DirecTV

Posted on October 5, 2014 by mjnixon

by Marla Nixon

DIRECTV logo, Photo courtesy of: [1] www.slashgear.com

CONTACT INFORMATION [2]

2260 E Imperial Hwy

El Segundo, CA 90245 United States

(310) 964-5000

www.directv.com [3]

COMPANY OVERVIEW

DIRECTV was founded in 1990 and is currently one of the world’s largest digital television services. The company provides services to over 32 million customers in the United States and Latin America (20 million in the United States and 18 million in Latin America). These services include HD, 3D and Video-On-Demand programming. DIRECTV is known for their #1 ranking in customer service as well as their sports programming which includes the NFL Sunday Ticket (see below “Deals and Acquisitions” for more details) [4].

ELECTED OFFICERS [5]

Michael White, Chairman, President & CEO, Photo courtesy of: [5] www.directv.com

Chairman, President & CEO: Michael White

Chief Human Resources Officer: Joseph Bosch

President, DIRECTV Latin America: Bruce Churchill

Chief Financial Officer: Patrick Doyle

General Counsel: Larry Hunter

Chief Technology Officer: Romulo Pontual

Chief Accounting Officer: Steve Adams

FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT

DIRECTV announced their 2014 3rd Quarter results on November 6th, 2014 [6]. The results showed a revenue growth of 6%, making their total revenue $8.4 billion. This revenue growth was due to an increase in U.S. ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) and DIRECTV Latin America (DTVLA) subscriber growth. However, this increase in revenue was offset by a lower ARPU at DTVLA. The lower ARPU at DTVLA was due to unfavorable changes in exchange rates.

DIRECTV stock quotes from June 2014 to present (6 months), Photo courtesy of: [7] www.money.cnn.com

Their current stock price (as of December 1st, 2014) is at $87.37 per share. This price has a year-to-date increase of 26.51% and a three-year increase of 89.69% [7]. Although financials have shown an increase it is important to note that DIRECTV has sustained subscriber loss in both the United States and Latin America units. This subscriber loss has been attributed to their credit policies and a rise in competition [6] [8].

MAIN COMPETITORS

DIRECTV has three main competitors: Comcast, Dish Network and Time Warner Cable [9]. Comcast is their biggest competitor ranking number one in the pay-TV market with 22.5 million video subscribers (DIRECTV holds about 20 million video subscribers) [10]. There is currently a proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable (see Tuned In [15] and The Eyes Have It [16] graphics under “Deals and Acquisitions). This merger is still under consideration by the FCC, but if approved will put Comcast even further in the lead of the pay-TV market [11].

DEALS AND ACQUISITIONS

On September 1st, 2014, a negotiation dispute between Raycom Media and DIRECTV caused a 7-day standoff that resulted in a blackout for some DIRECTV subscribers. 43 Raycom stations, including channels with NFL programming, went dark on DIRECTV. The dispute was resolved before the Sunday NFL game and all channels were restored [12].

Displays percentage of the market Comcast and DIRECTV will have if both mergers are approved, Photo courtesy of:[15] www.wsj.com

In May of 2014 AT&T announced that it planned on acquiring DIRECTV with a $48.5 billion merger. If combined, DIRECTV and AT&T will have more than 26 million subscribers in the United States. This would put DIRECTV ahead of Comcast (22.5 million subscribers as of Fall 2014) in the market for pay-TV. However, if the Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger occurs, DIRECTV would still remain second-largest. Looking at the graphic “The Eyes Have It [16],” if the DIRECTV and AT&T merger is made they will have a total of 25.8 million subscribers, unfortunately that number will remain dwarfed by Comcast if the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger occurs bringing them up to 33.1 million subscribers (note that The Eyes Have It graphic only shows data up to 2013, data not referencing The Eyes Have It are current). However, both mergers have yet to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) [13]. Both mergers have been under heavy consideration by the FCC because of the massive amount of subscribers each merger affects. If either or both merger are approved the pay-TV market competition will rise dramatically. On September 25th, 2014, DIRECTV stockholders approved the merger with AT&T in a vote that represented 77% of all outstanding shares. The voting results showed that more than 99% of votes casted were in favor of the merger agreement [14].

Current subscribers to DIRECTV, AT&T, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, Photo courtesy of: [16] www.wsj.com

To learn more about the AT&T and DIRECTV merger watch a news broadcast here. Video courtesy of: [17] www.wsj.com.

On October 1st, 2014, DIRECTV renewed it’s deal with the National Football League (NFL) for the NFL Sunday Ticket. The NFL Sunday Ticket includes the showing of all out-of market games (regular season games outside of their local markets) as well as real time stats [18]. The NFL Sunday Ticket has been given exclusive rights to DIRECTV and is being extended for 8 years. The price was confirmed at $1.5 billion per season which is a 50% price increase compared to what DIRECTV paid in previous years. DIRECTV produces revenues of about $600 million from the NFL Sunday Ticket with around 2 million subscribers. This revenue is far below what they are now paying for the rights of the NFL Sunday Ticket programming [19]. A possible reason for DIRECTV’S agreeing to a dramatically increased price is their proposed merger with AT&T (see above paragraph). If DIRECTV did not renew it’s deal with the NFL for the Sunday Ticket, AT&T was allowed to walk away from the deal without any penalties [19] [20].

In early November, AMC Networks threatened to go dark on DIRECTV if negotiation standards are not met. With their hit show The Walking Dead halfway through its season a blackout would be dangerous for DIRECTV business. The contract is set to expire in 2015 and there have been warnings aired on the show that DIRECTV subscribers may not continue to receive programming from AMC [21]. However, DIRECTV has stated that subscribers will be able to view every episode of the upcoming season of The Walking Dead in a public promise on their website [22].

DIRECTV and Guest-tek announced a strategic relationship on November 13th. This relationship expands technology and programming for hotels and guests [23].

LOOKING FORWARD

DIRECTV is now offering 4K Television. 4K television, also known as Ultra HD, is the latest HD technology and is called 4K because of the image width (4,000 pixels) [24]. DIRECTV is the first and only multi-channel video provider to offer 4K/Ultra HD TV. To receive DIRECTV 4K programming, subscribers need the DIRECTV Genie HD DVR and a DIRECTV 4K ready television. Currently the only DIRECTV 4K ready TV’s are the 2014 Samsung Ultra HD/4K television models [25]. The DIRECTV 4K programming was released on November 14th and currently has about 20 movie titles to choose from [26].

Photo courtesy of: [27] www.seriable.com

DIRECTV has also been creating some of their own content programming since 2013. Most recently, a new drama called “Kingdom” starring Jonathan Tucker and Nick Jonas has had a 20-episode renewal a week after its premiere. The show is about a mixed Martial Arts group living in Venice, CA. “Kingdom” has been their most-watched series on their Audience Network [28]. The DIRECTV Audience Network is devoted to their original programming [29].

Watch the Kingdom series trailer here. Video courtesy of: [30] www.youtube.com.

SOURCES

1. DIRECTV’s Logo, www.slashgear.com, RT: 11/29/2014

2. Contact Information, www.hoovers.com, RT: 11/29/2014

3. DIRECTTV’s Website, www.directv.com, RT: 11/29/2014

4. “Our Company”, www.directv.com, RT: 11/30/2014

5. Elected Officers, investor.directv.com, RT: 11/28/2014

6. 2014 3rd Quarter Results, investor.directv.com, RT: 11/30/2014

7. DIRECTV Stock Quotes, www.money.cnn.com, RT:11/30/2014

8. “Tighter Credit, Competition Pressure DirecTV,” www.multichannel.com, RT: 11/30/2014

9. Competitors, www.hoovers.com, RT: 11/30/2014

10. Comcast Vs. DIRECTV, www.fool.com/investing, RT: 11/30/2014

11. Comcast and TimeWarner Merger, www.wsj.com, RT: 11/30/2014

12. “DirecTV, Raycom Media Blackout Ends Just in Time for NFL Games,” www.variety.com RT: 11/30/2014

13. “What Investors Need to Know About the AT&T-DirecTV Merger,” www.fool.com/investing, RT: 11/30/2014

14. DIRECTV Stockholders Approve Merger with AT&T, www.investor.directv.com, RT: 11/30/2014

15. “Comcast, TWC Blast Critics of Merger,” www.wsj.com, RT: 11/30/2014

16. “AT&T Has Approached DIRECTV About Possible Acquisition,” www.wsj.com, RT: 12/1/2014

17. Wall Street Journal Video, www.wsj.com, RT:12/1/2014

18. DIRECTV NFL Sunday Ticket, www.directv.com, RT: 11/30/2014

19. “DIRECTV Extends Its Deal With NFL For $12 Billion,” www.trefis.com, RT:11/30/2014

20. “CMO Today: NFL Sticks with DIRECTV for Sunday Ticket,” www.wsj.com, RT: 11/30/2014

21. “AMC Holds The Walking Dead Ransom In Dispute With DIRECTV,” www.digitaltrends.com, RT: 12/1/2014

22. DIRECTV Promise, www.directvpromise.com, RT:12/1/2014

23. DIRECTV and Guest-tek Strategic Relationship, www.guestek.com, RT: 12/1/2014

24. “4K TV and Ultra HD: Everything you need to know,” www.techradar.com, RT: 12/1/2014

25. “What is a DIRECTV 4K Ready TV and how does it work?” www.support.directv.com, RT: 12/1/2014

26. DIRECTV 4K TV Press Release, www.investor.directv.com, RT: 12/1/2014

27. Kingdom Photo, www.seriable.com, RT: 12/1/2014

28. “DIRECTV Orders 20 More Episodes of Original Drama ‘Kingdom,'” www.variety.com, RT: 12/1/2014

29. DIRECTV Audience Network, www.directv.com, RT: 12/1/2014

30. Kingdom Trailer, www.youtube.com, RT: 12/1/2014

Time Warner Cable

Posted on October 5, 2014 by htfergus

by Dan Watson

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Key Executives (13)

Robert D. Marcus
Chairman and CEO

Arthur T. Minson, Jr.
EVP and CFO

Dinesh C. Jain
COO

Ellen M. East
EVP and CCO

Contact (14)

One Time Warner Center

New York, NY 10019-8016

212-484-8000

http://www.timewarnercable.com/en/residential.html

History

In 1992, American Television and Communications (ATC) and Warner Cable merged to become Time Warner Cable (1). Not long after, in 1996, they released the first cable-delivered high speed internet, called Roadrunner (1). Following this was the release of digital cable and video on demand in 1999, digital phone service in 2003, and then finally the “Triple Play” service in 2005 (1). In 2007, Time Warner Cable (TWC) went public, and two years later, in 2009, they separated themselves from their parent company, Time Warner Inc (1).

About The Company

Time Warner Cable is a cable provider that offers high speed internet, digital phone services, and cable services to over 25 states, including Texas, North Carolina, and New York State (1). The company is subscription based, meaning customers pay a certain price per month to receive the content. Cable plans range anywhere from $20 to $50 per month, internet prices range from $35 to $65 per month, and phone service range from $10 to $20 per month (2). Subscribers can also choose the three service deal, which gives you video, phone, and internet for anywhere from $110 to $130 per month (2). As of September 30, 201, the end of their 3rd quarter, TWC has a total of 15.1 million subscribers receiving one or more of their services (1). 10.8 million of them are video subscribers, 11.5 million are internet subscribers, and 4.9 million of them are phone subscribers (1). In New York, North Carolina, and Texas, TWC provides local, all-news channels (1). TWC currently employs 50,000 people all over the US, including a special program that hires military veterans in areas such as technology, construction, and marketing sales (3). In 2013, TWC CEO Glenn Britt retired. TWC announced that the company’s COO at the time, Robert D. Marcus, would proceed him. He is currently the Chairman and CEO of TWC (1).

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Financials

Time Warner Cable is a publically owned company, and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TWC (1). Currently, TWC on the New York Stock Exchange is $148.54 USD (12). Because TWC is a publically owned company, it is obligated to let the public know how it is doing, in the form of quarterly reports. The latest quarterly report, the end of the third quarter, was released on September 30th, 2014 (4). In the fourth quarter alone, TWC had a revenue of $5.7 billion, which was up 3.6 percent, when compared to last year’s third quarter (4). This year to date (September 30th), the company has a total revenue of $17.1 billion, which is a 2.9% increase when compared to the same figure from last year (4). The report boasts the “best third-quarter customer relationship performance in six years” (4). Services in particular, their video service continues to provide the most money out of all the other services. Their video service provided $2.5 billion, while the internet service provided $1.6 billion, and the phone service provided $476 million (4). One notable difference is that both the revenue of the video and phone services for the third quarter went down from last year, with the video bringing in $2.6 billion, and the phone bringing in $498 million (4).

The Comcast, Time Warner Cable Merger

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Back on February 13th, Comcast publicly announced that they wanted to by Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion dollars (5). Since then, both the FCC and The United States Department of Justice have been investigating and evaluating the deal to see if they will either approve, or decline the deal. On October 8th and 9th, both company’s shareholders approved of the acquisition (6). For TWC, more than 99% of votes from shareholders voted in favor of the deal, showing the support of the deal from the shareholders (6). Immediately after the announcement of the deal, there was a wave of backlash and criticism against the deal. One of the main concerns of the deal is the fact that if the deal were to go through, the ensuing company would have control of roughly 30% of the pay TV market (6). This company would have 33 million subscribers, leagues above any other cable provider (5). Because of this, people are worried that the result of this deal would have far much too control on the cable, phone, and internet markets. With such control, this company would have would have more power to raise prices (5). This would be because they would be the only cable provider in a lot of areas, and customers would have no other option than to pay whatever amount for that cable provider. Some are also worried that this deal could affect competition and innovation. The company could have so much control over the market, that it might deter newcomers from trying to enter the market (5). Because of this, there would be inherently less competition, and much less innovation, as all of the new content and technology a new company could bring to the market would be much less inclined to jump in (5).

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One of the biggest issues of the deal is the possibility of net neutrality being hurt following the completion of the deal (7). Net neutrality is the idea, and law, that every source on the internet is treated equally, and has the same access as any other source (7). This applies heavily to online streaming sites like Netflix and Hulu. Their whole, or at least majority of their business is based on their ability to stream content to subscribers via the internet. With the completion of the deal, some are worried that the cable company would have so much control, that they could create internet “fast lanes”, and “slow lanes” (7). In other words, Comcast/TWC could make Netflix or Hulu pay an extra amount of money for their products to be streamed faster and in higher quality through the internet that the cable company provides its customers (7). President Barack Obama recently released a statement, saying that net neutrality is essential, and that any deal hindering that would hurt the economy (8). He also called for the FCC to create new rules regulating net neutrality (8). Both parties of the deal have since stated that the deal is still proceeding (9).

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One of the biggest oppositions to the deal happened in Lexington, Kentucky. Arguing over poor customer service, the city was unable to reach a new franchise agreement with TWC, and planed on denying the transfer of ownership, and looking for other cable providers (10). This would have proved a tough task, though, because TWC owns all of the existing cable infrastructure in the city (10). On November 20th, however, the city agreed to a 10 year franchise agreement with TWC, ending negotiations and backlash of the pending deal (11).

Sources

(1) http://www.timewarnercable.com/en/about-us/company-overview.html

History of Time Warner Cable, DR: 11/26/14

(2) http://www.timewarnercable.com/en/plans-packages/cable-internet.html#3services

Time Warner Cable, Packages and Plans, DR 11/26/14

(3) http://jobs.timewarnercable.com/content/military/

Time Warner Cable, Jobs and Military, DR 11/26/14

(4) http://ir.timewarnercable.com/files/2014%20Earnings/3Q14/aQ3-2014-TWC-Earnings-Release-FINAL_v001_a0q10j.pdf

Time Warner Cable Third Quarterly Report, DR 11/21/14

(5) http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/comcast-time-warner-agree-to-merge-in-45-billion-deal/2014/02/13/7b778d60-9469-11e3-84e1-27626c5ef5fb_story.html

Washington Post, Comcast and TWC agree to deal, DR 11/19/14

(6) http://online.wsj.com/articles/time-warner-cable-shareholders-approve-merger-deal-with-comcast-1412869575

The Wall Street Journal, Shareholders Approve, DR 11/20/14

(7) http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/opinion/why-the-fcc-should-heed-president-obama-on-internet-regulations.html?_r=0

The New York Times, Net Neutrality Concerns, DR 11/23/14

(8) http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/10/obama-internet-net-neutrality/18793429/

USA Today, Obama’s Statement on Net Neutrality, DR 11/25/14

(9) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/13/comcast-time-warner-full-steam-ahead_n_6149068.html

Huffpost, Deals moving Forward, DR 11/24/14

(10) http://www.kentucky.com/2014/10/07/3468773_citys-action-could-kill-time-warner.html?rh=1

Kentucky.com, Lexington Opposes Deal, DR 11/19/14

(11) http://wuky.org/post/lexington-signs-franchise-agreement-time-warner-cable

WUKY.org, Lexington Agrees to Deal, DR 11/27/14

(12) http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?symbol=TWC.N

Reuters, TWC Stock Information, DR 11/30/14

(13) http://www.timewarnercable.com/content/twc/en/about-us/leadership/overview.html

Time Warner Cable Leadership, DR 11/28/14

Time Warner Cable Leadership Photos, DR 11/28/14

(14) http://www.timewarner.com/contact-us

Time Warner Cable Contacts, DR 11/28/14

(15) http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/File:Time_Warner_Cable_2010.png

Time Warner Cable Logo, DR 11/30/14

(16) http://g.foolcdn.com/editorial/images/144432/comcast_twc-via-comcast-release_large.png

Comcast, Time Warner Cable Image, DR 11/30/14

(17) http://static.squarespace.com/static/514c6ec7e4b0f1fab133877d/514e614fe4b0e29595febc04/514e6178e4b045db9416cc37/1364091272056/?format=1000w

TWC Triple Play Image, DR 11/30/14

(18) http://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/7362006206_ea7fa6b6f8_z.jpg

Net Neutrality Under Attack Image, DR 11/30/14

(19) http://images.bidnessetc.com/img/f1e5284674fd1e360873c29337ebe2d7-president-obama-supports-net-neutrality-addresses-fcc.jpg

Obama On Net Neutrality

CBS Films

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Jessica Breslow

By Jessica Breslow

Courtesy of CBS Films [a]

CBS Films
11800 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: (310) 575-7000
www.cbsfilms.com

Brief History

CBS Films, operating as a subsidiary of CBS Corporations, was founded only 7 years ago in 2007. Despite being new on the block in a tough industry, CBS Films has successfully made noise in several markets with releases like, “Las Vegas,” “The Woman in Black,” and “The Back Up Plan.” They plan to continue making noise by releasing approximately 4-6 films a year by self-distributing in the US while their partners oversee global distribution. CBS Film’s commitment to managing the development, financing, production, and marketing of low budget, experimental, and quality motion pictures of various genres is what makes them unique as a middle ground in the industry. [1] [2] [3]

Key Executives

Wolfgang Hammer (Co-President) [b]

Terry Press (Co-President) [c]

Steven Friedlander
(Executive Vice President, Theatrical Distribution) [d]

Reid Sullivan
(Chief Financial Officer) [e]

Rik Toulon
(Executive Vice President & General Counsel) [f]

Maria Faillace
(Executive Vice President, Production) [g]

For more information about the Key Executives, click here [1].

Financials

CBS Films is not a publicly traded company; therefore, there is no financial information available. However, according to Box Office Mojo, one can understand that CBS Films has the potential to be competitive among the major film companies in the future if it continues its current pattern.

CBS Films – Rankings
Courtesy of Box Office Mojo [h]

The studio got off to a rough start with its first project, “Extraordinary Measures.” The film had a production budget of $31 million dollars, and unfortunately led the company to a major loss since the film’s worldwide total gross was only $15,134,293. Fortunately, the studio’s second film “The Back Up Plan,” was a huge success, and produced a worldwide total gross of $77,477,007. With a $35 million dollar production budget, “The Back Up Plan,” was not only able to recoup the film’s production budget, but also was able to recoup “Extraordinary Measures” major loss all while still making the company roughly $26 million in profit.

“Las Vegas” Total Lifetime Grosses
Courtesy of Box Office Mojo [i]

To date, every film that CBS Films has distributed has made some profit besides “Extraordinary Measures.” In fact, the company’s most successful film to date “Las Vegas” proves that CBS Films is moving forward. “Las Vegas” had a production budget of $28 million dollars, and earned a worldwide total gross of $134,402,450 (see photo right). These observations allow one to assume that the company is comfortable financially. [4] [5] [6]

News

Clif Prowse (R), Derek Lee (L)
Courtesy of www.images.moviepilot-cdn.com [j]

CBS Film’s “Afflicted,” which was released on April 4, 2014, is currently playing in limited theaters and is available on demand at iTunes, Amazon, VUDU, Google Play, Time Warner, and XBOX in addition to other Video On Demand services. As of April 11, 2014, “Afflicted” is being shown in 34 theaters, which is down ten theaters from its original release date. According to Box Office Mojo, as of April 13, 2014, the film has earned a domestic total of $121,179. The Canadian Film Lottery and the hundred thousand dollars Co-Directors Derek Lee and Cliff Prowse devoted their time to raising funded “Afflicted.” To save on production costs further, the Co-Directors starred as themselves in the movie out of necessity, and they complied their friends, families, and relatives to be the actors as a pay-free route to ensure their budget was kept low.

Derek Lee (L), Clif Prowse (R)
Courtesy of www.laimyours.com [k]

Remarkably, Derek and Cliff have been friends since they were 15 and pimpled-faced. They started this found-footage horror film project in 2011 after working on 4 shorts together. The idea for the film was the result of what they thought would best display their skillsets. Originally, they envisioned creating an action film; however, they lacked the funding to do so with quality. As a plan B, the duo created what evolved into the vampire point of view documentary in theaters today. With only four filmmakers and a small crew of ten, scenes were shot guerilla style in Paris, Italy, and Spain using a Cannon 5D Mark II and a Go Pro. The Director of Photography was equipped with only a single lighting pack due to budget; therefore, natural lighting was forcibly essential. Budget, however, did allow for Visual Effects Company Imagine Engine to be brought on as a producer to ensure the scenes requiring special effects were brought to life. These scenes demanded an abundance of patience and luck to achieve a realistic effect since the scenes lacked certain resources that typically would have been needed.

Derek Lee as Derek Lee
Courtesy of www.images.moviepilot-cdn.com [l]

After years of hard work and obstacles, “Afflicted” was screened to distributors. A low seven figures and additional money for improving production later, CBS Films attained a deal with the duo to polish and complete the film. With CBS Film’s support, the film became commercial and competitive after a month of reshooting. “Afflicted” started to gain real momentum after being well received at the Toronto International Film Festival and Austin’s Fantastic Fest. In Toronto, “Afflicted” was awarded “Best Canadian First Feature Film,” and in Austin, the movie was awarded “Best Picture (Horror),” “Best Screenplay (Horror)”, and “Best Director (Horror).” In addition, according to IndieWire, “Afflicted” is on the Top 10 indies to watch On Demand for April. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]

Derek Lee as Derek Lee
Courtesy of CBS Films [m]

Brief Synopsis: Derek and Cliff, two best friends, set out to travel the world for a year, but to their surprise the trip goes terribly wrong after Derek spends a night with a beautiful woman. After Derek’s encounter with this woman, his body goes though inhuman and uncontrollable changes. Cliff was originally documenting the entire trip for his travel blog, but the footage ends up capturing how the trip takes a dark turn instead. [12]

Watch Afflicted Trailer [n] (YouTube)

CBS Films is keeping an eye on the films that receive major buzz from festivals; there is talk that CBS Films might have plans to continue pursuing deals like this in the future if it “Afflicted” proves to be a beneficial investment. The power of this buzz serves as free advertising and generates a strong word of mouth presence that is typically not the easiest achieve. [8]

Coming Soon

“The F Word” recently retitled “What If” will hit US theaters in August 2014. In September, “What If” made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. Two and a half million dollars later, CBS Films attained the US rights for this project. “What If” will be released on August 1^st in NY and LA theaters, and will be accompanied by Disney’s “Guardians Of The Galaxy” and James Brown’s “Get Up On It.” CBS Films plans to expand markets for “What If” following the first weekend. [13]

Zoe Kazan (L), Daniel Radcliffe (R)
Courtesy of CBS Films [o]

Director:
Michael Dowse

Writer:
Elan Mastai

Stars:
Daniel Radcliffe
Zoe Kazan
Adam Driver
Mackenzie Davis
Megan Park
Oona Chaplin

Producers:
David Gross
Jesse Shapira
Jeff Arkuss
Macdara Kelleher
Andre Rouleau

[14]

Sources:

[1] CBS Films – About, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[2] Company Overview – Bloomberg Businessweek, investing.businessweek.com, RT: 4/13/14

[3] LA Times – Prime time for CBS movie bet?, articles.latimes.com, Claudia Eller & Amy Kaufman,1/11/10, RT: 4/13/14

[4] Box Office Mojo – “Extraordinary Measures”, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[5] Box Office Mojo – “The Back Up Plan”, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[6] Box Office Mojo – “Las Vegas”, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[7] The Horror: Afflicted LA Premiere At Hollywood Horrorfest, laimyours.com, Jonatha Bilski, 3/31/14, RT: 4/13/14

[8] Fantastic Fest: CBS Films May Have a Sleeper Hit in Low-Budget Horror Movie ‘Afflicted’, thewrap.com, Jeff Sneider, 9/20/13, RT: 4/13/14

[9] The Hollywood Reporter – Afflicted: Film Review, hollywoodreporter.com, Frank Scheck, 4/3/2014, RT: 4/13/14

[10] The 10 Indies to Watch on VOD This April: ‘Joe,’ ‘Blue Ruin,’ ‘Filth’ and More, indiewire.com, 4/2/14, RT: 4/13/14

[11] IMDb Page for Film “Afflicted”, IMDb.com, RT: 4/13/14

[12] CBS Films – Afflicted, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[13] Daniel Radcliffe’s ‘The F Word’ Re-titled ‘What If,’ Set for Aug. 1 Release, variety.com, Dave McNary, 3/14/14, RT: 4/13/14

[14] CBS Films – What If, cbsfims.com, RT: 4/13/14

Multimedia Sources:

[a] CBS Film’s Logo, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[b] Photo of Wolfgang Hammer, 5dinstitute.org, RT: 4/13/14

[c] Photo of Terry Press, hollywoodreporter.com, RT: 4/13/14

[d] Photo of Steven Friedlander, pokerpages.com, RT: 4/13/14

[e] Photo of Reid Sullivan, cbsexpress.com, RT: 4/13/14

[f] Photo of Rik Toulon, cbsexpress.com, RT: 4/13/14

[g] Photo of Maria Faillace, hollywoodreporter.com, RT: 4/13/14

[h] CBS Films – Rankings, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[i] “Las Vegas” Total Lifetime Grosses, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 4/13/14

[j] Photo 1 of Co-Directors, images.moviepilot-cdn.com, RT: 4/13/14

[k] Photo 2 of Co-Directors, laimyours.com, RT: 4/13/14

[l] Photo 1 of Derek Lee, images.moviepilot-cdn.com, RT: 4/13/14

[m] Photo 2 of Derek Lee, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

[n] Afflicted Trailer, youtube.com, RT: 4/13/14

[o] Photo of Zoe and Daniel, cbsfilms.com, RT: 4/13/14

Netflix

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Jamie Zaslav

By Jamie Zaslav

-Netflix Corporate Logo- [18]

Netflix Corporate Headquarters

100 Winchester Circle

Los Gatos, CA 95032

Tel: (418) 540-3700

Fax: (418) 540-3737

Email: info@netflix.com

www.netflix.com

Brief History:

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

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

Key Executives:

Reed Hastings, Co-Founder & CEO

Co-founder & CEO Reed Hastings, Courtesy of Netflix

David Wells, CFO

CFO David Wells, Courtesy of Netflix

Neil Hunt, CPO

CPO Neil Hunt, Courtesy of Netflix

Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer

Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos, Courtesy of Netflix

Kelly Bennett, Chief Marketing Officer

Chief Marketing Officer Kelly Bennett, Courtesy of Netflix

About:

Photo courtesy of Netflix [19]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finances:

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

Growth:

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

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

Content:

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

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

Competitors:

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

Sources:

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

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

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

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

[5] “Binge Watching” (11/13/13)

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

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

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

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

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

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