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Disney

Link

Emma Lipstone and Susy Solino
The Walt Disney Company Logo

[1]   The Walt Disney Company Logo

 The Walt Disney Company

500 South Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA 91521

Website: thewaltdisneycompany.com
Phone Number: (818) 560 – 1000

Company

The Walt Disney Company was founded on October 16, 1923 by Walter Elias Disney and is headquartered in Burbank, CA. The Company is one of the biggest media and entertainment corporations in the world. [2]. Walt Disney Studios is home to the four major film studios: Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm Ltd. The Walt Disney Company also owns and operates Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Disney Music Group, Disney Theatrical Group, DisneyToon Studios, Touchstone Pictures, and DisneyNature. [3]. 

Disney’s animation studio has produced around fifty-five animated feature films, with the fifty-sixth being Moana that was just recently released. Pixar has produced seventeen films; the most recent being Finding Dory. In 2009, Disney purchased Marvel Studios and has since produced multiple movies based off of Marvel comic book characters including: The Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Most recently in 2012, Disney acquired Lucasfilm Ltd. which is the studio best known for creating the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.

In addition to popular film franchises, Walt Disney Company owns and operates many television channels that produce popular television series’. The biggest subsidiary under Disney Media Networks is ABC, which produces hit network shows such as Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder. [5]. Disney also owns ESPN and operates A&E Networks in a joint venture with Hearst Corporation, along with a portion of Hulu.

 

The Walt Disney Company

[9] Some of The Walt Disney Company Conglomerates

Financials

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) stock has been declining in the past few quarters.

According to the earnings report released on November 10, 2016, operating income at Cable Networks decreased $207 million to $1.4 billion for the quarter due to decreases at ESPN and the Disney Channels. [6]. 

ESPN has been losing subscribers to online streaming, such as Netflix or over-the-top streaming services. Also, social media has provided access to a lot of breaking news and sports live broadcasting, luring viewers away from cable television. One of the biggest issues facing ESPN and The Walt Disney Company is that the sports cable network has already paid huge rights fees for the next 5 years, yet subscribers are only paying $8 a month to cover the games, which will not exist in a few years. The increase in programming and production costs were due to The Olympics programming internationally, the World Cup of Hockey rights, and higher contractual rates for college sports. [7]. 

However, the growth at Freeform, which is the old ABC Family, has been very successful this quarter due to lower programming and production costs, as well as a decrease in marketing expenses. These were driven by fewer hours of original scripted programming in the current quarter.

 

Disney Stock

[33] Disney stock prices for last 2 years

Key Executives

Robert A. Iger: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

[8] Robert A. Iger: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

[8] Alan N. Braverman: Senior Executive Vice President

Christine M. McCarthy: Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

[8] Christine M. McCarthy: Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Zenia Mucha: Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer

[8] Zenia Mucha: Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer

Jayne Parker: Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

[8] Jayne Parker: Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Box Office Reports

captain-america-civil-war-poster-2

[12] Movie poster for “Captain America: Civil War” (2016)

2016 was announced as The Walt Disney Company’s most successful International Box Office record to date, reporting over $3.56 Billion through October 16th in just international sales, surpassing their 2015 general record of $3.56 Billion. [10]. This was due to a powerhouse series of releases throughout 2016, beginning with the summer blockbuster Captain America: Civil War which brought in 1.15 Billion worldwide viewers, $745 million Internationally and was named the No. 1 film of the year internationally and globally. [11].

movie_poster_zootopia_866a1bf2

[14] Movie poster for “Zootopia” (2016)

The animated release of Zootopia also helped spike Disney’s international numbers as it was named the biggest animated film to ever be released in China and brought in $682.3 million internationally. Elsewhere in the studio, 2016’s surprise remake of The Jungle Book also experienced a successful release, bringing in $602.3 million internationally as well as the title of “Top Western Film of all Time” in India and the No. 3 film of the year overseas.  [13]. Furthermore, while being in the box office for nearly 16 weeks, Finding Dory managed to break records and pass the billion dollar global box office line by bringing in $484.8 million domestically and $519.9 million internationally, making it Pixar’s second billion dollar release and earning a rank as the 5th biggest animated film of all time, globally. [15]. 

As though breaking international box office records was not enough, Disney also managed to set new industry records for reaching $2 billion domestic (July 16th) and $5 billion global (July 10). As well as earned three new spots in the Hall of Fame for domestic box offices with Finding Dory, Captain America: Civil War, and Zootopia. All of this success comes with still two-and-a-half months and three major releases remaining in their calendar year. [16].

dory_characters_0afa6e45

Dory, the star of “Finding Dory” (2016), now the fifth highest grossing animated film of all time. [17]

 

Recent and Future Releases

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[18] Movie poster for Marvel’s “Doctor Strange” (2016)

Marvel Studio’s Doctor Strange represents another large victory for The Walt Disney Company’s Marvel unit, even on the heels of the overwhelming success of Captain America: Civil War. 

Doctor Strange was projected to collect anywhere from $65 million to $75 million in ticket sales from the United States and Canada through opening weekend, positively surprising analysts and bringing in $85 million and the #1 rank instead. Since its release, Doctor Strange has made over $200 million domestically and over $400 million internationally, crossing $600 million worldwide in under 4 weeks. [19].

Moana, who was scheduled for a holiday release, has surpassed the high expectations set by Doctor Strange, bringing in over $81 million domestically throughout its opening weekend. [20]. 

flex_moana_header_ddaba7de

[22] Movie poster for “Moana” (2016)

Further down the line, fans eagerly await the release of Star Wars: Rogue One. As well as Disney’s live action remake of Beauty and the Beast and the recently announced remakes of Mulan and Snow White. All of which are predicted to be box-office heavy hitters. [21]. 

[23]. 

Diversity

videothumbnail_elanaofavalor_teaser_02_ce1b790c

[24] Elena of Avalor, Disney’s first Latina princess.

In light of a growing diverse culture and need for representation in the film industry, Disney had begun fighting back against claims of their white-washing tactics and ill representation in their films by allowing more diverse roles in their characters and plots.

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[25] Moana, Disney’s first Polynesian heroine.

This year’s recently released Moana revolves around Tahitian and Pacific Islander culture and will be the first Disney film every to be translated into the Tahitian language. [26]. Furthermore, Disney introduced the world to their first Latina princess earlier in the year with the release of their television series Elena of Avalor, a Disney Channel show revolving around latin customs and characters [27] further proving the Company’s desire to focus on promoting more representation of diversity through their media. In addition to their animated strikes towards representation, Disney has announced their search for Chinese actors to star in the upcoming Mulan remake. [28]. 

jungle-book-to-mulan-all-the-live-action-disney-movies-in-the-works-right-now

[29] Movie poster for Disney’s upcoming live action remake of “Mulan,” featuring a Chinese actress.

Future Integration

In addition to divulging into a more diverse space, Disney has also shown interested in expanding into a more digital and web space with their media. In September 2016, Disney began showing signs of interest for acquiring the social media giant, Twitter Inc., going as far as to work with advisors to put together a potential bid for the company. [30].  While eventually deciding to go against the deal for image reasons, as the social network is known for its reputation of bullying and harassment, the interest in social media gives clear insight that Disney has begun exploring new digital horizons. [31]. Many analysts have taken note of Disney’s interest to expand digitally and predict that the streaming giant, Netflix, might be next on the company’s list of potential assets. [32]. 

Bibliography

  1. Walt Disney Company Logo. Retrieved November 1, 2016. http://logok.org/disney-logo/
  2. Walt Disney History. Retrieved November 1, 2016. https://d23.com/disney-history
  3. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 1, 2016 https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/#our-businesses
  4. Box Office Reports. Retrieved October 28, 2016. boxofficemojo.com
  5. Johnson, Madeleine. June 16, 2016. Your Complete Guide to All the Things Owned by Disney. Retrieved November 21, 2016. https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/220682/your-complete-guide-to-all-the-things-owned-by-disney
  6. November 10, 2016. The Walt Disney Company Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year Earnings for Fiscal 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016. https://ditm-twdc-us.storage.googleapis.com/q4-fy16-earnings.pdf
  7. October 31, 2016. Disney: ESPN Still has a Big Problem. Retrieved November 2, 2016. http://seekingalpha.com/article/4017145-disney-espn-still-big-problem
  8. The Walt Disney Company About. Retrieved November 1, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/
  9. The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 2, 2016. https://storify.com/LA346TeamDisney/the-walt-disney-company
  10. McNary, Dave. October 17, 2016. ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ ‘Finding Dory’ Push Disney to International Box Office Record. Retrieved October 18, 2016. https://variety.com/2016/film/news/captain-america-civil-war-finding-dory-disney-box-office-record-1201891155/
  11. Tartaglione, Nancy. October 17, 2016. Finding Money: Disney Tops Full-Year Intl Box Office Record with $3.56B+ (So Far). Retrieved October 18, 2016. http://deadline.com/2016/10/walt-disney-studios-all-time-international-box-office-record-captain-america-zootopia-1201837655/
  12. Freeman, Molly. November 25, 2016. Captain America: Civil War Character Posters- Superhero Fight Time. Retrieved November 27, 2016. http://screenrant.com/captain-america-3-civil-war-posters-iron-man/
  13. Laughing Place Disney Newsdesk. October 17, 2016. 2016 International Box Office is Disney’s Best Year Ever. Retrieved October 19, 2016.   http://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2016/10/17/2016-international-box-office-disneys-best-year-ever/
  14. Disney Zootopia. Retrieved November 10, 2016.  http://movies.disney.com/zootopia
  15. October 10, 2016. “Finding Dory” Keeps Swimming to $1 Billion. Retrieved October 20, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/finding-dory-keeps-swimming-1-billion/
  16. Derisz, Ricky. October 18, 2016. ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Helps Disney Break its Own $3 Billion International Box Office Record…With More to Come. Retrieved October 19, 2016. http://moviepilot.com/p/captain-america-civil-war-disney-box-office-record/4127909
  17. Disney Movies: Finding Dory. Retrieved November 21, 2016. http://movies.disney.co.uk/finding-dory
  18. CS. April 4, 2016. Doctor Strange Filming Wraps as Mads Mikkelsen’s Villain is Revealed. Retrieved November 15, 2016. http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/673101-doctor-strange-filming-wraps-as-mads-mikkelsens-villain-is-revealed#/slide/1
  19. Faughnder, Ryan. November 1, 2016. ‘Doctor Strange’ is Expected to Draw a Massive Audience for Disney’s Marvel Studios. Retrieved November 2, 2016.  http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-fi-ct-movie-projector-20161031-story.html
  20. The Associated Press. November 27, 2016. ‘Moana’ Wins Box Office with Huge Opening Weekend. Retrieved November 27, 2016. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/moana-wins-box-office-huge-opening-weekend-article-1.2888989
  21. Acuna, Kirsten and Phillips, Ian. October 26, 2016. Disney Announced all its Movies Coming in the Next 4 Years – Here’s What you have to Look Forward to. Retrieved October 28, 2016. http://www.thisisinsider.com/disney-movie-schedule-2016-to-2019-2016-10/#strange-cumberbatch-will-play-a-surgeon-who-injures-his-hands-severely-in-accident-2
  22. Disney Moana. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://movies.disney.com/moana
  23. May 23, 2016. Beauty and the Beast Official US Teaser Trailer. Retrieved November 15, 2016.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c38r-SAnTWM
  24. Ranere, Dianna. August 12, 2016. Disney’s Elena of Avalor Renewed for 2nd Season #ElenaOfAvalor. Retrieved October 28, 2016. http://www.fsm-media.com/disneys-elena-avalor-renewed/
  25. Lodi, Marie. July 1, 2016. Why People are Upset About this Character’s Weight in Disney’s New Movie “Moana”. Retrieved November 10, 2016. http://hellogiggles.com/moana-maui-people-angry-obese-stereotype/
  26. October 25, 2016. Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Moana” to be First Film Ever Translated into the Tahitian Language. Retrieved October 26, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/moana-first-film-translated-tahitian-language/
  27. Hughes, Ruth. October 16, 2016. Teen Spirit: Meet the new Plucky Disney Princess Elena of Avalor. Retrieved October 17, 2016. http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/720813/Disney-Channel-Elena-Of-Avalor-princess
  28.  Biek, Katherine. October 5, 2016. Disney Seeks Chinese Actress for ‘Mulan’ Remake. Retrieved November 20, 2016. http://www.whio.com/news/national/disney-seeks-chinese-actress-for-mulan-remake/fG3AO2Pqefhu4NVlI8ycfI/
  29. Edwards, Ally. October 16, 2016. Jungle Book to Mulan: All the Live Action Disney Movies in The Works Right Now. Retrieved October 17, 2016. http://moviepilot.com/posts/3590427
  30. Roettgers, Janko. September 26, 2016. Disney is Looking into Buying Twitter (Report). Retrieved October 20, 2016. http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/disney-twitter-acquisition-possible-1201870392/
  31. New Statesman. October 18, 2016. Disney Didn’t Buy Twitter- Partly because it Can’t Master the Bare Necessities. Retrieved October 19, 2016.  http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2016/10/disney-didn-t-buy-twitter-partly-because-it-cant-master-bare
  32. Williams, Trey. October 5, 2016. Netflix Said to be in Disney’s Crosshairs, and Analysts see a Streaming Rationale. Retrieved October 21, 2016. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/disney-remains-center-of-merger-talk-this-time-its-netflix-2016-10-03
  33. The Walt Disney Company (DIS). Retrieved November 20, 2016. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIS?p=DIS

21st Century Fox

Posted on by 
Georgia Velkes, Jenna Levine, and Gabrielle Marzolf

Overview

21st-cnetury-fox-logo

In 1985, News Corporation, a newspaper company from Australia owned by Rupert Murdoch, acquired Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. Murdoch subsequently
built the company into one of the biggest media companies in the world. [1]

Rupert Murdoch Executive Chairman

Rupert Murdoch
Executive Chairman

In 2012, News Corporation split into two companies. News Corporation kept all the newspaper assets and media assets were put into a new company named 21st Century Fox. 21st Century Fox has holdings in multiple media businesses internationally and in the United States, including broadcast and cable television networks like FOX, FX, Fox News Channel, and National Geographic, which reach over 1.8 billion subscribers. [2] The film company, 20th Century Fox, is one of the Big Six Hollywood Studios that produce and distribute films worldwide.

 

 

Financials

The company had a strong fiscal quarter ending September 30, 2016 with total revenue increasing 7% to $6.51 billion and a net income increase of 22% to $821 million. [3] A significant portion of that boost came from the Cable Network Programming division.

Gretchen Carlson, former anchor at Fox News

Gretchen Carlson, former anchor at Fox News

The Fox News Channel experienced significant growth, despite the Roger Ailes scandal in the beginning of the quarter, in which former anchor Gretchen Carlson sued Ailes for sexual harassment. Fox settled the lawsuit, which incited controversy throughout the company, and Ailes resigned. During the lawsuit, Fox faced great controversy and criticism, which increased when Ailes left the company with a $40 million exit agreement.

Roger Ailes, former CEO/Chairman of Fox News

Roger Ailes, former CEO/Chairman of Fox News

In spite of the controversy, cable revenues increased 10% to $3.81 billion, driven by higher ratings and advertising revenue. The US presidential election, broadcasted on Fox News, increased domestic advertising revenue by 6% and gained the network more viewers. The film business revenue increased more than 6.8% to $1.91 billion which is credited to the theatrical release of “Independence Day: Resurgence” and the home entertainment release of “Deadpool” during the quarter. [4] The positive earnings release showed a 14.6% rise in the stock price over the past 3 months, gaining $3.62. [5]

 

New Licensing Agreements

As the television industry and television consumption transforms, 21st Century Fox’s goal is to become a central player in the new digital age. Fox Networks Group recently made a deal with AT&T Inc. and its DirecTV subsidiary. DirectTV launched a streaming service called DirecTV Now that allows viewers to stream their programming instead of watching it via satellite transmission. Fox News, Fox Business, FX and many more Fox networks will be available on AT&T’s live streaming service in addition to the content offered to DirecTV subscribers. [6] Fox has also made a licensing deal with Hulu to carry Fox channels on the new over-the-top (OTT) live TV subscription service Hulu will soon release. [7] The deal includes the FOX broadcast network along with the Fox Sports channels, National Geographic and more.

While 21st Century Fox licenses content to companies that partner programming with new technology like OTT providers, issues have arisen with subscriptions services like Netflix. In September, 21st Century Fox filed a lawsuit against Netflix for illegally “poaching” two under-contract executives: Tara Flynn, the former VP of Creative Affairs at Fox21, and Marcos Waltenberg, the former VP of Promotions at 20th Century Fox. [8] In retaliation, Netflix sued 21st Century Fox for the alleged use of illegal contract clauses. The outcome of these lawsuits could potentially impact how businesses manage employment contracts in the future. [9]

 

TV Ratings

This past quarter Fox Networks Group saw a huge increase of ratings with not only the presidential election and Fox News, but also the FOX network as a result of their rights to the World Series.

Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com)

Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com)

Huge interest in this year’s presidential election saw primetime coverage reach a total of 71 million viewers, and Fox News channel’s 12.2 million viewers beat out CNN’s 11.2 million views for the most viewers of any cable channel for the 7pm-3am time slot, leaning toward a generally conservative audience. [10]  When the election results announced Donald Trump as president elect, Fox News Channel maintained over 10 million viewers.

This fall, Fox’s overall ratings for the season rose from fourth to first place, with nearly 40 million viewers and a 12.1 rating with the 18-49 demographic. Previously, NBC was the number one network, however the World Series ratings boosted Fox to the top with an 8% advantage over its competitors. [11] Furthermore, unlike other networks, Fox has not experienced a ratings drop related to professional football broadcasting. Analysts suggest that Fox retained viewers because the network does not show any primetime games and delivers the best overall Sunday coverage including their post-show program, The OT. [12] Over Thanksgiving, Fox Sports aired the Washington Redskins versus Dallas Cowboys game, which, with 35.1 million viewers, was the highest rated program of the holiday and the highest rated NFL game to date. [13]

20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox

20th Century Fox

Unlike the other business divisions of 21st Century Fox, the film studio exhibited a weak performance over the past year, which resulted in leadership changes. Over the summer official Fox sources announced that the Chairman/CEO of the studio, Jim Gianopulos, would leave and Stacy Snider would replace him. [14] Since Snider has taken over, she has made a number of changes senior management, resulting in the departure of the marketing president Marc Weinstock, who left for Annapurna Pictures. [15]

Deadpool (2016) official movie poster

Deadpool (2016) official movie poster

With all the personnel changes at the studio, senior management is focusing on the upcoming slate of movies for the next two to three years. After the commercial success of “Deadpool”, the studio faces pressure to release similarly profitable films. “Avatar 2” has been rumored to be released around Christmas 2018, so the studio will face pressure to follow up the highest grossing film of all time at the global box office. Fox’s film adaption of “Assassin’s Creed” generated anticipation of how the company would transition the content from a video game format to the big screen. [16]

The film is not yet released, but the hype surrounding the film shows that Fox is not afraid to take risks, and presents the company as more forward thinking.

Fox has the production and distribution rights to Marvel characters related to the X-Men property, including X-Men, Deadpool and Wolverine. Between films utilizing these characters and sequels to popular franchises—“Alien: Covenant”, “Kingsman: Golden Circle” and a total of four Avatar sequels—the studio has a significant amount of content to exploit over the next two to five years. [17]

Conclusion

Overall, 21st Century Fox is well poised for continued growth in revenue and income going forward.  Strong licensing revenue to emerging and existing OTT providers as well as traditional networks and broadcasters is expected to continue and a strong pipeline of franchise tentpole films over the next three to five years should ensure continued financial success of the film studio.  The introduction of new leadership at the studio and Fox News will ensure continued growth and success at these important divisions of the company.

References:

[1] 21st Century Fox. Rupert Murdoch. Retrieved November 29, 2016. https://www.21cf.com/managment/rupert-murdoch

[2] 21st Century Fox. Investor Relations. Retrieved November 29, 2016. https://www.21cf.com/investor-relations

[3][4] Lang, Brent. November 2, 2016. Variety. 21st Century Fox Earnings Get Lift From Fox News, ‘Deadpool’ Home Entertainment Debut. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://variety.com/2016/film/news/21st-century-fox-earnings-get-lift-from-fox-news-deadpool-home-entertainment-debut-1201907353/.

[5] Nasdaq. FOXA Earnings Data. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://www.nasdaq.com/earnings/report/foxa

[6] Moritz, Scott. November 21, 2016. Bloomberg. AT&T Expands Fox Programming Pact to Include Online TV Service. Retrieved November 29, 2016. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-21/at-t-expands-fox-programming-pact-to-include-online-tv-service

[7] Spangler, Todd. November 1, 2016. Variety. Hulu Inks Disney, 21st Century Fox Deals for Internet TV Service. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/hulu-disney-21st-century-fox-live-tv-1201906066/

[8] Flint, Joe. September 16, 2016. Wall Street Journal. 21st Century Fox Sues Netflix for Poaching Employees. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://www.wsj.com/articles/21st-century-fox-sues-netflix-for-poaching-employees-1474053655

[9] Patten, Dominic. October 19, 2016. Deadline. Netflix Hits Back At Fox In Exec-Poaching Lawsuit, Claims Studio “Bullies” Employees Into Contracts. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://deadline.com/2016/10/netflix-fox-lawsuit-cross-complaint-executive-poaching-1201839020/

[10] O’Connell, Michael. November 9, 2016. The Hollywood Reporter. TV Ratings: 71 Million Watched 2016 Election Returns Pour In; CNN and Fox News Set Records. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-nbc-leads-early-election-night-numbers-945493

[11] [12] O’Connell, Michael. November 4, 2016. The Hollywood Reporter. World Series Catapults Fox to No. 1 Slot for the Fall Season. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/world-series-catapults-fox-no-1-slot-fall-season-944192

[13] O’Connell, Michael. November 25, 2016. The Hollywood Reporter. TV Ratings: NBC Parade Climbs – But Fox Football Dominates Thanksgiving. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-nbc-parade-climbs-but-fox-football-dominates-thanksgiving-950471

[14] Fleming, Mike, Jr. June 16, 2016. Deadline. Fox Makes It Official: Stacey Snider Is Chairman/CEO In June 2017; Jim Gianopulos Takes Role At 21st Century Fox. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://deadline.com/2016/06/jim-gianopulos-stacey-snider-fox-executive-changes-1201773922/

[15] McClintock, Pamela. November 7, 2016. The Hollywood Reporter. Fox Shake-Up: Marketing President Marc Weinstock Departing Studio. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fox-shake-up-marketing-president-marc-weinstock-departing-studio-944878

[16] Pech, Dana. November 9, 2016. Movie Pilot. Why ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Will Break The Video Game Movie Curse. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://moviepilot.com/p/why-assassins-creed-will-break-the-video-game-movie-curse/4142547

[17] Chitwood, Adam. November 27, 2016. Collider. Fox Sets Release Dates for Two Secret Marvel Movies; Pushes ‘Kingsman 2’ to October 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://collider.com/fox-marvel-movies-release-dates-deadpool-3/

Images

(In order of appearance) 

[1] Retrieved November 29, 2016. https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/194013/what-rupert-murdochs-news-corp-and-21st-century-fox-really-own

[2] Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://www.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c8/Rupert_Murdoch_-_Flickr_-_Eva_Rinaldi_Celebrity_and_Live_Music_Photographer.jpg/220px-Rupert_Murdoch_-_Flickr_-_Eva_Rinaldi_Celebrity_and_Live_Music_Photographer.jpg

[3] Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://cdn.thedailybeast.com/content/dailybeast/articles/2015/06/26/how-a-fox-news-host-handled-sex-assault/jcr:content/image.img.2000.jpg/1435310106558.cached.jpg

[4] Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-inline/media-visionary-roger-ailes-hed-2015.jpg

[5] Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://global.fncstatic.com/static/v/all/img/og/og-fn-foxnews

[6] Retrieved November 29, 2016. http://www.manutd.com/sitecore/shell/~/media/D971B02AD7A246678E4092D1D2AE12C6.ashx?w=1280&h=720&rgn=0,281,2160,1501

[7] Retrieved November 29, 2016. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjQyODg5Njc4N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzExMjE3NzE@._V1_UY268_CR1,0,182,268_AL_.jpg

 

Scripps Interactive

Posted on by 
By Ryan Lannum & Aaron Sortal
[1] Scripps Interactive Network Logo

[1] Scripps Interactive Network Logo

Brief History [1]

Scripps Networks Interactive began in 1878 when Edward W. Scripps founded The Penny Press in Cleveland, Ohio. Jump forward a 100 years and Scripps Networks Interactive began buying and building cable television systems, making it one of America’s largest cable operators, which was later sold to Comcast. In the 1990s, Scripps Network Interactive began building their media network. After the purchase of Cinetel Productions, a Knoxville-based cable creator, it launched HGTV in 1994.

[1] Source: WBIR-TV 10 Knoxville / Scripps Network Interactive

After the launch of HGTV, Scripps Networks started more lifestyle networks including: Food Network (1997), DIY Network (1999), Fine Living Network (2002), Great American Country (2004), and Travel Channel (2009). The organization describes itself as a “niche broadband [of] channels that extend the core brands’ presence on the Internet with advertiser-supported, on-demand content” (Scripps Networks Interactive).

In 2007, the board of directors decided to split The E.W. Scripps Company into two publicly-traded companies. One of the organizations would concentrate on national television lifestyle brands and the other focus on innovative and enduring local media businesses.

Financials

screen-shot-2016-11-29-at-10-26-06-pm

Stock er-er the last 5 years [2]

Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. has done very well financially the last few years.  At the end of 2015, Scripps’ revenue totaled $3.02 billion, with a total net income of $606.83 million [2].  This is a great increase from the previous years, as its 2014 net income totaled 545.28 million, and its 2013 net income totaled $505.07 million.  Their total net incomes are increasing at a steady rate, and will likely continue in the coming years.  While their stock price is lower than it was five years ago, it being at $70.06 now and 76.50 then, it has increased greatly in the past year, with the price being only $59.04 in November of 2015.

In the fall of 2016, Scripps Networks reported a 6.6 percent increase in advertising revenues, which totaled to a $477.5 million in advertising revenue during the quarter [3]. This jump in advertising revenue also added to five of the six networks having a ratings boost.  Focusing on ads that connect to the demographics that watch their channels resulted in tremendous success both in viewership and in revenue. The need for advertising revenue caused a major problem when it came to a subscription video on demand service deal with Netflix.

Netflix Deal Not Renewed for a New Season

Netflix Logo

Netflix Desktop [4]

During the fall of 2016, Burton Jablin, Scripps Networks Interactive’s COO, announced the organization would not be renewing its digital distribution deal with Netflix on the company’s quarterly earnings conference call [5]. This isn’t the first-time Scripps Networks Interactive has ended a subscription video on demand deal with a media distributor [6]. In February 2013, Scripps Networks Interactive had a deal with Amazon. That deal ended in March 2014. This prompted the Netflix and Scripps Networks Interactive deal that ended this past November. According to a Variety.com article, Scripps Networks could have lost about $11 million of licensing revenue from Amazon [6]. Unlike the deal with Amazon, the CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive, Kenneth Lowe, commented on the company’s decision to leave Netflix. Lowe stated that a major reason for leaving Netflix was the loss of advertising dollars [7], which brought-in roughly $445 million dollars in revenue during the last quarter [3]. Jablin said in a Variety.com article: “In the end, it really is not the kind of dual-revenue model that best monetizes our content over the long term” (Spangler). [8] Over the past couple of months, Netflix has removed content from its database because the company wanted to create room for its original content. All of Scripps Network’s shows will not be removed until the end of the year [7]. Some of the shows that are being removed are: “Cupcake Wars,” “Chopped,” and “Man v. Food.”

AT&T Long-Term Distribution Agreement

http://www.csc.com/global_alliances/alliances/112505-at_t

AT&T Logo [9]

In September of 2016, Scripps Interactive reached a deal with AT&T, in which they agreed for a continuation of distribution of Scripps Networks for DIRECTV [10].  This deal will be made for multiple years, ensuring that DIRECTV will continue its widespread distribution of the Scripps Network channels.  They also agreed to include Scripps Networks on DIRECTV’s streaming service, DIRECTV NOW.  Programs on channels such as HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Great American Country, and Cooking Channel are included to be distributed through this deal.

As DIRECTV has over 20 percent of the market share of cable providers in the US, this deal will assist in allowing Scripps Networks’ programs to be distributed to as many people as possible [11].  DIRECTV is also expected to grow in market share in the next decade, so this deal will continue the great relationship Scripps has with AT&T.  With DIRECTV NOW launching at the end of November, it will also allow people whom prefer to stream their content the chance to view Scripps Network shows [12].  The portability of DIRECTV NOW will allow its customers to view Scripps Network shows at anywhere at any time, which will increase the flexibility and make it more likely that the shows will be viewed a lot more often than before.  DIRECTV NOW is also a lot cheaper alternative to established cable packages, so the low cost may also bring in a lot more viewers, in which can increase Scripps’ revenue and exposure.

DirecTV NOW Informational Video [13]

Pluto TV Financing

[14]

Pluto TV Logo [14]

Pluto TV is a television platform launched in 2014, which is solely internet-based [14].  They play content from over 75 different partners, including NBC, Bloomberg, Sky News, and Paramount Pictures [15].  The format is basically the same as a television network, as the programs are played in different time slots, as opposed to letting the viewer decide what they want to watch whenever they want to watch it.

In October of 2016, Scripps Networks participated in a $30 financing round, which was led by ProSiebenSat.1.  With this participation, this will allow Pluto TV to air a great amount of Scripps’ content, giving more exposure and potential revenue as a result.  Pluto TV is also available for free, so even people without cable can have access to Scripps’ content.  With this plus the AT&T deal involving DIRECTV NOW, it can definitely be shown that Scripps Networks is investing a lot of money into online streaming services, as they can see the market for internet-based content is growing every year.  If regular cable tv ends up being less popular and streaming services become the most used service to access television, Scripps will be ahead of the change and be able to retain and potentially gain a lot of revenue for the future.

Pluto TV Advertisement[16]

Sources

[1] Scripps Networks Interactive. “ History.” History | Scripps Networks Interactive, www.scrippsnetworksinteractive.com/our-company/history/.

[2] “SNI Income Statement – YahooFinance.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, finance.yahoo.com/quote/SNI/financials?p=SNI.

[3] Littleton, Cynthia. “HGTV, Advertising Gains Power Scripps Networks Interactive’s Q3 Earnings.” Variety, 7 Nov. 2016, variety.com/2016/tv/news/scripps-networks-interactive-q3-hgtv-travel-channel-1201911392/. [3] Littleton, Cynthia. “HGTV, Advertising Gains Power Scripps Networks Interactive’s Q3 Earnings.” Variety, 7 Nov. 2016, variety.com/2016/tv/news/scripps-networks-interactive-q3-hgtv-travel-channel-1201911392/.

[4] Sebastian. “How to Watch Netflix While Abroad .” TigerVPN Blog, 4 May 2016, blog.tigervpn.com/howtowatchnetflixwhileabroad/.

[5] Szalai, Georg. “Scripps Networks Won’t Renew Netflix Deal, CEO Says ‘We’Re Big Enough.’” The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Nov. 2016, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/scripps-networks-wont-renew-netflix-deal-ceo-says-were-big-944709.

[6] Spangler, Todd. “Amazon Drops Discovery and Scripps Shows, with Scripps the Bigger Loser.” Variety, 26 Mar. 2014, variety.com/2014/digital/news/amazon-drops-discovery-and-scripps-shows-with-scripps-the-bigger-loser-1201147369/.

[7] Faulkner, Trisha. “Netflix Loses Scripps Networks Interactive Contract: Say Goodbye To HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, And More.” The Inquisitr News, 12 Nov. 2016, www.inquisitr.com/3709928/netflix-loses-scripps-networks-interactive-contract/.

[8] Spangler, Todd. “Netflix Losing Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel Shows at End of 2016.” Variety, 9 Nov. 2016, variety.com/2016/digital/news/netflix-scripps-food-network-hgtv-travel-channel-shows-1201913874/.

[9] “AT&T.” Computer Sciences Corporation, CSC, www.csc.com/global_alliances/alliances/112505-at_t.

[10] “Scripps Networks Interactive, AT&T Sign Long-Term Multi-Platform Distribution Agreement.” Nasdaq GlobeNewswire , GlobeNewswire, 22 Sept. 2016, globenewswire.com/news-release/2016/09/22/873822/0/en/Scripps-Networks-Interactive-AT-T-Sign-Long-Term-Multi-Platform-Distribution-Agreement.html.

[11] Munson, Ben. “Top 9 Cable, Satellite and Telco Pay-TV Operators in Q1: Ranking Comcast to TWC to Charter to Cablevision.” FierceCable, 11 May 2016, www.fiercecable.com/special-report/top-9-cable-satellite-and-telco-pay-tv-operators-q1-ranking-comcast-to-twc-to.

[12] Rogowsky, Mark. “Is DirecTV Now The Video Service Cord Cutters Have Been Waiting For?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 29 Nov. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/markrogowsky/2016/11/29/is-directv-now-the-video-service-cord-cutters-have-been-waiting-for/#7781ae8330ef.

[13] CNET. “DirecTV Now Offers 100 Channels of Live TV Starting at $35 a Month.” YouTube, YouTube, 28 Nov. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=040r9p0oijk.

[14] “What Is Pluto Tv?” Pluto TV, Pluto TV, corporate.pluto.tv/.

[15] Pham, Alex. “Pluto TV Lands $30M Financing From Scripps Networks And ProSiebenSat.1.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 Oct. 2016, www.forbes.com/sites/alexpham/2016/10/12/pluto-tv-lands-30-million-financing-from-scripps-networks-and-prosiebensat-1/#16d668db4e3f.

[16] PlutoTV. “Pluto.TV: Watch What’s Possible.” YouTube, Pluto TV, 31 Mar. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=atNBbc6ofiE.

Disney

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by JACK ROSE, AUDREY LEW, and BRITTANY ORTIZ
The Walt Disney Company

Disney Logo [1]

Background

Disney is a leading producer, owner, and distributor of media that owns, among many other things, broadcast network ABC; movie studios Pixar, Walt Disney Animation, Marvel, and Lucasfilm; Walt Disney Parks and Resorts that attracted nearly 150 million people in 2015 [2]; and cable sports network ESPN [3]. Between ABC, its affiliates, and ESPN, Disney operates more than 300 channels worldwide, while its movie studios own the rights to The Avengers family and Star Wars [4]. The last Star Wars release became the highest grossing domestic film earlier this year and with another releasing this December, the company’s film division remains strong [5]. However, fluctuating results on the television side have led Disney to invest in new technologies and a desire to expand international reach birthed a new theme park in China, which opened earlier this year.

Corporate Structure

Bob Iger

CEO Bob Iger [1]

Disney’s Chief Executive since 2005, Bob Iger helmed the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. Since Iger’s promotion from Chief Operating Officer, Disney’s stock price has risen more than $70 while it’s TV division has come to account for half of the company’s profit [6]. Nearing the end of his career, Iger has repeatedly delayed his retirement and most recently set 2018 as the expiration date for his own tenure. His last task will be selecting his successor, after a recent candidate failed to last as heir.

Disney Organizational Chart

Disney’s Organizational Chart [7]

Beyond Iger, various chairmen run each of Disney’s major compartments and the company’s board of directors is comprised of 11 members. However, it is this organizational chart, distributed by Walt Disney Studios in 1943, that largely explains Disney’s management philosophy [7]. Rather than the typical hierarchy, the chart displays an interlocking web of managers, producers, and creators that are needed to produce a film. This organization is intended to encourage creativity and teamwork by emphasizing collaboration rather than chain of command. Each role supports, instead of merely instructing, another.

Financials

Annual revenue, profit, and net income have increased yearly since at least 2013, as has Disney’s valuation of its assets and balance sheet as whole. Disney’s revenue dwarfs that of most of its competitors in media, exceeded only by Sony and other conglomerates that produce and own as much content as Sony and Disney. Disney’s stock price is similarly higher than most competitors, currently hovering around $100 [8]. The company’s price per share seems to be inextricably linked to the success of ESPN, which is struggling with subscriber losses and adapting to the future (see “Investments in Technology” section below).

Disney Stock

Disney’s Stock Price for last two years [8]

Investments in Technology

mlbam_fb_logo

MLB Advanced Media Logo [11]

Disney’s future focus is in technology as it attempts to revitalize ESPN and stay on the cutting edge of content creation and media. Primarily, in August the company invested $1 billion for a 33% stake in Major League Baseball’s BAMTech, a leading television streaming company. The deal included an option for Disney to take a majority stake in the company down the road. The first collaboration between the two will be BAMTech’s creation of a standalone streaming service for ESPN, which Disney hopes will help ease the network’s subscriber losses and struggling ratings. BAMTech adds 7.5 million paid subscribers across a multitude of streaming platforms to Disney’s already massive user base [9]. The investment in BAMTech isn’t completely black and white, however. Television’s trend toward skinny bundles complicates the relationship between every content producer and cable provider, with Sling, DirecTV, Hulu, and more getting into the live over-the-top business. Disney’s BAMTech investment suggests a possibility that Disney itself could run a direct-to-consumer cable distributor itself [10].

Throughout this year, rumors swirled about the possibility of Disney purchasing Snapchat, Twitter, and/or Netflix, though analysts agree: none of these are likely. Twitter’s struggle to remain profitable and stabilize its stock price creates nonstop purchase rumors, but it seems that Disney doesn’t stand to benefit much from a Twitter acquisition [11]. Snapchat has proved to be a unique outlet for Disney’s content, but doesn’t seem to be a likely purchase for the social media company [12]. Though the investment in BAMTech signifies Disney’s interest in streaming, Netflix doesn’t appear to be a perfect partner, either. Netflix’s dominance in the streaming market has waned as challengers such as Amazon and Apple have stolen subscribers [13].

Box Office

Moana

Star Wars  Moana banner [17]

After the November 23 release of Moana, Disney is nearing $2.5B in total domestic box office gross for 2016 [14]. With the top four grossing films of 2016 thus far (Finding Dory, Captain America: Civil War, The Jungle Book, and Zootopia), the company topped $6B in worldwide box office gross for the first time in its history [15]. This new record will only increase as Moana and Doctor Strange continue to screen and Disney’s final 2016 film releases: the newest film, Rogue One. Beyond the box office, movies like Star Wars, Finding Dory, and Moana provide massive profits in merchandising, both in America and abroad. In 2013, Disney merchandise sales brought in over $40B.

Theme Parks

On June 16, Disney’s fourth international theme park opened in Shanghai, with the tagline “authentically Disney, distinctly Chinese” [16]. The company avoided western branding and symbols by changing street names within the park and by filling the concessions with 70% Chinese food. Traditional Disney characters can be seen wearing traditionally Chinese silk costumes and speaking the native language. The Shanghai Disney Resort seeks to take advantage of the massive potential offered by China and the wider Asian market.

Shanghai Disney

Shanghai Disney Resort [18]

Conclusion

Despite Disney’s losses in television, its massive successes at the box office in 2016 have made up for it. The control of Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar promises success in the motion pictures department nearly every year. Further, Disney’s land holdings of theme parks underscore the company’s finances with physical propoerty–while most media conglomerates own intellectual property, Disney holds more tangible assets as well. The company’s investments in technology put it in a good place for the future–its theme parks’ MagicBands have already proven successful. But while the company must hope these investments pay off, it also faces the uncertain future of navigating an evolving marketplace with a new CEO. Iger’s selection of his successor is by far the most important storyline to follow within the massive world of Disney.

Sources

  1. About The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved November 25, 2016. https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/
  2. The Data Team. June 16, 2016. The Economist. A New Disney Theme Park Opens in China. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/06/daily-chart-11
  3. Johnson, Madeleine. June 16, 2016. Zacks. Your Complete Guide to All the Things Owned by Disney. Retrieved November 25, 2016. https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/220682/your-complete-guide-to-all-the-things-owned-by-disney
  4. Carpenter, J. William. October 29, 2015. Investopedia. Top 5 Companies Owned by Disney. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/102915/top-5-companies-owned-disney.asp
  5. Brevet, Brad. January 7, 2016. Box Office Mojo. ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Becomes Highest Grossing Domestic Release of All-Time. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4142&p=.htm
  6. Belloni, Matthew. June 22, 2016. The Hollywood Reporter. In-Depth With Disney CEO Bob Iger on China Growth, ‘Star Wars’ Reshoots and Political Plans: “A Lot of People Have Urged Me to [Run]”. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/bob-iger-interview-star-wars-905320
  7. Hirasuna, Delphine. August 7, 2009. At Issue Journal. Walt Disney’s Creative Organization Chart. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.atissuejournal.com/2009/08/07/walt-disney%E2%80%99s-creative-organization-chart/
  8. Yahoo! Finance. The Walt Disney Company (DIS). Retrieved November 25, 2016. https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/DIS/financials?p=DIS
  9. Brown, Maury. August 9, 2016. Forbes. Disney Buys $1B Stake In MLB’s BAMTech, To Launch ESPN Streaming Service. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2016/08/09/disney-co-makes-1-billion-investment-becomes-minority-stakeholder-in-mlbams-bamtech/#1f44b1915972
  10. Markman, Jon. August 23, 2016. Forbes. Disney Streaming Into A Perilous Future. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmarkman/2016/08/23/disney-streaming-into-a-perilous-future/#4f34784210f7
  11. Kafka, Peter. September 26, 2016. Recode. Why Disney won’t buy Twitter. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.recode.net/2016/9/26/13062276/disney-won-t-buy-twitter
  12. Munarriz, Rick. April 9, 2016. The Motley Fool. Disney Isn’t Buying Netflix or Snapchat. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/09/disney-isnt-buying-netflix-or-snapchat.aspx
  13. Cohan, Peter. October 5, 2016. Forbes. Why Walt Disney Should Not Buy Netflix. Retrieved November 25, 2016. http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2016/10/05/why-walt-disney-should-not-buy-netflix/#710bdc20395d
  14. Box Office Mojo. Studio Market Share. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?view2=yearly&view=parent&p=.htm
  15. Tartaglione, Nancy. November 6, 2016. Deadline Hollywood. Disney Crosses $6B At Global Box Office; First Time In Studio’s History. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://deadline.com/2016/11/disney-crosses-six-billion-dollars-global-box-office-studio-record-doctor-strange-finding-dory-zootopia-captain-america-1201849749/
  16. Gardner, Hannah. June 16, 2016. USA Today. Disney’s new Shanghai park is supersized. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/06/15/disneys-new-shanghai-park-supersized/85920926/
  17. Disney. Moana. Retrieved November 28, 2016. http://movies.disney.com/moana

Dreamworks Animation

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DreamWorks_Animation_SKG_logo_with_fishing_boy_svg

DreamWorks Animation SKG logo                                                 Source: operation build tv

 Dreamworks Animation SKG

Contact

1000 Flower Street Glendale, CA 91201

Phone: (818) 695-5000

Twitter: twitter.com/dwanimation

Homepage: http://www.dreamworks.com/home/

Investors’ page: http://ir.dreamworksanimation.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=185803&p=irol-irhome

Key Executives

0x600

Jefferey Katzenberg, CEO and CED                     Source: Forbes.com

Fazal F. Merchant, CFO

Fazal F. Merchant, CFO                   Source: Hollywood Reporter

 

Ann Daly, President

Ann Daly, President Source: Hollywood Reporter

Background Information

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Dreamworks Animation SKG headquarters                    Source: bizjournals.com

Dreamworks Animation is an animation producing company that has been around since 2004. They are well known to the world having produced numerous films including ‘Shrek,’ ‘Wallace and Gromit,’ ‘Chicken Run,’ ‘How to Train your Dragon,’ ‘Kung Fu Panda,’ and ‘Madagascar.’

History

The-deadly-trio

From the left, founders of Dreamworks; Jefferey Katzenberg, Steven Speilberg, and David Geffen                                          Source: thegraphicslate.com

On October 12, 1994, three experienced hollywood entertainment veterans gathered up and founded Dreamworks SKG targetting to create a new Hollywood major film company. Mr. Katzenberg, a former Disney executive, recruited his own animation staff from Disney, while Spielberg brought in some of his animation artists from Amblimation, located at London.

In 2004, with Jefferey Katzenberg, Dreamworks’ animation department departed from its parent company Dreamworks/Public Data Images. They made an individual company that distributes and produces their own animations and named it Dreamworks Animation. Since their foundation in 2004, Dreamworks Animation has won 3 Academy Awards, 1 Golden Globe Award and has been nominated for both Academy awards and Golden Globe awards countless times.

Current Plan(2016)

  • MOVIES

Starting this quarter, Dreamworks Animation SKG changed their plans from producing 3 movies a year to producing only 2 movies a year. Although they have produced only one movie last year, “Home“; this year they are planning to launch 2 movies; ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ and ‘Trolls‘.

  1.  KUNG FU PANDA 3

Kung Fu Panda 3, one of Dreamworks Animation’s most successful animated film after Shrek, has hit the film market with great impact and has already achieved success world wide.

Avoiding to launch their movie at the same date with the new Star Wars movie, Kung Fu Panda 3 pushed back their launch date to January 29th. Collaborating an advertisement for Super Bowl with Wix before the release turned out to be a big success to have the public aware of the movie.

Though their stock prices have dropped by 6 dollars per stock, Dreamworks Animation did not seem to be worried at all. By earning 48 million dollars at the first week of the release, Kung Fu Panda kept their effort at the Box Office with great consistency.

However, due to Deadpool’s amazing success at the Box Office, Kung Fu Panda 3’s winning streak had to stop at the third week of their release. Though Kung Fu Panda 3’s weekly gross immediately reduced after Deadpool and Zootopia’s monopoly, the ‘Panda‘ still had an alternative and unreplacable plan.

Thanks to the Chinese giants who distributed and exhibited the ‘Panda’ movie at China, Dreamworks Animation could not only succeed on having a great start on 2016, but they also could recover their stock prices. Due to the success, Dreamworks could announce their last quarterly reports for 2015 safely with 55 cents per share: which was 39 cents higher than expected to be.

     2.   TROLLS 

Trolls is the last movie that Dreamworks Animation will release this year. Trolls will be open to the public in November, with some star voices that the audience might recognize. For Dreamworks Animation to continue their favorable situation, and compete with Disney and Pixar, Trolls must also achieve success.

  • NEW MEDIA

       VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER

Not just movies, but Dreamworks Animation has reached their range to Television Series all over the world. Realizing that producing profit-unpredictable feature films might not make a jackpot, Dreamworks Animation switched their target to a rather non-risky platform such as SVODS since 2013. After buying Classic Media’s classic TV animation characters for $155 million, Dreamworks Animation has announced that they will be producing and distributing Noddy, the classic 90s-00s animation at France and at the United Kingdom.

Netflix is one of the most frequently accessed media platform that 69-million people use regardless of their age. Dreamworks Animation has announced a partnership with Netflix last January. Netflix are now going to be a global home of various Dreamworks -Animation produced featured films including ‘The Adventures of Puss in Boots,’ and ‘Dinotrux.’ Plus, the two video giants will be launching ‘Trollhunters,’ and ‘Voltron: Legendary Defender’, a remake of a legendary Japanese animation.

Awesomeness TV is also one of Dreamworks Animation’s main source of income. Though giving Verizon 24.5% of Awesomeness TV’s stake, Dreamworks still remains as the main owner having over 50% of the stakes. It costed about 110 million dollars to buy the Awesomeness TV, but it is now making 70 million dollars of extra revenue every year; which is exceeding the profit of any other source of income that Dreamworks Animation has.

How important are these new media that Dreamworks started to concentrate on?

dreamworks dd

Source: Variety.com

As seen above, Dreamworks Animation’s revenue has exceedingly increased in 2015. Compared to 2012, 2013 and 2014 was not a good year for Dreamworks Animation because their revenue from feature films reduced and the profit from their newly-trying items weren’t too strong to shine. However, in 2015, even though ‘Home’ was the only featured film that they produced, their revenue from TV series and media made Dreamworks Animation leap in the market.

untitled

Source: Variety.com

Like above, Dreamworks Animation is having fun with the new media that they have recently started investing on. Although feature films are not doing so well as they did in the past, their strategy concentrating on subscription video-on-demand are crucial to their growth.

  • INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
i

Dreamworks Animation land on Korea as a channel                           Source: Worldscreen.com

Not just China, but now they are targetting the whole world. Dreamworks Animation has put effort on producing spin-offs for each countries. They concentrated ‘Kung Fu Panda’ spin-offs in China and ‘How to train your dragon’ spinoffs in Korea; which have made a huge amount of profit and awareness of the company in countries.

On April 20th, Dreamworks Animation and Korea Telecom made an agreement to launch a ‘DREAMWORKS CHANNEL’ in South Korea. After having a bunch of success in Asia, Dreamworks Animation decided to launch their own channel in South Korea; which is the third independent channel that they have created in Asia. Starting in May, the channel will be officially distributed via ‘OLLEH TV.’

Conclusion

 In a nutshell, Dreamworks Animation seem to having been adjusting to the market trend for a past few years, but they have now fixed their goal using new media as their medium. Though it might be risky to put most of their eggs in Netflix, investors and the public will have to look forward to what the company is up to in the following years.

Citation

Hulu

Posted on by
http://www.freelogovectors.net/hulu-logo-eps-file/

hulu company logo [1]

Founded: March 2007 by Beth Comstock & Jason Kilar

Jason Kilar

Jason Kilar [3]

Beth Comstock

Beth Comstock [2]

CEO: Mike Hopkins

mike_hopkins

Mike Hopkins [19]

SVP, Head of Distribution: Tim Connolly

tim_connolly

Tim Connolly [19]

SVP, Head of Content: Craig Erwich

craig_erwich

Craig Erwich [19]

SVP, General Counsel: Chadwick Ho

chad_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]

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>.

Comcast/NBCU

Posted on by 
Nick Ross
NBCUniversal Logo

NBCUniversal Logo (Source: nbcuniversal.com)[21]

30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY – 10112
(212) 664-4444

Who They Are

NBC Universal is a subsidiary of Comcast with this article focusing primarily on the television arm of the NBC Universal family. NBC is perhaps best known for broadcast television which includes NBC Entertainment (what people think of when they think of shows like Parks and Recreation, The Office, and 30 Rock), NBC News, NBC Sports, the NBC Olympics, and Telemundo. They also have many holdings in cable including Bravo, CNBC, E!, the Esquire Network, the Golf Channel, MSNBC, NBC Sports Network, Oxygen, Syfy, The Weather Channel, and the USA Network. NBCU also owns three TV production studios which include Universal Television, Universal Cable Productions, and Telemundo Studios. Beyond the network level of the company, NBCU also has various regional television holdings. They own twenty-eight NBC and Telemundo local stations as well as ten NBC sports regional networks across the country. NBCU is also a partner in the video streaming site Hulu.[1]

Logos of NBCU holdings

NBCU Holdings (Source: tvmediainsights.com) [23]

Key Executives [1]

Matt Bond Chairman, Content Distribution

Matt Bond
Chairman, Content Distribution

Steve Burke CEO

Steve Burke
CEO

 

Patricia Fili-Krushel Executive Vice President

Patricia Fili-Krushel
Executive Vice President

Cesar Conde Chairman, NBCU International Group & Telemundo Enterprises

Cesar Conde
Chairman, NBCU International Group & Telemundo Enterprises

Robert Greenblatt Chairman, NBC Entertainment

Robert Greenblatt
Chairman, NBC Entertainment

History

History of NBC Logos

NBC History (Source: Rocketland Photography/Pinterest) [24]

NBC Universal traces its roots to the National Broadcasting Company. NBC was founded in 1926 as a radio broadcasting company by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA).[2] NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. They began television broadcasts in the late 1930s as one of the first major television networks. NBC Universal was formed when NBC and Universal merged in 2004.[3] The new company was owned by General Electric and Vivendi. Then, in 2009, Comcast announced plans to buy a controlling 51% stake in NBCU. [4] The deal went through and GE owned 49% of the company following the acquisition. In March of 2013, GE divested its stake resulting in Comcast owning 100% of the company. [5] Comcast continues to own the entirety of NBC Universal to this day.

Financial

Comcast stock has been on the rise over the past three months. As a whole, the stock has climbed by about $5. In their 2015 Quarter 3 earnings report on October 27, NBC Universal has also been doing well as part of the Comcast portfolio.[6] NBCU revenue increased 20.8% and NBC ranked as number one among adults 18-49 for the fifth summer in a row. NBC also won the opening two weeks of the broadcast season for the fourth straight year among adults 18-49.

Stock price chart for Comcast over the past three months.

Comcast stock prices over the past three months. (Source: Google/Yahoo Finance)[22]

What’s New for NBCU

Seeso

The biggest story right now for NBCU is the imminent launch of their new internet streaming comedy service called Seeso. The service launches on December 3 in a public beta.[7] Users will be able to sign up with an e-mail address and the service will be free for the first month. After this initial beta, the service will cost just $3.99 per month.[8] Rather than targeting broader demographics as services like Netflix or Amazon Prime do, Seeso aims to target a more narrow market: comedy fans. NBC hopes to use the service to mine the value of its comedy programming like Saturday Night Live, and all of its late-night comedy programming.[9] This service won’t just recycle content that’s already aired, however. Its biggest selling point is the original content. The service will launch with 20 original programs in its first year alone. Dan Harmon, best known for creating NBC’s Community and Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty,[10] will be a driving force behind the creation of original content for Seeso.[9] Beta members will also get access to a live stand-up comedy special “The Guest List: Live From The Barrel House” which will stream on December 8th, exclusively on Seeso.7 NBCU mentions that the service will be available in full in January including access to connected devices, however it does not specify which devices (AppleTV, Roku, Amazon FireTV, etc.) it will be available on.

Video: NBCU/Seeso [7]

Expanded Streaming Options

Amazon Fire TV device with interface

Amazon’s Fire TV (Source: idownloadblog.com) [25]

Over-the-top services are the story right now for NBCUniversal. In October, Amazon and NBCU were rumored to be in talks about creating a live-streaming option on Amazon’s popular Fire TV platform for NBC content.[11] The option would allow users to access NBC content live as well as on-demand via Amazon’s set top box. Nothing has yet been confirmed by either Amazon or NBCU, however just a few weeks ago, CBS launched its “All Access” service which allows for CBS on-demand and live content on the Fire TV.[12] It is more than likely that NBC will be soon to follow. Important to note is that NBC News already has an Amazon Fire TV app which allows for viewing of live and on-demand content, but this applies only to news content.[13] It does not include NBC’s vast collection of entertainment content. The rumored new application would allow for the entire NBC collection as well as expanded live programming options.

Fall TV Lineup/Cancellations

Poster for NBC's The Player

The Player Poster (Source: NBCUniversal) [26]

As NBC looked forward at the beginning of its fall season, they were counting on old, reliable shows to bring them the numbers they’d gotten in the past. As usual, The Voice, The Biggest Loser, and Dateline returned as perennially successful programs.[14] Sunday Night Football also continues to be number one in primetime ratings and will continue to be broadcast through the fall season. NBC’s fall slate of shows, however, has seen relatively low ratings across the board.[15] The Player, receiving a dismal 0.83 rating, already had its order reduced from thirteen episodes to nine before being cancelled.[16] Truth Be Told (0.63) and Undateable (0.77) are already airing Friday nights and are likely next on the NBC chopping block. Grimm is pulling a 0.98 rating on Fridays and is still hanging on in its fifth season. No word yet on its cancellation.

The Wiz! Live

David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion from NBC's The Wiz Live

David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion (Source: NBCU/AdAge) [19]

Well known for its past live events, NBC is now producing The Wiz! Live to air on December 3rd.[17] In the past, NBC has produced Peter Pan Live, and The Sound of Music Live to fairly good ratings (2.4 and 4.6 respectively[18]) and they hope to capitalize on this “live event” success with The Wiz!. Starring Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, David Alan Grier, Stephanie Mills, Common, and newcomer Shanice Williams as Dorothy, the star power is there for a good event.[19] NBC has also secured a variety of sponsorships for the broadcast with some of the same sponsors who funded past live events returning again. The live event should have very little in the way of competition in its Thursday night time slot.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

A perennial ratings boon for NBC, the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade did not disappoint in 2015. The three-hour event drew a 12.6 rating, the highest of any program all season.[20] The broadcast also pulled in a 7.0 rating among adults 18-49 which is up slightly from the previous year’s broadcast.

Shot of the street at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (Source: forthemommas.com) [27]

Footnotes

[1] NBC Universal Business – Corporate Site. Retrieved November 30, 2015. http://www.nbcuniversal.com/business/

[2] Various Authors. September 1926. Announcing The National Broadcasting Company, Inc. Retrieved November 30, 2015. http://earlyradiohistory.us/1926nbc.htm

[3] NBC Universal Careers – Credo & History. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://www.nbcunicareers.com/our-company/credo-history

[4] Goldman, David. December 3, 2009. GE, Comcast announce joint NBC deal. Retrieved November 30, 2015. http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/03/news/companies/comcast_nbc/index.htm

[5] Lieberman, David. March 19, 2013. Comcast Completes Acquisition Of GE’s 49% Stake In NBCUniversal. Retrieved November 30, 2015. http://deadline.com/2013/03/comcast-completes-acquisition-nbcuniversal-457181/

[6] October 27, 2015. COMCAST REPORTS 3RD QUARTER 2015 RESULTS. Retrieved November 30, 2015. http://www.cmcsa.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=938550

[7] NBCUniversal – Seeso Is Coming. Retrieved November 30, 2015. http://www.nbcuniversal.com/article/seeso-coming

[8] Jarvey, Natalie. October 15, 2015. NBCUniversal to Launch Comedy Streaming Service Seeso. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nbcuniversal-launch-comedy-streaming-service-832351

[9] Littleton, Cynthia. October 30, 2015. Upright Citizens Brigade, Dan Harmon Drive Originals Strategy For NBCUniversal’s Seeso. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/dan-harmon-upright-citizens-brigade-nbcuniversal-comedy-seeso-1201630545/

[10] IMDB Page – Dan Harmon. Retrieved November 30, 2015. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1363595/

[11] Risley, James. October 7, 2015. Amazon rumored to be in talks with CBS, NBCUniversal for live streaming TV. Retrieved November 28, 2015. http://www.geekwire.com/2015/amazon-rumored-to-be-in-talks-with-cbs-nbcuniversal-for-live-streaming-tv/

[12] Fingas, Jon. November 23, 2015. CBS’ streaming video service comes to Amazon’s Fire TV. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/23/cbs-all-access-on-amazon-fire-tv/

[13] Amazon Fire TV Product Page. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-DV83YW-Fire-TV/dp/B00U3FPN4U

[14] Kissell, Rick. June 2, 2014. NBC Announces Fall Premiere Dates for New, Returning Series. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/nbc-announces-fall-premiere-dates-for-new-returning-series-1201207308/

[15] December 1, 2015. NBC Renew/Cancel standings, week 10: ‘Grimm’ need not be scared yet. Retrieved December 1, 2015.  http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/12/01/nbc-renewcancel-standings-week-10-grimm-need-not-be-scared-yet/

[16] Friedlander, Whitney. October 23, 2015. NBC Cuts Episode Order for Wesley Snipes Thriller ‘The Player’. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/the-player-cancelled-nbc-wesley-snipes-1201621293/

[17] Gajewski, Ryan. November 2, 2015. Watch NBC’s ‘The Wiz Live!’ Teaser: “There Is No Place Like Home”. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/watch-nbcs-wiz-live-teaser-836259

[18] Kissell, Rick. December 5, 2014. ‘Peter Pan Live’ Ratings: Not ‘Sound of Music’ Big But Strong for NBC Thursday. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/peter-pan-live-ratings-not-sound-of-music-big-but-strong-for-nbc-thursday-1201371871/

[19] Crupi, Anthony. November 30, 2015. NBC’s ‘Wiz’ to Ease On Down the Road with Reddi-Wip. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://adage.com/article/media/nbc-ease-road-reddi-wip/301515/

[20] Porter, Rick. November 27, 2015. Macy’s Thanksgiving parade draws big ratings for NBC. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2015/11/27/macys-thanksgiving-parade-draws-big-ratings-for-nbc/

[21] NBCUniversal Corporate Website. Retrieved November 30, 2015. http://www.nbcuniversal.com/

[22] Google Finance – CMCSA. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:CMCSA

[23] Berman, Mark. July 15, 2015. NBC Universal Portfolio Closes Upfront Selling at a Reported $6 Billion. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://www.tvmediainsights.com/highlights/nbc-universal-portfolio-closes-upfront-selling-at-a-reported-6-billion/

[24] History of NBC Logos – Pinterest. Retrieved December 1, 2015. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/401946335463790603/

[25] Zibreg, Christian. April 2, 2014. Amazon unveils its Apple TV competitor: meet the $99 Fire TV set-top box. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://www.idownloadblog.com/2014/04/02/amazon-firetv/

[26] Tallerico, Brian. September 21, 2015. TV REVIEW: NBC LAUNCHES THREE NEW DRAMAS IN “BLINDSPOT,” “THE PLAYER,” “HEROES REBORN”. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://www.rogerebert.com/demanders/tv-review-nbc-launches-three-new-dramas-in-blindspot-the-player-heroes-reborn

[27] 2015 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Retrieved December 1, 2015. http://forthemommas.com/thanksgiving/2015-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade 

DreamWorks Animation

Posted on by 
by ALESSANDRA KLETTER
DreamWorks Animation SKG

DreamWorks Animation SKG

Contact

1000 Flower Street Glendale, CA 91201

Phone: (818) 695-5000

Twitter: twitter.com/dwanimation

Key Executives

Cheif Executive Officer Jeffrey Katzenberg

Cheif Executive Officer and Director Jeffrey Katzenberg

Co-President Bonnie Arnold

Co-President Bonnie Arnold

Co-President Mireille Soria

Co-President Mireille Soria

History

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

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen in 1994

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen in 1994

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

Financial Troubles

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

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

Restructuring Under New Leadership

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

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

Looking To The Future

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

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

References

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NETFLIX

Posted on by 
by BESS HOWELL

Corporate Headquarters [3]

100 Winchester Circle Los Gatos, CA 95032

+1 (408) 540-3700

http://netflix.com/

Leadership [1]

reed

– Reed Hastings: Founder and CEO

 

david_wells

David Wells: Chief Financial Officer

 

Kelly_Bennett_130_195

Kelly Bennett: Chief Marketing Officer

 

jonathanfriedland[1]

Jonathan Friedland: Chief Communications Officer

tawnicranz

Tawni Cranz: Chief Talent Officer

 

ted

Ted Sarandos: Chief Content Officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

History [2]

print-2

Courtesy of 3dprint.com

In 1997, Reed Hastings and partner Marc Randolph founded Netflix. Initially, the company was founded to offer online movie rentals. Consumers were able to pick from a selection of titles and have them delivered to their homes. Two years later, Netflix became a subscription-based service, providing customers with unlimited movie rentals for a monthly rate. In 2002, Netflix became a publicly traded company on NASDQ. In 2007, Netflix introduced its extremely popular movie and television streaming service. International expansion began in 2012, Netflix becoming available in Latin America and the Caribbean. Netflix introduced original content in 2013, including the award-winning shows “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black.” Now with over 60 million global subscribers, Netflix is a notable name and pioneer in the television industry.

 

Financials [7]

Netflix’s 2015 first quarter earning results were extremely mixed, but in the end left investors happy and the company optimistic about the future [6]. Netflix reached the analyst forecasted revenue of 1.57 billion dollars, but per share earnings dropped to 38 cents. Although Netflix surpassed the previous year’s revenue, EPS dropped over 50 cents from 2014. This can be partially attributed to the Q1 net income, at 23.7 million, which decreased 55.4% from one year ago [9]. This loss is a result of the strong U.S. dollar, which greatly lowered international revenue. Without loses due to the foreign exchange rate, the per-share earnings would have been recorded at 77 cents [8]. Netflix stock increased over 18%, reaching an all time high of $530 dollars. Analysts believe this is due to the massive subscriber growth, which increased by 4.9 million in the first quarter of 2015 for a total of 62.3 million [5], 500,000 more than the company had expected. Stocks may not stay at the high price they reached, as CEO Reed Hastings proposed a stock split in the near future. If the stock split does not happen however, FBR & Co analyst Barton Crockett predicts that Netflix shares could reach $900 within the next year [4]. With a loyal consumer base, growing subscribers, and plans for global expansion, there is not much in the company’s way for it’s numbers to only go up.

 

Global Expansion

Global expansion has become a huge part of the Netflix business model. As subscriber growth slows in the United States, the company looks to other markets in order to both raise revenue and increase opportunities [12]. Currently operating in over 50 countries, Netflix announced in January that they planned to launch the service in 200 countries by 2016 [13], with the hopes of going global by 2020 [11]. Although the company currently loses money in it’s international business, they predict it to be profitable by 2017. Despite these loses, Netflix is extremely well received in its abroad markets. It was released in early April that less than a year after being launched in Europe, Netflix buttons are being added to remote controls that will be shipped all over the continent [16]. Already in 2015, Netflix has become available in Cuba [15], Australia, and New Zealand [10], and is set to launch in Japan this coming fall [14]. The company is also looking into the possibility of launching in China. Global expansion means the opportunity of having content viewed over the entire world, which will open Netflix up to many opportunities for both licensing and producing even more material[12].

 

Netflix Originals and Exclusives

In a consumer survey released yesterday that was conducted by FBR & Co, Netflix users said that they prefer the Internet streaming service to television [22]. Much of this has to do with the original content Netflix has been producing in the last few years. On February 27th the company released the third season of its award winning original, “House of Cards,” which received global attention. It was released on April 2nd that the show’s fourth season would air sometime in 2016 [23]. March 6th marked the premier of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and on March 20th their new dramatic thriller “Bloodline” was released. On April 10th Netflix aired Marvel’s “Daredevil,” the first of a five series-deal [18]. The company also released the teaser for the fourth season of “Orange Is The New Black” two days ago [17]. For the rest of 2015, Netflix plans on releasing five more original series [18], as well as five additional original programs geared towards children [26].

At the Sundance Film Festival in January, Netflix made a deal with the notable Duplass brothers [24]. Netflix will finance four films produced by the team, which will go to directly to the service after a short theatrical window. This partnership paid off at SXSW this March when Netflix obtained the exclusive global rights to the film “6 Years,” Which was produced by the Duplass brothers [25] This film was not part of the deal signed in January, and thus was an extra acquisition for the company.

Netflix recently introduced its intentions for multiple new documentary projects. Teaming up with Silverback Films, the company that created “Planet Earth,” Netflix plans to produce an eight-part natural history series entitled “Our Planet.” [20] This four-year project is set to air in 2019. On March 4th, the company also announced a planned partnership with Leonardo DiCaprio and production company Appian Way to create a series of Netflix exclusive documentary projects [21]. DiCaprio will produce all of the projects, which will concern the environment and conservation.

 

Promotions

Already in the first quarter of 2015, Netflix has partnered with various tech companies to help promote the brand and increase subscribers. On March 25th T-Mobile announced that if customers buy a Samsung Galaxy S6 phone, they will get a free one-year subscription to Netflix [27]. The logic behind this partnership is to both drive the sales of S6 phones at T-Mobile, and create more potential long-term subscribers for Netflix. Separate from T-Mobile, Samsung enticed consumers in Australia earlier this month to buy from a series of new 4K smart TVs by offering six free months of Netflix [28]. This partnership came just weeks after the streaming service launched in Australia.

Netflix also came out with it’s first set of “Netflix Recommended TVs,” part of a program that the company launched in early 2015 to help integrate itself better with smart TVs. The recommendation is meant to promote the TV’s easy Internet access capabilities and help Netflix become more easily accessed through the television rather than the computer. The TVs will come from companies like Sony, LG, TCL, and Insignia, and will include the Netflix logo when in retail [29].

 

Overview

Netflix is truly an innovator in the television industry. CEO Reed Hastings said in a recent interview that “Internet TV is going to replace linear TV” within 20 years [30]. At the current rate Netflix is going, that could likely be possible. Netflix has excellent financials, global prospects, a loyal and growing subscriber base, notable content, and forward thinking business strategies. There is no reason why they should not be able to reach their goals in coming years.

Sources

[1] Officers and Directors, Netflix International Relations, Retrieved: April 15, 2015

[2] Company Timeline, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: April 15, 2015

[3] Netflix Corporate Headquarters, Corporate Offices and Headquarters, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[4] Netflix stocks top $500 for the first time ever. Next stop = $900?, CNN Money, Retrieved April 16, 2015

[5] Netflix shares explode after unexpected subscriber growth, Business Insider, Retrieved April 16, 2017

[6] Netflix adds nearly 5 million subscribers in first quarter, USA Today, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[7] Letter to Shareholders, Netflix International Relations, Retrieved April 16, 2015

[8] Why Investors Are So In Love With Netflix Right Now, Time, Retrieved April 16, 2015

[9] Netflix Shares Soar On Q1 Report Showing Strong Sub Growth And Stock Split Plans, Deadline, Retrieved April 16, 2015

[10] Netflix Goes Live In Australia And New Zealand, Its First Launches In Asia Pacific, Tech Crunch, Retrieved April 16, 2015

[11] Analysts giddy at Netflix plans for international expansion, Market Watch, Retrieved April 16, 2015

[12] Netflix Accelerates Ambitious Global Expansion as U.S. Growth Slows, The New York Times, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[13] Netflix Steps Up Foreign Expansion, Wall Street Journal, Retrieved April 16, 2015

[14] Netflix To Launch In Japan This Fall, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[15] Netflix Is Available In Cuba, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[16] Major Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Add Netflix Button To Remote Controls Across Europe, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[17] Netflix Renews Orange Is the New Black for Season 4, Releases New Clip, Time, Retrieved April 16, 2017

[18] 7 New Netflix Original Premiering This Year, Cheat Sheet, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[19] In 2015, Must-See TV Will Often Be Netflix Exclusives, Daily Finance, Retrieved April 15, 2017

[20] ‘Our Planet’ Set At Netflix; 8-Part Follow-up To ‘Planet Earth’ Series, Deadline, Retrieved April 16, 2015

[21] NETFLIX AND LEONARDO DICAPRIO TO PARTNER ON UPCOMING DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[22] Is Netflix More Popular Than TV?, CBS Money Watch, Retrieved April 16, 2015

[23] ‘House Of Cards’ Season 4 Will Air In 2016, Huffington Post, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[24] Netflix Makes 4-Pic Pact With Duplass Brothers – Sundance, Deadline, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[25] Netflix Nabs Global Rights For Drama ‘6 Years’ At SXSW 2015, Deadline, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[26] NETFLIX EXPANDS ITS PORTFOLIO OF ORIGINAL AND EXCLUSIVE TV SERIES WITH FIVE NEW SHOWS FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[27] T-Mobile Offers One Free Year Of Netflix For Buying A Samsung Galaxy S6, Forbes, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[28] Samsung releases new 4K smart TVs in Australia, offers six months free Netflix, Sunday Morning Herald: Digital Life, Retrieved April 16, 2015

[29] Netflix Announces First ‘Recommended TV’ Partners, Variety, Retrieved April 15, 2015

[17] Netflix Doesn’t Want to Kill HBO. It Wants to Kill TV, re/code, Retrieved April 16, 2017

Netflix

Posted on by 
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

Reed Hastings,  Founder and CEO

David Wells

David Wells,  Chief Financial Officer

Ted Sarandos

Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer

Neil Hunt

Neil Hunt, Chief Product Officer

Greg Peters

Greg Peters, Chief Streaming and Partnerships Officer

Tawni Cranz

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]:

netflix 3 month stock

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