Summit Notebook

from MediaFile:

Tech Summit Q&A, day 3: “Unsexy” tech companies

The third day of the 2011 Reuters Global Technology Summit saw a lot of discussion about the valuation and  potential of "sexy" social networks and lesser known startups.

Saad Khan, Partner at CMEA Capital, talked about investing in LiveOps and Pixazza, two companies the former which he called "unsexy", and how they "stitch together the world's labor force."

One could say that Real Networks Chairman Rob Glaser, who saw his company's Real Player go from being the standard used in streaming media on the Web to a bit-player, is familiar with what is and isn't "sexy". Here he is talking about revamping his company around phenomena:

And Google Ventures Managing Partner Bill Maris questioned the value of social media startups:

"Are our smartest people working on our most difficult problems?"

from MediaFile:

Tech Summit Q&A, day 2: Symantec CEO talks privacy

Online security was a theme on day two of the 2011 Reuters Global Technology Summit.

Enrique Salem, the CEO of software security maker Symantec, suggested ways consumers can protect their privacy:

Tech M&A was also on the table.

Neil Rimer of Index Ventures gave his two cents on Microsoft buying Skype.

Reuters: "Does the Microsoft-Skype deal make sense?"

Rimer: "Yes, I think so. I think it is a phenomenal property that still is relatively underexploited. And a lot of the most promising plans that we had when we were investors in Skype still haven’t been carried out, so I still think there is a ton of opportunities ahead"

from MediaFile:

Tech Summit Q&A, day 1: AOL’s Tim Armstrong, Arianna Huffington

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong and Editor in Chief of The Huffington Post Arianna Huffington joined us Monday for the premiere of the 2011 Reuters Global Technology Summit.

Here's a clip of Tim Armstrong answering why he thinks the expansion of AOL's local news service Patch is a sound investment.

And another clip of Tim Armstrong, this time talking about one of two Tech CEOs he admires:

Who's the other one? Jeff Boyd from Priceline.com.

"He doesn't get brought up much but he's one of the best leaders in the Internet space. Very quiet but outstanding results," Armstrong said of Boyd.

from MediaFile:

GlobalMedia-Baseball exec frustrated, but shies off lecturing Jobs

One of Major League Baseball's top executives may not think Apple's iTunes app store is particularly user friendly, but he's not about to offer advice to the hottest technology executive on the planet.      Robert Bowman, the head of MLB Advanced Media, the league's Internet and digital business, loves apps. He wants his sport's games and other content to be on every wireless device out there and think apps will begin to shape how websites are designed.       "We actually think it's going to invade the website. We think people like apps," he said at the Reuters Global Media Summit. "They're easy to understand. They're compartmentalized. It's a quick way to get information."      That said, the Apple and Google app stores leave a lot to be desired, Bowman said.      "The app stores are not well laid out. The app stores are very hard to figure out. Even Apple ... they do a great job, but they're hard to understand. The Android app store is very hard to understand, so it's hard for people to find the content."   But, when asked what he would do to improve Apple's app store, Bowman demurred.      "I don't think I'm going to get very far giving Steve Jobs advice," he said of Apple's renowned CEO. "He's done pretty damn well not listening to me for the first 57 years of his life and so I'm just going to continue to let him not listen to me."      Bowman acknowledged that the Android app store leaves him "a little bit more frustrated."      However, the baseball executive is not alone is finding the app stores frustrating.      Despite charging $14.99 a pop, baseball has sold nearly 600,000 apps this year between the Apple and Android platforms, he said.      Bowman also dismissed questions about the future of set-top boxes or big TVs, saying both are not going anywhere.      "I don't think there's any history of media dying," he said. "I still listen to radio in my car.   "The big TVs aren't going to go anywhere. It's like the automobile," Bowman added. "We're a country that likes big TVs. 

(Reuters photo)

from MediaFile:

GlobalMedia-Ghosts of Atari haunt gaming sector dealmakers

The video game sector is often seen as being particularly ripe for consolidation, with some expecting old line media giants such as Time Warner to swoop in and scoop up a publisher to diversify their entertainment rosters.

But Strauss Zelnick, chairman of "Grand Theft Auto" publisher Take-Two Interactive, remains surprised by the lack of action on the consolidation front. “I think the legacy media companies have not been especially aggressive about interactive entertainment,” he said at the Reuters Global Media Summit in New York on Wednesday. His company, of course, fought off Electronic Arts' hostile takeover bid in 2008.

“I have to admit there are times when I’m surprised they’re not more exposed."

He said media world executives have long memories, which may explain in part their reluctance to buy a video game outfit. He said one name in particular, Atari, remains a cautionary tale. Warner Communications bought the iconic video game name in 1976 in what turned out to be a disastrous deal.

“The people who have run companies have all been around long enough to remember the Atari debacle that almost destroyed Warner Communications, and they just can't get it out of their minds. Never mind that we’re not in the cartridge business anymore, never mind that was a licensed product, never mind that that it was badly managed situation. They just can’t forget that it almost tanked Warner Communications and actually changed the balance sheet of the company.”

That kind of skittishness isn't warranted, he argued, maintaining the video game industry is "less volatile and less risky than their motion picture businesses.”

“If I were managing  one of the old media business, heaven forbid, I would be integrating heavily into interactive entertainment because it’s a growth business."

from MediaFile:

Tech CEO turns to trusted adviser on key decision; 10-year old daughter

Anyone who thinks the word “executive” in CEO stands for a person who actually executes decisions and strategy should think again, at least according to Technicolor CEO Frederic Rose.

REUTERS/Charles Platiau

“It’s very funny, you get a job as a CEO and everyone says you’ve got this absolute power,” Rose told the Reuters Global Media Summit in Paris.

“The reality is, the power you have, the authority you have is to basically guide and to give direction…and if people don’t want to follow, they’ll just forget to do it,”

Rose said that since he took the helm of the video technology specialist in September 2008 he really only took one decision on his own -- but if you want to get technical someone else helped him along.

“The only true executive decision that I have taken all by myself was the choice of the logo,” Rose said, showing Technicolor’s logo.

from MediaFile:

GlobalMedia-China’s shouts of “You suck!” music to executives’ ears

Big splashy action movies from the U.S. usually play well abroad. It should come then as no surprise that World Wrestling Entertainment, known for hulky dudes and toned ladies who act out soap opera scenarios both in and out of the ring,  manages to find fans well beyond these borders.

So, naturally, international expansion is something on the mind of Donna Goldsmith, the chief operating officer of WWE, who ticked off countries including Russia, India and Brazil where it’s seeking to introduce characters like Sheamus, Triple H and John Cena.

As a way to illustrate the global appeal of wrestling, Goldsmith relayed how talent is perceived in China, a country where WWE is available in 90 million households.

The worst thing that could happen in wrestling-vile, according to Goldsmith during Reuters Global Media Summit, is stone cold silence. Thus she knew things were going well for WWE when wrestlers showed up in Shanghai and the audience yelled “You suck!”

“It was great!” Goldsmith said. “They knew the bad guys from the good guys.”

Talent is what the WWE is all about, according to Goldsmith, who also worked for the National Basketball Association.

"Our talent is so wonderful and so articulate, to bring them to a Wal-Mart managers meeting is something we do often. They understand the business side of things, which is so different to any NBA player, I wouldn't bring the twelfth guy on the bench with me to Wal-Mart because I wouldn't know what would come out of that."

from MediaFile:

GlobalMedia-iPad cautionary tale: What not to watch, up close

Media executives love to go on about their love of the Apple's iPad. But the tablet isn't suited for everything. Walt Disney's Anne Sweeney relayed her recent experience catching up on an ABC  TV show using the  popular tablet.

Sweeney missed the season finale Grey's Anatomy and, while traveling, decided to watch the show in her hotel room. The episode was particularly gory -- several characters were picked off by a aggrieved man who held the hospital at gunpoint.

"It was a massacre," Sweeney said at the Reuters Global Media Summit. "There's nothing like seeing that on your pillow. There are some things you might not want to watch that close on your iPad."

(Photo: Reuters)

from MediaFile:

GlobalMedia: EA nabs triple word Scrabble score from Oprah

Forget sports tournaments or new movie releases as boosters for game demand. Electronic Arts' latest hero is America's most famous chat show host.

Chief Executive John Riccitiello,  at the Reuters Media summit, went out of his way to praise Oprah Winfrey, whose recent shout-out of Scrabble  gave a new lease of life to the not-so-new word game.

"We're very thankful to Oprah for mentioning Scrabble on iPad as one of her ultimate favorite gifts. There was a 400 percent pop ... on her word." He said. "I think there's different grades of favorite so we were happy to be among her ultimate favorites."

So did Riccitiello contact Oprah directly to say thanks? "My sense is that the number of people sending her flowers is too many for her to notice my petunias," he said.

(Photo: Reuters)

from MediaFile:

GlobalMedia-ABC News in talks with Bloomberg

The news divisions at the big networks have been in a world of hurt lately as advertisers seek out younger consumers and viewers. This has lead to big cutbacks in staffing and resources over the years as the networks strive to keep profit margins from deteroirating even further.

ABC is certainly no expectation and has experienced managment upheaval when ABC News president David Westin announced in September his departure partly due to the financial situation and the pressure to increase profit margins.  

Speculation has persisted that ABC News parent company, Walt Disney, has been seeking to untie itself from the division-- rumors that similary dog CBS.

Anne Sweeney, president of Disney/ABC Television Group, flatly denied that the company was looking to offload the news or TV divisions but also confirmed that ABC News has been in talks with Bloomberg in forming a partnership. "We've had a lot of conversatoins with Bloomberg over the past couple of years," she said during Reuters Media Global Summit.

Sweeney also said they are currently searching for Westin’s replacement though she was coy on when and who that might be. “We certainly have a lot of talent in ABC,” she said.