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Feb28
Liberty Media Show Some Strong Growth

Liberty Media showed a good fourth quarter as they had cash flow gains at two of its major divisions.

For Liberty Interactive Group, which is parent of QVC, the revenue grew by 11 percent and in its operating cash flow 21 percent. It was led by QVC which increased revenue by 7 percent in the fourth quarter to $2.24 billion and its operating cash flow by 19 percent to $557 million.

With the Liberty Capital Group, parent of Starz, they increased revenue by 4 percent to $257 million and its operating cash flow by 72 percent to $50 million.

starz%20subscriptons%20increase.jpgLiberty Media added that it projects that interactive revenue and operating cash flow should increase from the high single digits to low double-digit percentages for the next three to five years.

The major growth for the fourth quarter came from Starz increased subscription growth and the QVC shopping channel from its growing retail sales.

Feb28
Will AT&T's Big Gamble Pay Off?
With cable companies encroaching increasingly on their telephone business, AT&T (T) has had to find ways to fight back, and they have with their new U-verse service which will blend computers, TV sets and cell phones together in one service... Continue Reading
Online TV Viewing Becoming a Win/Win for Everyone
Rather than being concerned about the effect of online TV upon broadcast or cable viewing, networks should be embracing it even more, studies are showing.For those who have been overly concerned about TV being watched or streamed on the Internet,... Continue Reading
Feb27
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. Raising Millions
Saying that the industry can't keep up with the publics' appetite for new movie content, Chairman Harry Sloan told reporters that Wall Street investors are lining up to pay for the upcoming projects.Sloan said that with their top movie franchises... Continue Reading
Martin Scorsese, William Monahan Teaming Up Again for Rock 'N' Roll Film
With his first Oscar under his belt, Martin Scorsese didn't take long to tackle his next project, a rock 'n' roll film called The Long Play.He is teaming up again with The Departed Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan for the project.Also... Continue Reading
Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham Close to Own Reality Show
Former Spice Girl, known in the group as Posh Spice, Victoria Beckham, is rumored to be close to a decision to appear in her own reality show. The specifics of the deal haven't been finalized yet, but according to sources... Continue Reading
Hallmark Channel CEO Looking for Higher Subscriber Fees
Using the Fox News (NWS-A) network as an example, Hallmark Channel CEO Henry Schleiff says that the two networks get just about the same amount prime-time viewership and the same demographic, yet Hallmark comes nowhere close to getting the types... Continue Reading
Feb26
Apple TV Launch Delayed Until March
The highly anticipated launch of the Apple (AAPL) TV has been put off till next month, although the company gave no reason why that happened.In January the company said that the set-top box would be ready to go in February... Continue Reading
Sci Fi Channel, Richard Branson and Virgin Comics
If nothing else, this new partnership between the Sci Fi Channel, Richard Branson and Virgin comics won't be boring. In an announcement they said they have partnered to develop content that can be featured in games, the Internet, television and... Continue Reading
Judge Recommends NBC Universal Complaint be Dismissed
The increasing use of digital content by TV studios has led to confrontation between the Writers Guild of America West and NBC Universal (GE). The problem began when NBC Universal decided it wanted to produce Webisodes, short content created for... Continue Reading
Rooftop and Indoor Antenna Renaissannce?
Increasing cable and satellite TV costs are driving many customers to go back to the old rooftop antenna as a means of receiving local television in high definition, without paying the extra costs that companies demand. One example is in... Continue Reading
FCC Wants More Information on DirecTV-MLB Deal
The possible deal between Major League Baseball and DirecTV (DTV) has come under scrutiny as Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., has asked the FCC to look into the deal that could potentially prohibit millions from subscribing to see the games.Kerry was... Continue Reading
Black Donnelly's Premiering Tonight on NBC
NBC (GE) is trying to leverage its only new hit of the season to try to help another start off strong. They are taking their popular "Heroes" and offering it as a lead-in to the new series "The Black Donnellys,"... Continue Reading
Feb25
CBS Investing in Virtual World Developer
CBS Corp. (CBS) announced that it is participating in a $7 million round of financing for virtual world content developer Electric Sheep co. They said it's part of their ongoing strategy to reach beyond the TV screen. Existing investors Gladwyne... Continue Reading
Movie Theaters Now Offering Video Games
With increasing competition for movie tickets, and admissions down across Spain, Enrique Martinez has been working hard at transforming his building into a hybrid movie theater. Writing for IHT, Doreen Carvajal said that Martinez' creations has "all the digital fire... Continue Reading
Netflix Reaches 1 Billionth DVD Rental Milestone
It doesn't seem that long ago where Netflix (NFLX) was considered an "upstart" in the DVD viewing space. Now that they've been around for about 7 1/2 years, they have reached their first huge milestone by renting their 1 billionth... Continue Reading
The Top Ten Box Office for the Weekend
Other than last weeks upword blip, the box office plummeted again as moviegoers decided they had other things to do than watch the offerings presented for the weekend."Ghost Rider" was able to hold on to its hold on first place,... Continue Reading
Feb24
FCC Hits Univision with $24 Million Record Fine
Univision is expected to be hit with the largest fine in history as the media company received numerous complaints since 2004. The fine is related to the company not providing the type of programming that was designated by FCC rules.... Continue Reading
Marvel's Big Risk
Marvel (MVL) is a company that has huge potential, as it has a portfolio of over 5,000 characters it can draw on for all sorts of revenue possibilities. There is also the licensing potential from its characters to movie studios,... Continue Reading
Time Warner Agrees to $405 Million Settlement
Shareholders of Time Warner brought had brought a law suit against media company Time Warner (TWX) in reference to accounting issues at their Internet division AOL. The parties have now reached an agreement for a payout of $405 million to... Continue Reading
Feb23
Ministry of Sound Quits Association of Independent Music Over Backing Warner/EMI Deal
After a second profit warning in as many weeks, EMI had been more receptive to a bid by Warner Music Group (WMG) for the company. At first the UK-based Association of Independent Music (AIM) was all on board, backing the... Continue Reading
Dove Offering User-Created Ad on Academy Awards
Companies continue to experiment with consumer-generated content, as Dove initiated an online contest that will result in the winner having their ad presented on the Academy Awards telecast, promoting its new Cream Oil Body Wash. The winner will have an... Continue Reading
Fox Train Running on "Idol"
Taking on and demolishing all comers, the Fox (NWS-A) juggernaut "American Idol" just keeps on rolling, taking out another victim "Jericho" from CBS (CBS-A). It wasn't even an effort for Fox in taking the evening as they owned the 8... Continue Reading
The Strategy to Spinoff from "Grey's Anatomy" a Good One
While probably everybody has heard that "Grey's Anatomy" looking to spinoff a new show from their popular character neonatal surgeon Addison Shepherd, I want to take a brief look at the strategy itself.The major thing that seems to be a... Continue Reading
CBS Gets Cable Retransmission Deals
Saying that the deal represented a new "paradigm" for its business, Les Moonves, CEO of CBS (CBS-A) Corp. and the company announced that it has in place the retransmission consent deals with cable operators which they have been looking forward... Continue Reading
Feb22
Getty Images Inc. Acquiring WireImage for $200 Million
Getty Images Inc., announced that it is in the planning stages of buying celebrity photo provide WireImage for a reported $200 million, and is also in negotiations with another competitor, Jupitermedia Corp. Getty is already the No. 1 provider of... Continue Reading
Spielberg's "On the Lot" Kicking off with "American Idol"
Fox (NWS-A) aims to give Steven Spielberg's new reality show "On the Lot" a big push as they have scheduled its debut to start on Wednesday, May 16 along with powerhouse "American Idol.""On the Lot" is a filmmaker competition which... Continue Reading
Mergers Won't Solve Big Media Problems
With the two big potential mergers of media companies announced this week, it reveals an underlying weakness in an industry that has no answers.Why the proposed mergers between  XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI),... Continue Reading
CBS Ends Talks with Google/YouTube
CBS (CBS) has decided to end talks on offering an extension of its deal with Google (GOOG) to allow more video clips of its show on the YouTube site, the Wall Street Journal reported.It's an interesting decision in that the... Continue Reading
Feb21
Two-Hour American Idol Cleans House
Fox (NWS) ran its "American Idol" for two hours on Tuesday and demolished the competition again, reaching a 11.7 rating/30 share for the night in the major 18-49 demographic, said the Nielsen overnights data. The show gained momentum as the... Continue Reading
6-Week Canadian Actor Strike Over
The 6-week long strike by Canadian actors is over, as the union representing them reached a tentative contract agreement.ACTRA, the union representing the actors said on their Web site that "ACTRA's first national strike is finally over." The union represents... Continue Reading
New "Dancing with the Stars" Contestants Revealed
On today's Good Morning America, former "Dancing with the Stars contestant Jerry Springer announced several of the celebrities that will be appearing on the show this year.Some of those mentioned by Springer were Joey Fatone, formerly of 'N Sync, Heather... Continue Reading
A&E Taps Adtech to Serve Display Ads
A&E has decided to drop Falk eSolutions as their ad-serving company and instead have decided to go with Adtech as their online display advertising company, which is based in Frankfurt, Germany, who has been seeking to increase its U.S. client... Continue Reading
Feb20
Will Smith Contacts Michael Bay to Get Another Bad Boys Movie Going
"Bad Boys" director Michael Bay has confirmed reports that actor Will Smith's people contacted Jerry Bruchheimer to talk about plans for another sequel to the movie. Bay added that he'd be open to doing another "Bad Boys," and that it... Continue Reading
Charlotte Church Says She's Going Back to Her Classical Roots
Charlotte Church, who stormed the music world when her debut album "Voice of an Angel" brought critical acclaim and success, says that she is now going to return to her classical roots, dropping her television career.Being quoted on Contactmusic.com, Church... Continue Reading
APA Says Girls, Young Women Harmed by Sexual Imagery
The American Psychological Association, in response to analyzing the effects of sexualized images on girls and young women, found that it had a strong negative impact upon their healthy development.They defined sexualization as "occurring when a person's value comes only... Continue Reading
Will Carrie Underwood Stick to Her Roots?
Some have been wondering what's next for Carrie Underwood after she won Grammy's, including Best New Artist, as a country music artist. She became the first country star to win Best New Artist since Shelby Lynne in 2001.When asked if... Continue Reading
Oscar Ballots Are In
With all the hooplaand red-carpet preliminaries over, the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have made their decisions, and now it simply comes down to counting the votes.The usual accountants have been secretly sequestered away in... Continue Reading
Warner Approaches EMI Again About Bid
The second profit warning by EMI in two months has stoked the Warner Music Group (WMG) into approaching British music company EMI about a potential bid. Warner has long wanted to merge with the company. There have always been regulatory... Continue Reading
Feb19
Charlize Theron Rumored to be top in Line to Play Anna Nicole Smith
Rumors are starting to emerge that Charlize Theron is in the top position to play the late Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith who collapsed and died last week at 39 years of age.Times online reported that, "Ron Rale, Smith’s lawyer,... Continue Reading
All Academy Award Ad Spots Sold Out
ABC (DIS) has announced that all ad spots for the upcoming telecast of the 79th Annual Academy Awards on February 25 have been sold out. Unnamed sources said that the 30-second spots sold for around $1.7 million. On last years... Continue Reading
Richard Branson Lands Uma Thurman, Kate Moss and Pamela Anderson
Richard Branson is gathering a bevy of beauties as he promotes is newest business, Virgin Media, which will offer media services in TV, broadband and mobile. Already making deals with supermodel Kate Moss and Pamela Anderson, Branson has now got Uma Thurman... Continue Reading
Long Beach Ragga Muffins Festival: A Return to the Ordinary
The 26th annual Ragga Muffins Festival in Long Beach marked a much needed return to the festival's roots, both musically and culturally - homogeneous merchandise not withstanding. The show lost a sizable portion of last year's KROQ pseudo-rocker crowd,... Continue Reading
XM, Sirius Plan to Merge
In a proposed  $13 billion deal, XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) and Sirius (SIRI) have announced that they want to merge after months of rumors circulating in the media.With the current rules in place, this wouldn't be allowed to... Continue Reading
The Impact the Growing Affluent Population will have on Media
The number of affluent people in America, which now entail 17 percent of the population, will increase to 22 percent by 2010, according to the U.S. Census estimates.The typical affluent household embraces cable TV as pretty much a commodity. Some... Continue Reading
Feb18
Fox Says New Business Channel Friendlier to Business
In a move pulled from their old playbook, Fox (NWS) has already started to market their new business channel as "more business-friendly" than rival CNBC (GE), similar to their strategy when starting the Fox News Channel about 10 years ago.Roger... Continue Reading
EMI Music may Sell or Demerge Recorded Music Division
Via a report in the Guardian, sources are quoted as saying that EMI Music may either sell or demerge its recorded music division in response to huge profit losses and two profit warnings in the last month. EMI has plans... Continue Reading
Top Ten Box Office for the Weekend
Sony's adaptation of the comic-book character Ghost Rider rode to the top of the weekend box office with an estimated $44.5 million. It stars Nicolas Cage as a motorcycle stunt driver gathering evil souls up for the devil.The second-place finisher for... Continue Reading
Feb17
The Donald and Vince McMahon in Shave-Off
Vince McMahon, through his World Wrestling Entertainment, has announced that he is going to go against Donald Trump in a "hair match" for  Wrestlemania 23,  the pay-per-view event planned April 1 in Detroit. The loser will have to shave their head.... Continue Reading
Here's Some Food for Thought - ah, Stomach
Spike TV with its predominately male audience has entered into the competitive eating business as it has made a deal with  Major League Eating to broadcast four major competitive events this year, beginning with "MLE: St. Patrick's Day Chowdown" on... Continue Reading
NBA All-Star Game Experimenting with 3D Telecast
For the first time in history there will be a live high-definition 3D sports telecast that will be watched by an invitation-only crowd at the upcoming NBA All-Star game on Sunday.The NBA is hosting the special event in unique screening... Continue Reading
Feb16
Local Radio Fighting Satellite Radio Encroaching on Territory
For the fourth time around, the National Association of Broadcasters has enlisted some politicians to sponsor a bill to limit the satellite radio industry.The bill called "Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act of 2007," H.R. 983 was cosponsored by Rep.... Continue Reading
The Strange Case of "Winnie the Pooh"
The ongoing battle between the Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and the estate of Winnie the Pooh license holder Stephen Slesinger took another turn as a federal judge dismissed a suit backed by Disney but filed the granddaughters of Pooh author... Continue Reading
FCC May Regulate TV Violence - Maybe Even Cable
Almost three years ago a bipartisan group of 39 members of the House asked for a report to determine whether the FCC could offer a definition of "exceedingly violent programming that is harmful to children." Alongside of that definition the... Continue Reading
Commercials Not Skipped as Much as Thought
With a lot at stake, Nielsen has been surveying people to find out how many of them skip commercials with their DVRs and how many keep on watching them.What they found out was that an average of two-thirds of those... Continue Reading
BSkyB May Be Turned Down for Premium Channels
The move by BSkyB to offer a terrestrial pay TV service is meeting opposition from the U.K. regulator that make s the decision on whether to approve of the plan or not.Britains, Office of Communications (Ofcom), has concerns that the... Continue Reading
Beth Comstock Picked to Head NBC Universal Integrated Media
In a move meant to send a message to shareholders and NBC Universal (GE) as a whole, the company has chosed Beth Comstock to head up their entire ad sales operations. It signals that the company is seriously commited to... Continue Reading
Feb15
James Cameron Adds Sigourney Weaver to 'Avatar'
James Cameron has enlisted his former "Alien" star Sigourney Weaver to play a supporting role in his long-anticipated film, "Avatar." "Sigourney and I have always looked back fondly on our collaboration in 'Aliens,' and we're excited at the prospect of... Continue Reading
'House' and 'Bones' Renewed by Fox
In a somewhat early, but not surprising move, Fox (NWS-A) renewed its hit series "House" for next year. Also being picked up and given an extra chance is "Bones," which has shown some improvement during the season."House" has been building... Continue Reading
'Sopranos' Lifts A&E Network Into Top Five
The makeover of A&E Network seems to have taken hold as they have moved into the top five in cable networks.With the decision to add "The Sopranos" to their lineup, it culminated a plan that they've been working on for... Continue Reading
TVs' Second-Quarter Advertising Looks Strong
Reports are that the second-quarter advertising market is going along pretty strongly. Some industry exec's are more cautious than others on whether that will mean a strong upfront or not.While it hasn't been confirmed, some large cable networks are said... Continue Reading
Feb14
"24" Leads Fox to Another Win
Fox (NWS-A) scored big again with its two-hour special of '24.' The popular show had a 4.9 rating for the two hours, helping the network to a 5.0 rating and 12 share for the night. Number one again.The new CBS... Continue Reading
Time Warner Cable About To Go Public
After a long wait, the promise of spinning off Time Warner Cable (TWX) is almost fulfilled, as they could possibly be listed under the ticker symbol TWC as early as next month, said parent company Time Warner.This is especially important... Continue Reading
First "Jesse the Body," Now "Al the Mouth"
Minnesota looks like they'll have to endure another celebrity politician wannabee, as Al Franken is telling Democrat insiders that he's going to run for the U.S. Senate in 2008, challenging current Repulican Senator Norm Coleman.I guess Minnesota residents will have... Continue Reading
Dreamgirls turns into Nightmare as SUV Smashes Through Theater Wall
Talk about the ultimate reality show. While people were watching the movie "Dreamgirls" at a theater in Torrington, Connecticut, an SUV smashed through the side of the building and ended up only inches above the moviegoers heads.The incident happened at... Continue Reading
Lea Thompson Starring in "A Life Interrupted"
Lea Thompson has been pegged to start in the upcoming Lifetime movie "A Life Interrupted," where she'll portray Debbie Smith, who survived a rape and fought for the passage of anti-rape legislation that was meant to be used to get... Continue Reading
DirecTV, Nielsen Partnering for Measurments
DirecTV (DTV) and privately held Nielsen Co., which conducts marketing research, have partnered to find out the viewing habits of DirecTV's subscribers, the two companies announced today.In the U.S., Nielsen is the No. 1 television rating company while DirecTV is... Continue Reading
A New Bionic Woman is in the Wings
Move over Lindsay Wagner, there's a new girl in town. British actress Michelle Ryan has been chosen to be the new Bionic Woman, who was chosen after a search far and wide, beating out a lot of other big-name stars.The... Continue Reading
Feb13
Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller Playing "The Hardy Men"
If you've ever been a fan of the old Hardy Boys book series, you may be glad to hear that Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller have been tapped to play the duo in a grown up version called The Hardy... Continue Reading
HBO Launching On-Demand Programming in Britain
Time Warner (TWX) via its HBO network has now launched a subscription-based video on demand service in Britain which will feature programs like "Six Feet Under" and "The Sopranos." The newly created UK firm Virgin Media, BT Vision and Tiscali... Continue Reading
Carson Daly Ready for 12:30 Slot
While NBC (GE) hasn't been willing to name a successor to Conan O'Brien's probable move to 11:30 p.m. in 2009, Carson Daly is hoping that he is the one picked to fill that slot. Last Call With Carson Daly has... Continue Reading
Feb12
Court TV is Back in the House
The battle between Turner Broadcasting and Dish Network has finally come to an end, as Court Tv has now been put back in the homes it was blacked out of since Jan. 1, when the two couldn't agree to terms... Continue Reading
Human Rights Group Wants '24' Torture Scenes to be More Authentic
In a bizarre encounter between a so-called human rights