscribers are at least sampling their original programming. In another survey conducted for Netflix, 57% of subscribers stated that “original content was ‘extremely important,’ ‘quite important,’ or ‘moderately important” [8]. This information has pushed Netflix to churn out more original programming as they have a new show, “Marco Polo” set to release on December 12th. Netflix has reportedly spent $90 million dollars on the production of the show, which is expected to rival HBO’s hit show, “Game of Thrones” [9].

Netflix also recently announced that they will be creating an original series based on Lemony Snicket’s, “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” The books were international best sellers and the move allows Netflix to broaden its content reach with original programming [10].

Innovation

Netflix continues to innovate to make their product better and more expansive. This past quarter, Netflix has taken a number of big steps. The first was the completion of a four-year long project to switch over to HTML5 streaming [11]. The move should increase their streaming services as they will prevent users from having to download Microsoft Silverlight to stream Netflix. One of the most important tools for Netflix is their personal recommendations tool. This suggests new shows to users based on their previous shows and allows subscribers to keep watching new content. Netflix is continually testing new algorithms to improve this service and recently introduced a new feature that recommends shows based on characters from their original programming [12]. For example, subscribers can see programs recommended by Claire Underwood.

Photo courtesy of zap2it.com

This is a new way that Netflix believes it can keep pushing content on subscribers and keep their strong retention rate. The biggest innovation that Netflix made in the third quarter was their announcement of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2 straight to Netflix and select IMAX theaters [13]. This has several theater chains up in arms as they wonder about the potential future repercussions. Netflix also struck a deal with Adam Sandler and Happy Madison Productions to produce four movies released straight to Netflix [14]. It will be interesting to see if this causes a rise in subscriptions to view content that is exclusive to Netflix. It will also be interesting to see how many viewers the films get as Nielsen recently announced they will begin to track online viewing [15]. Netflix has refused to show viewership in the past as a way to alleviate pressure from its programming. It will be interesting to see how the new Nielsen ratings will effect the recent proclamation made by CEO, Reed Hastings this past weekend [16].

Global Expansion

The ultimate end goal for Netflix is to be a wide spread global company. In this past quarter, Netflix has made big strides in achieving that goal.

Photo courtesy of static.amigobulls.com

Earlier in the quarter, Netflix officially launched in six new European countries: France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg [17]. This launch opened up Netflix to 63 million potential new households [17]. To accommodate the new European countries, many local and European content have been added to the database, as well as the addition of subtitles or dubbing European language over some current American content [17]. In the past two weeks, Netflix announced they will be launching in Australia and New Zealand in March 2015 [18]. The move pushes the number of countries and territories that Netflix is in over 50 [18]. Netflix will continue to grow that number as they expand globally.

Overview and Moving Forward:

Overall, despite failing to reach their projections, this has been an extremely successful quarter for Netflix as they continue to expand in both subscriptions and capabilities. It will be extremely exciting to tract their growth in the new year!

Sources:

[1] Netflix Logo, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 29, 2014

[2] Company Overview, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved November 29, 2014

[3] Netflix: Officers & Directors, Officers & Directors, Retrieved: November 29, 2014

[4] Company Timeline, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 29, 2014

[5] Letter to Shareholders, Quarterly Earnings, Retrieved: November 29, 2014

[6] Netflix Stock is Down 25% on This One Key Number in Earnings, MoneyMorning.com, Retrieved: November 29, 2014

[7] Netflix Announces ‘House of Cards’ Season 3 Premiere Date, Entertainment Weekly, Retrieved: December 1, 2014

[8] Netflix U.S. Viewership of Original Series Surges in Q3: Study, Variety, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[9] Netflix is Creating One of the Most Expensive TV Shows in the World – Here’s Why It’s So Important, Business Insider, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[10] Netflix to Adapt Lemony Snicket’s ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ into an Original Series, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[11] Netflix Goes HTML5 for Laptop Streaming, ZDNet, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[12] Netflix Uses its Fictional Characters for Recommendations, Netflix Life, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[13] Netflix Announces First Original Movie, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[14] O’Doyle Rules! Adam Sandler Heads to Netflix, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[15] Nielsen Plans to Track Netflix, Amazon — And It’s a Big Deal, Forbes, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[16] Netflix CEO Reed Hastings says Cable TV Will be Dead by 2030, MSN, Retrieved: December 1, 2014

[17] Netflix Now in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[18] Netflix, Inc. Heads to the Land Down Under, Nasdaq, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

Time Warner

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Isabel Sherman

By Isabel Sherman

Time Warner Logo [1]

Time Warner Inc.
One Time Warner Center
New York, NY 10019-8016
Phone Number: 212-484-8000
www.timewarner.com

Key Executives:

Jeff Bewkes- Chairman of the Board and CEO, Time Warner Inc. [1]

John K. Martin-
Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, Time Warner Inc. [1]

Howard M. Averill- Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Time Warner Inc. [1]

Paul T. Cappuccio- Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Time Warner Inc. [1]

Gary L. Ginsberg- Executive Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications at Time Warner Inc. [1]

For more information on executives click here.

About Time Warner Inc.:

[1]

[1]

[1]

Time Warner Inc. is a multinational media corporation that provides high-quality media and entertainment content through varied outlets. It is one of the largest media conglomerates in the world. [16] It has businesses in television networks, film and television shows, and publishing. The company’s four operating divisions are Home Box Office (HBO), Time Inc., Turner Broadcasting System and Warner Bros. Entertainment. [1]

[31] Visual representation of Time Warner’s TV assets

Time Inc. runs consumer titles including People, Time, and Fortune. [16]

Warner Bros Entertainment runs Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Television Group, and DC Entertainment. [1]

[37] Turner Broadcasting’s Brands

Turner Broadcasting operates some of the leading cable TV networks CNN, HLN, TNT, TBS, AdultSwim, Turner Sports, TCM, truTV, and Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network is a go-to channel for kids. CNN is the original 24-hour news network and delivers news to global audiences across all platforms. [1]

HBO is the most successful TV-service in the world. In 2012 it was the number one domestic premium pay television service in primetime and total day ratings. As of 2013, there are approximately 114 million HBO and Cinemax cable subscribers worldwide. There are 8.5 million registered users on HBO GO, which is an unlimited access online/tablet/smart-phone service to watch HBO shows and movies that comes free with an HBO subscription. [1] Current popular HBO shows include The Newsroom, Girls, Veep, True Blood and Game of Thrones. [4]

[18] Girls – A show about 20-something girls in New York created by Lena Dunham is currently filming it’s third season, set to air in January

[33] The Newsroom – A political drama series created by Aaron Sorkin just finished its second season on HBO

Competitors:

Major competitors to Time Warner Inc. include NBC Universal, 21st Century Fox, and The Walt Disney Company. [16]

A Brief History Starting with the Warner Brothers in 1923……

[36] A graphic representing the unsuccessful merger of Time Warner and AOL that led to its split in 2009

In 1923, Polish immigrant brothers, the Warners, created the film company Warner Brothers Pictures Inc. in Los Angelos. [2] In 1972, Kinney National Company bought Warner Bros. and established Warner Communications (WCI). [2] In 1989, Time Inc., which was at the time, the third largest cable operator in the country, merged with WCI and Time Warner was formed. [3] The company purchased Turner Broadcasting System in 1996. [3] In January 2001, a $106 billion merger between AOL and Time Warner was approved. [2] The company was called AOL Time Warner, but in 2003 it became just Time Warner. [3] In 2009, Time Warner split with AOL. [2]

Financials:

Time Warner is publicly traded under the NYSE with the symbol TWX.

Chart over the last three months (Sept. 18-Nov. 18) Visible upward trend [38]

The third quarter for the company ended September 30, 2013. [6]

IMPORTANT STATS FROM 3RD QUARTER:

44 percent increase in earnings from $822 million for the same quarter a year ago to $1.18 billion for the third quarter of 2013 [5]
HBO and Turner’s channels provided the biggest increase for Time Warner in the quarter, revenue rose by $182 million to $3.5 billion, increasing 5% [5]
Adjusted Operating Income increased 8% to $1.7 billion [6]
Adjusted Operating Income margins increased year-over-year for the eighth time in the last nine  quarters [6]

OTHER RECENT STATS:

TBS Logo [20]

At Turner, as of September, TBS was the #2 ad-supported cable network in primetime for adults 18-34 and 18-49 [6]

TNT Logo [21]

CNN Logo [22]

TNT finished the quarter (in September) as the #2 network among adults 25-54 in total day time ratings [6]

Total day ratings for CNN in its key demographic increased by 15% (September) [6]

[25]

[32] Boardwalk Empire took home 5 Emmys on September 22

September 22, 2013: HBO received 27 Primetime Emmy Awards, for series including Veep, The Newsroom, 5 for Boardwalk Empire and 11 for the HBO movie Behind the Candelabra. [25] This is the 12th year in the row that HBO has the highest number of Emmy Awards than other station) [6]

[1]Gravity was released October 4, 2013 and has made $234,279,000 so far. [29]

Alfonso Cuaron’s 3D space movie, Gravity, was the top October opening of all-time. It debuted to $55.8 million in North America. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star in the movie. The movie contributes to Time Warner Inc.’s total revenue. [19]

RECENT NEWS:

Home Box Office:

September 2013: HBO is set to release a new series, Looking, which stars Jonathon Groff, best known for Glee and the broadway show, Spring Awakening. The series centers on the life of three gay friends living in San Francisco. The show is created by Andrew Haigh and is set to be released Sunday, January 19^th at 10:30 p.m. on HBO. It is currently filming in San Francisco. [9]

“Looking” Season 1 Trailer [8]

[23] Susan Lacy and her Emmy Awards for American Masters and Inventing David Geffen

September 2013: Susan Lacy is moving from PBS to HBO to produce and direct documentaries for HBO. She is best known as the creator and executive producer of American Masters, a television series that documents the history of icons of American culture. [17] As well as numerous Emmys for American Masters, Lacy has received an Emmy for “Outstanding Documentary or Non-Fiction series” for Inventing David Geffen. [17]

[24] Susan Lacy produced and directed under PBS before she signed the multiyear deal with HBO

[30] Poster for Valentine Road which premiered October 7th on HBO

October 2013: The documentary Valentine Road, directed by Marta Cunningham, premiered on HBO, based on an 2008 shooting at a junior high school in Oxnard, Calif. The movie premiered as a part of National Bullying Prevention Month. [11]

Read an interview with the director here:

Variety Article: Interview with Valentine Road Director

November 2013 – HBO signs John Oliver to star is a comedy series set to start in January 2014. The show will be weekly on Sunday nights and will take a satirical view on the news and current events. John Oliver will be leaving The Daily Show with John Stewart to join the HBO family. [10]

John Oliver [10] on the Daily Show

Turner Broadcasting System:

[28]

October 2013: Turner Broadcasting and Verizon announced a multi-year renewal agreement to provide Turner’s Networks, including CNN, TBS, TNT and Cartoon Network, to Verizon FiOS TV subscribers across a plethora of platforms. This is a long term distribution agreement that will give FiOS TV subscribers’ access to a large array of on-demand programming. [26]

[27]

October 2013: A disagreement over prices between Cable ONE and Turner Broadcasting led Turner to cut channels from Cable ONE on October 1, 2013. [13] A Cable ONE press release stated that Turner Broadcasting wanted an almost 50% increase in price for the channels. It was the largest recess of channels in the company’s history. [14] Cable ONE has 730,000 customers in 19 states and is the 10th largest cable company in the U.S. [14] On October 26, 2013 Cable ONE, according to The Anniston Star, “has reached an agreement with Turner Broadcasting System Inc. to restore Cable One’s carriage of Turner’s channels CNN, CNN en Espanol, HLN, Turner Classic Movies, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, truTV and Boomerang.” [13]

[35] Miami Heat opening night game

October 2013: TNT showed exclusive NBA coverage of the Miami Heat against the Chicago Bulls game on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m. ET. The game was the second highest-rated and most-viewed opening night game in network history with 5.4 million viewers and a 3.3 U.S. rating. [7]

[34] Jack Black guest-starring on Conan

November 2013 : Turner Broadcasting is being forced to pay a $25,000 fine by the Federal Communications Commission. [15] In April 2012, a promotional gag for TBS’ Conan used the emergency weather tones to gain attention for a commercial advertising the appearance of Jack Black on the show. The FCC has warned broadcasters not to air the real EAS tones for any reason other than airing a real alert or a test to avoid panicking the public. [15]

Sources:

[1] Time Warner Website

[2] Britannica: Time Warner Inc.

[3] History of Time Warner

[4] Time Warner: About HBO

[5] NY TImes: Time Warner Profits

[6] TWX_3Q13 Earnings Report

[7] TNT Chicago Bulls Vs. Miami Heat Press Release

[8] Looking Season 1 Trailer

[9] About the New HBO Series

[10] HBO- John Oliver

[11] NYTimes Valentine Road