Daily Marauder

BROADCAST/CABLE

Time Warner CEO-elect Jeff Bewkes, speaking at the Media & Money conference, suggests that business models may change amid new technologies. Now that the company’s People magazine offers online video, “there’s no difference” between People.com and the E! television channel. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-media-money-interview-jeff-bewkes-incoming-ceo-of-time-warner  11/7)

Private-equity expansion in traditional media will be focused on high-growth developing markets outside the United States, say execs speaking at the Media & Money conference. We’re not investing in “newspapers or radio or cable in the U.S.,” says Julie Richardson of Providence Equity. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/business/news/e3ic62850cbeffe3295f387129a1bd7c6af 11/8)

Digital video recorder company TiVo is offering a new service giving advertisers detailed profiles of its users. TiVo already sells advertisers second-by-second ratings of programs and commercials based on viewing habits. The new data will include age, income, marital status and ethnicity. (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0860055220071108 11/8)

Time Warner met expectations for Q307 with revenues of $11.6 billion, up 9 percent, and earnings of $0.30 per share. Profits dropped 53 percent from Q206, which included extraordinary gains and discontinued operations, but adjusted operating income rose 15 percent, to $3.2 billion from $2.8 billion. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-earnings-twx-q3-revenues-up-9-percent-but-profit-drops-53-percent-aol-a  11/7)

Cablevision increased revenue in the third quarter to $1.51 billion from $1.38 billion and experienced solid gains in subscriber counts for its Internet and phone offerings. But the cable company posted a $79.3 million net loss in the quarter, primarily because of investments and paying down debt. (The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires 11/8)

Cablevision says it is offering CNN in high definition. With this addition, Cablevision now has 42 HD channels in its lineup. (MediaPost Communications 11/8)

HD channel launches and DVR costs weighed down DirecTV’s quarterly profit, which decreased 14% to $319 million despite a net gain of 240,000 subscribers. DirecTV reported 16.5 million subs as of Sept. 30, 40% of whom have signed up for advanced services. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/earnings-directv-q3-revs-up-18-percent  11/7)

Comcast has told the FCC that its decision to place the NFL Network in a high-priced tier was made to prevent most of the company’s subscribers from shouldering the burden of a rate hike. “Comcast prefers to provide the new high-priced NFL Network to those customers who want it without imposing the additional costs on everyone else,” Comcast said in a commission filing. (Multichannel News 11/7) 

News Corp. reported operating income of $1.05 billion for the quarter ending Sept. 30, up 23 percent from the same quarter in 2006. (The Sept. 30 quarter is News Corp.’s fiscal first quarter.) Revenues rose 19 percent to $7.1 billion but the profit dropped to $732 million, or $0.23 per share, from $843 million, or $0.27 per share, in the 2006 quarter; that quarter’s results included asset sales. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-earnings-nws-revenue-up-19-percent-profit-dips-but-operating-income-up-  11/7)

Playboy Enterprises reported Q3 revenue of $82.8 million, a shade above last year’s $82.3 million. Net income more than doubled to $2.5 million from $1.1 million, with an improved licensing business and a lower quarterly tax rate helping to boost the bottom line. Operating income was up 11 percent to $4.2 million from $3.7 million. (http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-earnings-Pl*yb*y-profits-up-on-flat-revenue  11/8)

The reverb from the striking WGA has sounded at Fox with a whole new lineup as of January 2008.  Of course, if things with the strike are resolved this again could change, but for right now, the biggest part of this story is the hit serial 24 has been put on hold.  The network doesn’t want to begin airing this series until it is sure it can finish it in a single run.  Some other highlights of the schedule revamp – Terminator: The Sarah Chronicles will premiere on January 13; Prison Break returns January 14; American Idol kicks off on January 15 and The Moment of Truth debuts on January 23.  And a new episode of House will follow the Super Bowl on February 3rd.  Catch the full schedule below.

Over on ABC, that network has confirmed it will go forward with its 8 episodes of Lost, tho the resolution of the 8th episode cliffhanger won’t be resolved until after the writers’ strike. Additionally, the network has ordered up five episodes of Dance Machine from RDF USA.  This show is another dance competition, but without the dance professionals – just the regular folks competing. No start date yet – casting is just beginning; production set to begin first of the year.

Former Disney boss Michael Eisner describes the Hollywood writers strike as “misguided” since studio money from digital distribution “will be nonexistent for the next three years.” Also: News Corp. No. 2 Peter Chernin says that the strike “is probably a positive,” saving the company money. (http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2007/11/07/michael-eisner-calls-writers-strike-insanity 11/7, http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6498734.html 11/7)

News Corp.’s Fox TV is the latest television studio to send out suspension letters to writers, joining CBS Paramount Network TV, ABC Studios and Universal Media Studios. 20th TV is also notifying writers’ assistants that they will be laid off immediately. (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i903d9ca529efbd33a5e62b44abdc1f15 11/8)

According to Rosie O’Donnell’s blog – there will be no show with MSNBC.  Per Rosie, she “let it slip in Miami” about the show, and that caused “panic on the studio end” and before you knew it, the deal evaporated. (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117975544.html?categoryid=1043&cs=1 11/7)