Friday media highlights
Here are some of the day’s top stories in the media industry:
TV Networks Fight Drug-Ad Measure (WSJ) “Advertising costs are deductible to any company as a business expense. The plan being considered by Rep. Rangel’s Ways and Means committee would eliminate the deduction with respect to prescription drug advertising,” writes Martin Vaughan.
Big media seek 21st century business models (Reuters) “Media moguls at this week’s Sun Valley conference have spent as much time discussing how to reconfigure business models disrupted by the Web as they have worrying about the weak economy,” reports Yinka Adegoke.
Zucker Says Marketplace Has Reached Bottom (B&C) Ben Grossman writes: “NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker said Thursday that while the overall marketplace is still challenged, he thinks it may have bottomed out. ‘It’s still quite uncertain and we don’t really see the full recovery we are all hoping for,’ he said. ’It’s still tough out there, but I think we have seen a bottom.’”
The Financial Times and New York Times make further syndication deals (Editors Weblog) “Both the Financial Times and the New York Times have announced their international syndications will include additional countries. The FT has confirmed content sharing arrangements with publications based in Turkey, France, and South Korea,” writes Christie Silk.
NBC Reveals Displeasure as U.S.O.C. Unveils Plan (NYT) Richard Sandomir writes: “The head of NBC Sports said Thursday that he broke off talks in April about combining the Olympic channel that it partly owns with the one being planned by the United States Olympic Committee.”
AP Works Toward Universal Online News Format (Mediapost) Gavin O’Malley writes: “The Associated Press, along with fellow non-profit The Media Standards Trust, on Friday unveiled a digital news “microformat” to effectively encapsulate the content and key meta-data of every news story online.”
Wednesday media highlights
News about the media industry:
Netflix looks to future but still going strong with DVD rentals (USA Today) “Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings doesn’t think his 58 distribution centers are in immediate danger of becoming obsolete, but he knows that day will come. He believes DVD rentals have four to nine years to keep growing, despite inroads in Internet delivery of movies to set-top TV boxes and other video-on-demand options,” writes Jefferson Graham.
Is the bell tolling for Clear Channel? (San Antonio Express-News) David Hendricks writes: “Analysts believe Clear Channel, now with about $22 billion in total debts, will have trouble making scheduled payments later this year. The company, already down to about 800 stations from its peak of about 1,200 stations, either will have to start selling stations itself or go into bankruptcy, where lenders will put stations up for sale.”
Foes No More, Ad Agencies Unite With Internet Firms (NYT) Eric Pfanner writes: “With consumers spending more and more time online, analysts say Internet companies and ad agencies have no choice but to work together to develop ways to make money from digital media.”
In other news:
Sirius: Rumors of our near death? It was the media’s fault
It’s the media! That’s what Sirius would have us believe.
On a post-earnings call on Thursday executives said the company’s precarious financial position during the last few months as it sought to resolve a looming debt debacle was exacerbated by the media’s interest in Sirius. Apparently, stories about companies going bust not only upset investors and creditors, but customers too.
Sirius XM President of Operations Jim Meyer told Wall Street analysts he’s excited to have completed the debt refinancing and merger between Sirius and XM so the company can assure customers it will be around for a while.
There certainly was headwind associated with both the confusion of putting the two companies together and the overall just unbelievable amount of news and press that we have seen really in the fourth quarter and continuing in January and February on the financial condition and refinancing of our balance sheet.
CEO Mel Karmazin agreed:
It’s particularly sensitive for us because people prepay their subscriptions in large part. So the idea of all of the noise in the market certainly when you are asking somebody to prepay and buy a year in advance or something like that, obviously has an impact.
Sirius will be around for a long time. Even with new devices coming out, and car companies installing devices to make listening to music easier, Sirius has the core infrastructure allowing them to produce new ways of “listening” to radio.
This stock is going back to $9. It may not be tomorrow, but once their debts are paid up, profits will be right behind. 20 Million Listeners are not going to just throw in the towel.
BUY BUY BUY
The price of privacy at Sun Valley
Grudging acceptance is one way to describe Allen & Co.’s reception to the gaggle of reporters and photographers who show up at its annual mogul fest year after year like bad pennies.
There are ground rules and they change periodically. They mostly leave us alone and we mostly stay out of attendees’ ways, especially the press-shy contingent.
But this year, Allen & Co banned reporters from setting up in the beloved cafe at the Inn, where most of the morning presentations take place. We’ve relocated to the lobby, where five lucky reporters sit in chairs to file stories and photos. (It is next to a faux fireplace, so we’re not complaining. They also brought coffee for the photographers this morning.)
But thanks to thousands of dollars’ worth of shrubs that they placed between us and the moguls, it’s now harder to spot the table-hopping action. So, for now, no cafeteria report until I figure out a more efficient way to scope out the crowd. (I don’t know the exact total, but judging by the price tags on the shrubs, I’d say they plunked down somewhere between $4,300 and $6,110 )
What has stayed the same? We’re still escorted to the bathroom by private security.
(Photo: Reuters)
