Hulu

Posted on December 1, 2014 by dpbaylis

by Daniel Bayliss

Hulu Logo. Courtesy of thenextweb.com [1]

Hulu Headquarters

12312 West Olympic Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90064 [2]

Phone: 1-(310) 571-4700 Website: www.hulu.com

Twitter: @hulu

Key Executives [3]

Mike Hopkins, CEO

Craig Erwich, Senior Vice President & Head of Content

Tian Lim, Chief Technology Officer

Elaine Paul, Chief Financial Officer

What is Hulu?

Created in 2007, Hulu is a premium, over-the-top service that distributes content to millions of users that stream its programming. The Hulu destination website hulu.com was created in 2008.

Users can stream TV shows like Modern Family, Grey’s Anatomy, and Glee. That list is much more expansive, as Hulu offers programming from NBC, FOX, ABC, etc. In addition, Hulu offers numerous movies, documentaries [4], clips, its own original content, and more.

In addition to the free Hulu service, there’s also a paid subscription service called Hulu Plus. For $7.99 per month, subscribers can watch from a library of streamed shows, movies, clips, etc. that is significantly larger than the selection offered by the free service. There are also a number of electronic devices, like XBox, tablets, and phones that have the ability to stream Hulu Plus.

Photo courtesy of app advice.com. This picture shows just several devices that you can use to access Hulu Plus.

Hulu’s original programming also brings their own advertising and sponsorship opportunities into the mix [5]. Hulu also works with websites like Facebook, Yahoo!, MSN, and others to provide web syndication abilities.

Financials

Due to Hulu being a privately held company [6], the only public monetary updates come from within the company.

The year 2012 was significant for Hulu financially. According to former CEO Jason Kilar, the company brought in approximately $695 million in revenue [7], which was a 65% increase from 2011’s revenue totals.

Photo courtesy of Hulu.com. This graph shows a consistent increase between the fourth quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2012, a factual example of Hulu Plus’ increasing popularity.

The revenue increase also brought about an increase in Hulu Plus subscriber totals, bumping the total up from 1.5 million subscribers in 2011 to 3 million subscribers in 2012. These totals are the result of Hulu investing upwards of $500 million in content in 2012, in addition to the running total of $1 billion that has been paid to the content owners since Hulu’s launch back in 2007 [8]. Hulu also served over 1,000 advertisers in 2012, which was 28% more than in 2011 [7].

Hulu experienced more financial success in 2013 [9]. Their revenue and subscription totals rose to $1 billion and 5 million paying subscribers, respectively [10]. And under the assumption that it holds onto its subscribers for a year, Hulu is set to make $479 million just in subscription revenues.

In July 2013, the three companies that own Hulu — Fox Entertainment Group, NBCUniversal and Disney — invested $750 million in Hulu for its future endeavors and investments. As of September 28, 2013, Hulu had collected a total of $380 million of that number [11]. This investment came on the heels of the three companies deciding against a sale of Hulu.

Within the Company

A huge part of Hulu’s success is due to all their advertising efforts, which includes branded content like the Ford–sponsored show Escape My Life and Subway-sponsored The 4 to 9ers. While branded content is an increasingly popular trend, one that Hulu has taken advantage of in the past [12], November’s departure of Bryan Thoensen, the head of branded content at Hulu, from the company has caused Hulu to change its efforts. Hulu’s new plan will revolve around sponsorships sold for the their self-produced content [13]. This is different from the past when Hulu would also bring along shows and combine them with brands from the start.

Photo courtesy of adage.com. This screenshot of Hulu’s NewFronts portion of their website shows some of its brand content work for 2014 [13].

Back in October it was reported that CEO Mike Hopkins was considering reducing the amount of advertisements that pop up on Hulu Plus [14]. No definitive answer has been issued as to whether or not this will happen. Some executives within the company encouraged the idea due to statistical data suggesting the company’s heavy ad usage. In a study conducted by Comscore in December 2013, Hulu showed users 82 ads per month, while YouTube monthly total for ads seen by users was about 32 [15].

Photo courtesy of app advice.com. This picture shows the Hulu app on an iPhone. There’s a “free” selection of videos as well as the possibility of upgrading to Hulu Plus, as seen in the upper-left hand corner.

Apple‘s decision back in 2011 to receive 30 percent of each Hulu Plus subscriber’s monthly bill was finally justified this year. In early October it was confirmed that Hulu’s most recent update made it compatible with iOS 8 and on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The Hulu in-app update also gives users the ability to subscribe to the Hulu Plus service as soon as they open the app [16]. which means that Apple takes over the billing relationship for those customers.

Hulu also confirmed in late October that it has renewed its distribution deal with Viacom. In the newest deal was the agreement to continue streaming shows like Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “Workaholics,” MTV scripted shows “Awkward” and “Happyland,” and numerous Nickelodeon shows due to the desire for a more expansive selection for kids [17].

More Content Updates

After they were cancelled by ABC, comedy shows Selfie and Manhattan Love Story have been picked up by Hulu [18]. Selfie’s creator Emily Kapnek tweeted the news out on November 20. Kapnek also said that the show’s six remaining un-aired episodes would also immediately be made available on Hulu.

Photo courtesy of guardianlv.com.

Hulu will also now stream “HuffPost Live Conversations” as agreed upon between Hulu and the Huffington Post’s digital video branch last month [19]. The deal, which Hulu hopes will increase its informative news display, will span three years.

Original Content Updates

Photo courtesy of liljas-library.com

Among the many items offered on Hulu are some shows created originally for Hulu. Hulu’s original content selection received a huge boost when the company issued a straight-to-series order for a show based on a Stephen King novel. J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions will produce 11/22/63, which was originally written by King in 2011 [20]. The intense, thriller will revolve around a teacher that has to travel back to 1963 to stop Lee Harvey Oswald from assassinating then-president John F. Kennedy.

Photo courtesy of imdb.com

Due to its increasing popularity, the company has decided to bring back Hulu Original “The Wrong Mans” for a second season [21]. A joint venture between Hulu and BBC Comedy, the show will return with four brand-new episodes that pick up with characters Phil Bourne (James Corden) and Sam Pinkett (Matthew Baynton), who were assumed to be dead, coming back and venturing off on some journey across the world. The season premieres on December 24.

Hulu has also started planning for 2015 with news of another original content piece [22]. The company ordered a new TV show called Difficult People to begin production early on next year. The show comes with executive producers Amy Poehler and Dave Becky, and Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner will star in Difficult People [23].

Sources

[1] Hulu Company Logo, thenextweb.com, RT: 11/29/2014

[2] Hulu Company Description, Bloomberg Businessweek, RT: 11/29/2014

[3] Hulu Executives, Hulu.com, RT: 11/29/2014

[4] Hulu Documentaries, Hulu.com, RT: 11/29/2014

[5] Hulu Original Programming, Hulu.com, RT: 11/29/2014

[6] Hulu: The IPO That Never Happened, Inside Business 360, RT: 11/29/2014

[7] A Big 2012, Hulu.com Blogs, RT: 11/29/2014

[8] Hulu 2012 Breakdown, Gigaom, RT: 11/29/2014

[9] Hulu 2013 Breakdown, Subscriptioncontent.net, RT: 11/29/2014

[10] Hulu 2013 Sales, Bloomberg, RT: 11/29/2014

[11] Walt Disney’s 2013 Fiscal Year, Walt Disney’s 2013 Annual Fiscal Report, RT: 11/29/2014

[12] Farmed and Dangerous, Tubefilter, RT: 11/29/2014

[13] Hulu Restructures Branded Content Plan, adage.com, RT: 11/29/2014

[14] Hulu CEO Mulls Cutting Number of Ads, NYPost, RT: 11/29/2014

[15] Hulu Plus May Cut Back Ads, Cynopsis Media, RT: 11/29/2014

[16] Hulu Makes Peace With Apple’s 30 Percent Cut, Gigaom, RT: 11/29/2014

[17] Hulu-Viacom, Variety, RT: 11/29/2014

[18] Hulu Picks Up ABC-Cancelled Shows, Deadline, RT: 11/29/2014

[19] Hulu Adds HuffPost Live Videos, Huffington Post, RT: 11/29/2014

[20] Hulu Orders New Show Based on King Novel, Hollywood Reporter, RT: 11/29/2014

[21] The Wrong Mans Back on Hulu, The Futon Critic, RT: 11/29/2014

[22] Hulu Picks Up Difficult People, comingsoon.net, RT: 11/29/2014

[23] Hulu Orders New Show, TV Series Finale, RT: 11/29/2014

CBS Films

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Losa Meru

By Losa Amara Meru

- Photo Courtesy of collider.com [a]

CBS Films was established in 2007. Located in Brentwood, Los Angeles, the feature film studio is dedicated to managing the development, financing, production, and marketing of quality motion pictures that span all genres. Currently, they release 4 – 6 movies each year. Their reach includes global distribution with partners as well as self-distributed titles in the US.

What sets CBS Films apart is the budget size of the movies they produce and acquire. The pictures they release cost under $50 million each; they aim to reach the middle ground in between expensive franchise films, low-budget experimental art films, and “genre” films.

Their tagline is “A feature film studio releasing quality films in all genres.”

To date, the studio currently has nine released pictures. [1] [2]

Social Media Contact

Facebook || Twitter || Tumblr

Key Executives

Wolfgang Hammer, Co-President

Photo Courtesy of 5dinstitute.org [b]

Wolfgang Hammer began as Vice President of Production at Media Rights Capital, then became Executive Vice President of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, then moved to CBS Films and became the COO, and is now currently the Co-President of CBS Films. Wolfgang Hammer oversees finance, business, legal affairs, and acquisitions of the company. His specific contributions include overseeing the the acquisitions “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,” “The Woman in Black,” and “The Words.” He also oversaw the co-financing and distribution deal for the Martin McDonagh film “Seven Psychopaths,” a 2012 British crime comedy starring Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, and Colin Farrell. [1] [3]

Terry Press, Co-President

Photo Courtesy of hollywoodreporter.com [c]

Terry Press previously served as the head of marketing for DreamWorks SKG and the principal of 7570 Marketing, Inc. before becoming the Co-President of CBS Films. A much sought after marketing consultant, she has consulted on CBS Films “The Mechanic,” “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen,” and “The Woman in Black,” as well as films such as “The Social Network,” “Julie & Julia,” “Valkyrie,” and “The Hunger Games,” which grossed $687 million worldwide under her leadership. In 2012, she was ranked on The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Power 100. Currently, she oversees distribution, marketing, creative, and physical production for CBS Films. [1] [4]

Financial Information

As CBS Films is a division of its parent company, CBS Corporation, there is no specific financial information available for the studio. However, financial information regarding CBS Corporation’s Entertainment division is available, which encompasses CBS Television Network, CBS Interactive, CBS Global Distribution, CBS Television Studios, and CBS Films.

Third Quarter Revenue (2013): $1.88 Billion

Third Quarter Revenue (2011): $1.63 Billion

Percent Increase (over 2 years): 15.3%

The growth in revenue from the Entertainment division has been positive due to the result of higher domestic licensing revenues, growth in network affiliation fees, the first-cycle availabilities of The Good Wife and NCIS: Los Angeles, and an increase in advertising revenues driven by the CBS Television Network. This positive growth allows CBS Films to have sufficient funds and resources to continue its quality film releases.

The chart below is indicative of CBS Corporation’s financial status as a whole (not just the Entertainment division). [5]

Photo Courtesy of money.cnn.com [d]

Current Film News

Last Vegas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvK3m0wJutI
[e]

On the weekend of November 1st, the movie “Last Vegas” starring Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, and Michael Douglas finished in 3rd place at the box office garnering $16,334,566 on a budget of $28 million. Currently, it is still doing well and has stayed in the top 5 weekend grossing movies since its release. To date, it has earned $46 million domestically.

“Last Vegas” has been received fondly by a wide audience. It received an “A-” on Cinemascore and has received nothing but compliments on how entertaining it was via CBS Film’s Twitter account. [5] [6]

Photo Courtesy of mrmovietimes.com [f]

According to a Huffington Post article, “Last Vegas” ranks as one of the “7 of the Best Movies for Grownups.” The article pointed out the fact that audiences over 50 accounted for 25% of all moviegoers and that that number continues to grow because “the boomer generation still really likes to go to theaters and see movies on the big screen.” According to data from the Motion Picture Association of America, the amount of post 50s adults watching movies increased by 1.6 million, a 25% increase from 2009-2012. This data points to the conclusion that CBS Films made a very smart move in creating a film with great star power, a good sized audience, and a timely release (near Thanksgiving). [7]

Inside Llewyn Davis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuQ8pz-5WLY

[g]

Photo Courtesy of impawards.com [h]

Opening in New York and Los Angeles on December 6th, “Inside Llewyn Davis” will be CBS Film’s next project to look out for. Written by Joel and Ethan Coen, the film won the Grand Prix, the second most prestigious prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. It has been screened to packed audiences at the New York, Chicago, London, and Telluride Film Festivals. Actors featured include Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, Garrett Hedlund, John Goodman, F. Murray Abraham and Justin Timberlake. As a film primarily about a folk musician’s journey, CBS Films celebrated “Inside Llewyn Davis” with a concert performance on November 14th, 2013 by an “American progressive acoustic music trio” called Nickel Creek. Many prominent individuals in the music industry attended, including Barbara Streisand, Moby, James Brolin, former head of Fox Music, Robert Kraft, and the president of the American Music Association, Jed Hilly. It is rumored that Nickel Creek will be performing in multiple venues the week before the movie’s release. The soundtrack to the film was released on November 11th and has received positive reviews for its fitting early-60’s Greenwich Village folk roots sound.Unlike its comedy “Last Vegas,” CBS Films

acquired the rights to domestic distribution for $4 million, proving that it can make smart moves in the acquisition business. [5] [8] [9] [10]

______________________________________________________________

Current Film News Continued

November 19th, 2013 – CBS Films’ summer comedy, “The To Do List” became available for purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.

September 10th, 2013 – CBS Films recently acquired “The F Word,” an independent romantic comedy directed by Michael Dowse and starring Daniel Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, and Adam Driver. It was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and received mostly positive reviews. [5]

Sources

[1] http://cbsfilms.com/about/

[2] http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/11/business/la-fi-ct-cbsfilms11-2010jan11

[3] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1931533/

[4] http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/terry-press-397478

[5] http://investors.cbscorporation.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99462&p=quarterlyearnings

[6] http://boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/?view=&yr=2013&wknd=44&p=.htm

[7] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/baby-boomer-movies_n_4268724.html?utm_hp_ref=fifty&ir=Fifty

[8] http://www.deadline.com/2013/02/inside-llewyn-davis-cbs-films-acquisition-coen-brothers/

[9] http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5793044/nickel-creek-reunites-new-album-inside-llewyn-davis

[10] http://www.npr.org/2013/11/03/242103173/first-listen-soundtrack-inside-llewyn-davis

Multimedia Sources

[a] http://collider.com/wp-content/uploads/cbs-films-slice.jpg

[b] http://5dinstitute.org/images/made/u/people/_web_optimized/WH-Headshot_sm_565_330_85_sha_s_c1.jpg

[c] http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/2012/11/Terry_Press_a_p.jpg

[d] http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=CBS

[e] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvK3m0wJutI

[f] http://movietimes.s3.amazonaws.com/posters/las%20vegas%20movie%20times.jpg

[g] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuQ8pz-5WLY

[h] http://www.impawards.com/2013/posters/inside_llewyn_davis.jpg

LIN Media

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Yilin Pei

By Yilin Pei

LIN Media, LLC

One West Exchange Street, Suite 5A
Providence, RI 02903
401-454-2880

http://www.linmedia.com

About the Company

LIN TV logo

LIN Media was founded in 1961 under the name “LIN Broadcasting”. In 1994, “LIN Television Corporation” spun off from “LIN Broadcasting” as a public company. In 2010, the company rebranded to LIN Media, transforming to a local multimedia company but the cooperate name didn’t change.

In 2013, LIN was re-organized into LIN Media, LLC, at Delaware.[1] Nowadatries to drive brand, potential audience and revenue growth by providing by diverse platforms such as mobile products, apps and web sites. [2]

TV Stations

LIN Media Brands

LIN Media operates or services 43 stations (40 full-power and 3 low-power stations), 7 digital channels in 23 markets with 10.5% U.S. households to deliver local news, sports, community stories and entertainment programming. The 43 stations include 11 CBS affiliates, 10 FOX affiliates, 7 NBC affiliates, 5 ABC affiliates, 8 CW affiliates, 8 MNT affiliates and a TEL affiliate and the company also operates 14 multi-station markets. [3] [4] LIN Media concentrates on median-size stations and markets which is in the range of #20 DMA to #70 DMA. [5]

LIN’s Stations and Markets

As of July 13th, 2013, household rating of LIN Media was 3.7 estimated by Nielsen, the most respected global information and measurement company. The rating of LIN Media is higher than the company’s competitors, Gray, Media General and Nexstar which ratings are respectively 3.4, 2.9 and 2.2. [6] And LIN’s big- four stations’ news rating is 24% higher than national average level.[7] In addition, LIN Media also works on Unique Local Programming such as The Rhode Show in WPRI, Mardnda – Where You Live in WOTV, and The Hampton Roads Show on WAVY. [8]

LIN Digital

LIN Digital logo

LIN Media was one of the first broadcasters to build their own digital business. LIN Digital,the subsidiary of LIN Media, differentiates LIN Media from other broadcasting companies by providing unique and high-impacted digital marketing solutions to the most honored agencies and brands in U.S. and helps them to target potential audiences by customized websites, delivering high quality videos, and mobile devices. In addition, By cooperating with television and interactive analytic companies, LIN Digital also provides value evaluation of cross-platform products for advertisers. LIN DIgital is the top 30 Ad network announced by comScore, which is the most respected digital analytics company in U.S. [9]

competitor comparison of digital revenues of Q2’13

As of the second quarter of 2013, LIN Media’s digital revenue was $25.1 million which was triple of the second quarter digital revenue of Nexstar, one of the most competitive broadcasting company of LIN Media.[10]

Nowadays, LIN DIgital’s sales has reached to 32 markets including Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles. Moreover, LIN Digital released new novel products recently which connect brands cross different platforms such as videos, displays, social media and mobile by working with HYFN and Dedicated Media, the companies that LIN Media acquires major ownership. On Oct. 24th, comScore announced that LIN Digital is the #17 comScore video network. [11]

Key Executives

Vincent L. Sadusky – President & CEO

Vincent L. Sadusky

Scott M. Blumenthal – EVP Television

Scott M. Blumenthal

Richard J. Schmaeling – Senior Vice President Chief Financial Officer

Richard J. Schmaeling

Kimberly S. Davis – Vice President Human Resources

Kimberly S. Davis

For more information on LIN Media’s executives, click here.

Stock Information

LIN Media LLC Class A Common St Stock Chart – Fall of 2013

LIN Media LLC Class A Common St Stock Chart – Fall of 2012

The share price of LIN Media LLC (ticker: LIN) has increased 50.9% in the Fall of 2013 (from August 26th to November 19th). On Aug. 28th, LIN Media got the lowest share price, $16.00, and On Oct. 24th, the company reaches the highest, $26.05 a piece. At the same period of 2012, the lowest share price is $3.94 and the highest share price is $5.82. [12] The success of LIN Digital is one of the main reasons of the share price’s increase.

Financial Information

For the nine months ended September 30th of 2013, LIN Media’s net revenues were $468,448 million, which have increased 31.1% compared with 2011’s $357,292 million.

As of 2013, because of the launch of LIN Digital as well as acquiring major ownership of HYFN and Dedicated Media, the company expects that the digital revenues might over $100 million, which might increase 76% compared with 2012’s $56.8 million. The company also expects that revenues will reach to the range of $190 million to $210 million to achieve a mid 20s operation margin in 2016.[13]

Dedicated Media logo

HYFN Logo

As of the third quarter ended Sept. 30th, LIN Media’s local revenues including retransmission consent fee revenues, local advertising and TV station website revenues was $105.5 million that have increased 44% by comparing with the third quarter of 2012’s $73.3 million. [14]

In addition, LIN Media estimates that $14.7 million to $17.7 million might drop in the fourth quarter’s net revenues of 2013 compared to the fourth quarter of 2012 because of the decline of significant political advertising in 2013. [15]

News

On Oct. 3rd, LIN Media held an investor conference in Austin, Texas and admitted that the company might sell some TV spectrum in FCC’s incentive auction held in 2014. That can help the company profit out of selling Class A low-power stations.

In addition, LIN Media plans to auction off WCTX, a MyNet affiliated television station located in New Haven, CT, and sign its MNT-anchored programming under ABC affiliate WTNH, and the company might make $115 million cash flow under this decision. [16]

Besides, LIN Media owned station, KHON-TV, a fox-affiliated television station located in Honolulu (#69 DMA), upgraded the newscast to high definition, switched the digital platforms and got the most advanced graphics system on Oct. 18th.[17] The improvement of technology is one of the most effective way to capture audiences.

What’s Next for LIN Media?

Public advertising is one of the foundation of LIN Media’s revenue and 2014 will have a new strong political cycle such as the heated debate of healthcare. Those political activities will give the company incremental opportunity to make profits.

For programming, Mr. Sadusky said that continuing combining high-rated sports and entertainment syndicated programming and local programming together is the most effective method in television.

As of 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, LIN Media will focus on freestyle skiing and snowboarding instead of the most popular events like ice hockey. In addition, LIN’s news stations are finding local content such as local athletes’ stories to increase coverage and attention.

Besides, LIN Media announces to keep increasing net retransmission consent fee without disclosing how many percentages they will keep. Moreover, the company plans working on shorter cycle operations with cable because of the rapid movement of the market and longer cycle operations with the networks. [18]

The company expects that the net retransmission consent fee might exceed $90 million in 2013, which might increase almost 200% compared with 2009’s $30.1 million. [19]

On Dec. 10th, LIN Media will hold a small or medium cap conference at JP Morgan. By that time, the company will discuss more about future investments and developing strategies. [20]

Competitors

Major competitors of LIN Media include Nexstar, Gray, EW Scripps, Media General and Fisher Communications. [21]

Source:

[1] LIN Media History – http://www.linmedia.com/our-company/company-history/.

[2] About LIN Media – http://www.linmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LIN-Media-Communacopia-TV-Panel-9-25-13.pdf – Retrieved Date: Sept. 25th, 2013

[3] About LIN Media – http://www.linmedia.com/our-company/

[4] LIN’s long-term affiliations – http://www.linmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LIN-Media-Investor-Day-Presentation_10-3-13.pdf – Retrieved Date: Oct. 3rd, 2013

[5] LIN Media’s Markets Rank Range – http://www.smallcapnetwork.com/LIN-Media-LLC-LIN-The-Next-Small-Cap-Media-or-Social-Media-Giant-SBGI-NXST-PBS/s/via/3414/article/view/p/mid/1/id/1490/ – Retrieved Date: Sept. 5th, 2013

[6] Peer Comparison of ratings – http://www.linmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LIN-Media-Investor-Day-Presentation_10-3-13.pdf – Retrieved Date: Oct. 3rd, 2013

[7] LIN’s Local News Rating – http://www.linmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LIN-Media-Investor-Day-Presentation_10-3-13.pdf – Retrieved Date: Oct. 3rd, 2013

[8] LIN’s Local Programmings – http://www.linmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LIN-Media-Investor-Day-Presentation_10-3-13.pdf – Retrieved Date: Oct. 3rd, 2013

[9] About LIN Digital – http://www.linmedia.com/newsroom/

[10] Competitor Comparison of digital revenues of Q2’13 – http://www.linmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LIN-Media-Investor-Day-Presentation_10-3-13.pdf – Retrieved Date: Oct. 3rd, 2013

[11] LIN Digital’s Video Network Rank of ComScore – http://www.lin-digital.com/pressreleases/lin-digital-debuts-top-20-comscore%E2%80%99s-video-network-rankings – Retrieved Date: Oct. 24, 2013

[12] LIN Media Class A Common St Stock Chart of the Fall 2013 – http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=LIN+Interactive#symbol=lin;range=20130826,20131115;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;

[13] LIN Media Digital Revenue – http://www.linmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LIN-Media-Investor-Day-Presentation_10-3-13.pdf -Retrieved Date: Oct. 3rd, 2013

[14] LIN’s Local Revenue – http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/71771/lin-media-3q-net-revenue-climbs?ref=search – Retrieved Date: NOV. 6th, 2013

[15] LIN’s Q4’13 Revenue Expectation – http://www.linmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LIN-Media-LLC-Announces-Third-Quarter-2013-Results.pdf – Retrieved Date: Nov. 6th, 2013

[16] LIN Media’s Plan of Selling Spectrum – http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/71608/to-some-selling-spectum-could-makes-sense?ref=search – Retrieved Date: Oct. 30th, 2013

[17] KHON upgraded newscasts in HD – http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/71318/khon-debuts-new-onair-look-hd-news?ref=search – Retrieved Date: Oct. 18th, 2013

[18] LIN Media’s Tech, Media & Telecom Conference -http://cc.talkpoint.com/well001/111213a_dy/?entity=21_4MWG15Q- (requires registration) – Retrieved date: NOV. 12th, 2013.

[19] LIN’s Net Retransmission Consent Fee – http://www.linmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LIN-Media-Investor-Day-Presentation_10-3-13.pdf – Retrieved Date: Oct. 3rd, 2013

[20] LIN Media’s Future Cap Conference -http://www.linmedia.com/investor-relations/calendar/

[21] LIN Media’s Competitors – http://www.linmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/LIN-Media-Investor-Day-Presentation_10-3-13.pdf – Retrieved Date: Oct. 3rd, 2013

20th Century Fox

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Rebecca Drootin

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp

10201 West Pico Boulevard,
Los Angeles, California 90035

Mail: P.O. Box 900,
Beverly Hills, California 90213
Phone: 310-277-2211
Fax: 310-203-1558
www.foxmovies.com [1]

20th Century Fox’s iconic logo.

Summary:

20th Century Fox is a film production and distribution company under Fox Entertainment

Recent Best Picture winner, Life of Pi, is a 20th Century Fox film.

Group which is a part of the media conglomerate, News Corporation. The company releases about 14 films a year many of which have been very successful [1]. 20th Century Fox formed in 1935 and has been one of the top film studios for almost a hundred years [2]. The subsidiary companies to 20th Century Fox include Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios [1]. 20th Century Fox is most notably responsible for James Cameron’s films Avatar and Titanic as well as classics such as the Star Wars series, Home Alone, the Ice Age series, Independence Day, The Sound of Music, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and hundreds more [4].

Fox Searchlight’s logo

Fox Searchlight is a speciality division under 20th Century Fox. The company tends to release smaller budget, niche-genre films. Many of Fox Searchlight’s films have earned Academy Award nominations and wins such as Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, Slumdog Millionaire, The Descendants, and Black Swan [4].

Executives [15]

Rupert Murdoch

Chris Petrikin- Executive Vice President, Global Communications
Rupert Murdoch- Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Robert Marick- Executive Vice President
Ricardo Crespo- Senior Vice President of Global Creative
Thomas E. Rothman- Board Member
Robert Harpe- Board Member
James Gianopulos- Board Member

Financial Information

News Corp’s current share price is $30.9 up 36.6% from 19.58 at this time last year. Their revenue for the year 2012 was $34.33 billion a 2% increase from their 2011 revenue of $33.4 billion [3].

This graph represents the share price of News Corp stock since 2008 [9].

20th Century Fox is currently number 4 in the market, holding an 11.7% share. It has grossed $256.9 million. Compared to its position in April of 2012, it is down $40 million in revenue, with the same amount of films released. In 2012, they finished 6th in the market with a 9.5% share, releasing 15 films. 2012 was a successful year, having increased profits from 2011 by 4.9%, up from $977 million to $1 billion [4].

Fox Searchlight is currently 16th in the market with a .2% of the market share. It has currently grossed $4.5 million at the box office with the release of 4 films so far this year. Searchlight finished 2012 grossing $117.8 million, down 22.7% from the 2011 gross of $152.4 million. For 2012, Fox Searchlight was 12th in the market a slight decline from their 2011 position of 11th in the market. In 2012 they released 10 movies and in 2011 they released 11, most likely causing the decline in profits [4].

Competitors

The Weinstein Company is independently owned unlike most studios that fall under a media conglomerate.

20th Century Fox competes most closely with the five other major studios (Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros, Disney, Universal, and Paramount.) Universal is currently number one in the market, followed by the Weinstein Company, and Buena Vista. Universal has only released 2 films so far this year, one being the successful film, Identity Theif, and have still been experiencing profits from their late 2012 releases including the award winner Les Miserables. Beuna Vista released the high grossing, Oz The Great and Powerful. The recent wild success of the Weinstein Company has caused it to become more comprable in profits to 20th Century Fox than to Fox Searchlight though they release similar types of films. This has largely been due to their award winning films Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook. 20th Century Fox has held a high position in the market due to the success of The Croods. Other 2013 releases inclue Broken City and A Good Day to Die Hard [4].

Recent News

After a phone hacking scandal in 2011 and increased pressure from shareholders, News Corp will be splitting into two separate companies mid-2013. 20th Century Fox and all other Fox brands will become a part of a new company titled Fox Group. The publishing side of the company will remain News Corporation. Fox Group is slated to be led by Chase Carey, president and chief operating officer, Rupert Murdoch, chief executive and chairman, and James Murdoch, who will serve as the deputy chief operating officer [6]. Due to this split, 20th Century Fox’s co-chairman Tom Rothman will be resigning, leaving co-chairman, Jim Gianopolus, to lead the entire film division [11].

The 2013 release of The Croods has been notable for more than just its success at the box office. The film is the first to be released under DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox’s new partnership. Formerly, DreamWorks films were distributed by Paramount but the two companies ended this agreement late last year. This new deal has been very profitable for 20th Century Fox, as The Croods grossed $44.7 million in its opening weekend alone [7].

20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios are currently preparing for the release of the film Epic. Director, Chris Wedge, known for the Ice Age films, claims that Epic shows both technological advancement and genre evolution for Blue Sky [12]. The companies are heavily promoting the film that is set to release in May. Teaming up with Rite-Aid, the film will be an official charity partner of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals [13].

20th Century Fox is taking initiative to lead the industry in the new medium of digital media. In September, the Home Entertainment division decided

to release digital copies of the film Prometheus three weeks before the DVD and Blu-ray release. In attempt to make online films more accessible and affordable, the company is also moving to dispel online piracy. 20th Century Fox is the first of the major studios to place such high importance on the release of digital content, calling the initiative Digital HD. Fox will release all recent films on Digital HD in addition to the effort to have over 600 Fox titles available on other digital platforms [8]. 20th Century Fox as well as other studios are currently in a prolonged legal battle with Google due to online piracy issues. The companies are requesting Google to remove links to pirated content but Google is responding by publishing the requests from these companies with direct links to the pirated content. This phenomenon is being called “copyright irony.” [14]

Fox Searchlight recently announced that it will be releasing the upcoming film, Twelve Years A Slave, rather than the parent company 20th Century Fox. The Steve McQueen film features Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, and the young Quvenzhane Wallis. It will premier in December [10]. Fox Searchlight currently has two films in theaters: Danny Boyle’s thriller Trance and Chan-wook Park’s Stoker which experienced festival success [10].

Sources:

[1] http://www.newscorp.com/management/20film.html

[2] http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/zanuck-schenck.htm

[3] http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=NWS+Key+Statistics

[4] http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studios

[5] TRF 235 Lecture Notes: Barbara Jones, Class 2

[6] http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/news-corp-announces-its-corporate-split-and-the-closing-of-the-daily/

[7] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/movies/the-croods-and-olympus-has-fallen-lead-the-box-office.html?_r=2&

[8] http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/20th-century-fox-s-mary-daily-taking-digital-lead/238751/

[9] http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=NWS+Interactive#symbol=nws;range=20080103,20130401;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;

[10] www.foxsearchlight.com

[11] http://www.medialifemagazine.com/people-9-17-12/

[12] http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=101806

[13] http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1149205

[14] http://businessofcinema.com/hollywood/twentieth-century-fox-and-others-in-piracy-battle-with-google/71643

[15] http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/people.asp?privcapId=35867

Photos

1.http://www.foxstudios.com/data/image/teasers/category_bg_home.jpg

2.https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/495817344/FoxLogo_FanfareVersion.jpg

3.http://www.impawards.com/2012/posters/life_of_pi.jpg

4.http://www.foxsearchlight.com/media/blog_post_images/fsl_logo2.jpg

5. http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/files/2010/09/rupert-murdoch.jpg

6. http://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/articles/2010/11/19/weinstein.jpg?1290168446

7. http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BODU3NzI5ODc1NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODQ2NDU1OA@@._V1_SX214_.jpg

8. http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2011/09/FBI_Anti-Piracy_Warning.jpeg

Principles & Practices

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