LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted a rare quarterly earnings miss after TV broadcasting and theme park revenue fell, offsetting a boost from smash “Toy Story 3″ and robust advertising sales.

The media conglomerate inadvertently released its results before the closing bell, spooking some investors. Disney’s shares ended Thursday down 3.1 percent, and dipped further in after-hours trade. Executives said they were investigating the matter.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 11 (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co (DIS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz)
posted a lower quarterly profit on Thursday as lower revenue in
its cable division and writedowns offset strong advertising
sales and receipts for films like “Toy Story 3.”

Disney shares slipped 0.4 percent to $35.72 in after-hours
trade.

The media and entertainment conglomerate also faced a tough
comparison with the year-ago quarter, which benefited from an
additional week in the reporting period.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Lions Gate Entertainment
Corp (LGF.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Wednesday it was on track to hit its
fiscal 2011 target of $75 million in earnings before items and
confirmed it was in ongoing talks with billionaire hostile bidder Carl Icahn, and its shares rose 3.7 percent.

Lions Gate reported on Tuesday it swung to a second-quarter
loss, reflecting debt payment charges and higher costs for the
independent studio as it ramps up its film and television slate
while trying to fend off hostile suitor Icahn.

LOS ANGELES, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Lions Gate Entertainment Inc
(LGF.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plans to meet with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the next few
days to present a proposal to combine the two studios once MGM,
emerges from bankruptcy, two sources familiar with the matter
said on Monday.

Separately, Lions Gate, which produces the “Saw” movies and
“Mad Men” series, on Monday set the date of its annual meeting
for December 14 following a long drawn out effort to thwart
hostile suitor Carl Icahn, who has a 33.5 percent stake in the
company. In the past Icahn has threatened a proxy battle.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Seeking to remain strong in an ever crowded kids TV market, Walt Disney Co is launching a new preschool channel and ramping up content offerings with some new shows based on tried-and-true Disney characters and others based on recently bought Marvel assets.

Exploiting big brands across various media platforms has been Disney’s aim in acquisitions like its $4 billion purchase of Marvel, which is now bearing fruit in its TV division.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer creditors voted in favor of a bankruptcy plan that puts founders of Spyglass Entertainment at its helm, dealing a blow to Lions Gate Entertainment’s merger proposal, a source familiar with the situation said.

The green light for a pre-packaged bankruptcy scuppers — for now — an 11th-hour proposal backed by billionaire Carl Icahn to merge Lions Gate with MGM.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Lions Gate Entertainment Corp sued Carl Icahn on Thursday alleging the billionaire interfered with its earlier efforts to merge with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and other studios, even as the two now proceed with a joint effort to effect a merger with MGM.

In a lawsuit filed in New York federal court, Lions Gate accused Icahn, who launched a hostile bid for the studio in March, of misleading its shareholders by charging Lions Gate’s management was “imprudently pursuing merger transactions” and characterized its pursuit of MGM as a “misguided strategy” that would end in oblivion.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 27 (Reuters) – Billionaire Carl Icahn on
Wednesday persisted in his crusade to block a pending deal
between Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc and Spyglass Entertainment
saying he had raised his stake in the studio by purchasing a
“substantial” amount of debt.

Icahn, who backs a rival proposal to merge MGM with Lions
Gate Entertainment Corp (LGF.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Wednesday that he had
bought senior secured loans for 50 cents per one dollar in
principal amount.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 27 (Reuters) – Movie rental company
Blockbuster Inc (BLOAQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) on Wednesday won court approval for
$125 million in financing to keep operating while in
bankruptcy, and to pay claims made by film studios.

The financing authorized by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton
Lifland will allow the nation’s largest video renter to
continue paying employees and stocking its shelves with games
and DVDs while it restructures.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 27 (Reuters) – Major studios, cable and
technology companies on Wednesday announced the launch of an
Entertainment Identifier Registry (EIDR) to track movies, TV
shows and other assets much the way books are coded.

Likening it to the International Standard Book Numbers
(ISBNs) system used to identify books, executives involved in
the initiative said the registry was developed to make it
easier for businesses to search, track and report revenue of an
asset, cutting costs and streamlining operations.