Media Wire Daily

Les Moonves is trying too hard

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:48:00 +0000

-SDH

There are many questions hanging over Viacom and CBS, both were separated in an effort to create shareholder value and in our opinion to end the battle of the successors between Les Moonves and Tom Freston who at the time were Co- CEOs of the combined company known as Viacom. Since the companies went their separate ways, the only thing that was created was more headaches for all parties involved. Both companies have been struggling to gain footing along with its competitors. CBS CEO Les Moonves spent big trying to land CBS on the good foot but none of his well publicized acquisitions has added any value to CBS that is worth mentioning. Some of his most recent splurges include the purchase of Wall Street blog, Wallstrip.com which to this day we still don’t get. He scooped up Lastfm.com only to re-launch it with much fanfare promoting its new free internet radio format, something already available all over the web. There is the whole Katie Couric hiring which failed big time and is costing the company a lot of money due to her salary and ad dollars. His most recent splurge was on Cnet Networks, a digital media company which produces websites like, Cnet.com, Chow.com and ZDnet.com. As far as CBS’s whole digital push, its Les Moonves swinging at marble sized balls with a broom stick hoping for a direct hit. These expensive splurges and CBS’s lack of love on Wall Street at the moment will ultimately lead to Moonves’ ouster. Hell. we think Sumner Redstone’s finger is already on the trigger. We campaigned (if you will) for Les Moonves when he was the shining star in Sumner Redstone’s eye.

We called for him to be installed in dual rolls as CEO of both CBS and Viacom. But that was just us being naïve and jumping on the bandwagon (yeah we have the balls to admit it). But what seems to have happened here is that Les Moonves got a little too sure of himself and got a big head to go along with an even bigger ego. This is the man who spent big to get into the record business by re-launching CBS Records when the record business was trying to get out of the record business. This is the man who spent big to get into film with high salary hires. Les Moonves was trying too hard to please and in doing so, spent money where he didn’t need to, or perhaps shouldn’t have at all. Les Moonves is just an analog executive trying to survive in digital world and in doing so gambled big, not only with company money but perhaps with his job as well. Some of the things Moonves should consider moving forward if he is still around is to spin off the radio business and sell book publisher Simon & Schuster. Doing this would probably tighten the focus at CBS a bit. Moonves needs to also hold off on anymore Internet acquisitions. Sumner Redstone can’t be too happy with Moonves at the moment.

Sumner Redstone is about to violate your privacy

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 16:00:00 +0000

-SDH

We almost forgot that Viacom still had an open lawsuit against Google's Youtube.com for copyright infringement. Well the legal action just got bumped up a notch by a court ruling this week ordering Youtube to hand over sensitive user information to Viacom and its legal eagles. Viacom will get their hands on your Youtube.com user IDs, information about which clips you watched and your IP address. The question still remains, what does Viacom really want? If the company is taking this action against Youtube, what about those other sites that are also streaming Viacom owned content without the company’s permission? Guess you have to go after the big guy in the yard to prove a point.

While Viacom is looking to prove widespread unauthorized viewing of its shows like "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" on Youtube, privacy watchdogs are howling that the move is a massive invasion of privacy.

YOUTUBE HANDS PROFILES TO VIACOM [NYP]

Susan Lyne in waiting to take over at Time Inc!?

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:08:00 +0000

-JOANNE

She may have denied it time and time again but former Martha Stewart Living CEO Susan Lyne wasn't fooling anyone but herself. For over a year she has been rumored to be a favorite to take over as Time Inc CEO when current boss-lady Ann Moore exits the Time & Life building for good. During the start of said rumors, Lyne denied she was leaving MSO anytime soon. But as you all can now recall she left MSO a few weeks ago and is said to have had lunch with, or plans to have lunch with Ann Moore. Could Moore be briefing the new boss-elect on the current climate at the company? Could the meeting have been set up by Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes so both ladies can become acquainted? Could Lyne move in as CEO before Moore departs? We think so! Ann Moore could turn over her CEO duties and title to Lyne in the coming months while holding on to the Chairmanship during the changing of the guards. Taking on the gigantic Time Inc and reporting to a results driven boss like Bewkes will be a whole new challenge for Lyne, but we think she can do the job. Wait a minute. There are also these rumors about Lyne running Oprah's new OWN Network. But wasn't MTV CEO Judy McGrath's name floated for that job too?

Jeff Bewkes’s first 100 days, was filled with nothing promising until yesterday evening…kinda

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:30:00 +0000

By SDH
Luckily for Jeff Bewkes, some progressive news broke on the eve of his first 100 days in office. Today, Thursday April 10th marks the 100th day Jeff Bewkes has been at the helm of Time Warner. On this 100th day, we wanted to take a look at what if at all Jeff Bewkes has accomplished or put in motion at the media giant. Bewkes slid into power with almost no fanfare on January 1st. With him taking the controls at the luggy media giant, many expected the stock price to do a jig but it didn’t. However this wasn’t a lack of confidence in Bewkes from Wall Streeters, the markets were just sucky that day. So what has Bewkes done so far to put the media giant on the road to recovery? From what we see, most of the deals announced under the Bewkes regime are web related signaling a focus on digital like all the other media companies out there. Especially now with the rumored talks between Time Warner’s AOL and Yahoo. But moving forward, we’re expecting some much needed announcements around the traditional business units. We cherry picked a few items from the Time Warner news vault to track some of the haps under Bewkes:

On his first earnings conference call, high expectations were set by media analysts and Wall Street, only to be disappointed when Bewkes spat more of the same, only saying that the company will look to sell off AOL’s dial up business, left the possibility of a cable spin off open and said he would revisit Time Inc at a later date so he can watch and see how the publishing unit’s digital efforts perform.
Looking to cut costs and streamline Time Warner’s movie business, Bewkes orders the folding of New Line Cinema into the bigger Warner Brothers which lead to the departure of long time New Line leaders Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne opted to leave or were canned depending on who you ask. Names Toby Emmerich President & COO of Newline which is now an operating unit of Warner Bros.
AOL acquires Global Social Media Network Bebo for $850 million in cash. We really hope this deal comes out on top I or it could be a serious black eye not only for AOL CEO Randy Falco, but for Bewkes as well.
AOL Launches AOL MyMobile All-In-One Application for Wireless Devices
TMZ Goes Wireless Via an Ad-Supported, Cross-Carrier Mobile Web Site, with AT&T as the Inaugural On-Deck Mobile Partner
New Shortcuts Service Launches to Make Online Coupons

For his first 100 days we give Jeff Bewkes a B+. Why a B+ because with the exception of the recent AOL Yahoo talks, (and they are just that, talks), many of the deals mentioned above are your typical content spreading deals, which are good, but Bewkes’s lack of scrutiny on Time Inc may come back to haunt him. Time Inc like AOL should have been one of his main focuses. Time Inc’s digital strategy won’t shine bright until the load is lightened. AOLs $850 million gamble on Bebo won’t show any signs that it’s working well within AOL for a few years especially if a merger with Yahoo does happen. But in business people must gamble or risk being left behind. None of these deals, with the exception of the recent AOL, Yahoo talks, moved the company’s stock because Wall Street is more concerned about the overall structure of the company. They want to know what’s going to happen with cable and the publishing unit among others. When Bewkes announces his plans for these units, the stock will do a jig and a couple summersaults. Whether it moves up or down, all depends on what Bewkes’s plans are and if Wall Street swallows it.

* This was written prior to the breaking AOL Yahoo merger news. This announcement will probably have positive affect on Time Warner’s stock. Then again nothing seems to move that stubborn stock price.

Nielsen swatting employees like flies in its business media division

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:47:00 +0000

This comes days after the company announced it will pay $225 to acquire IAG Research, Inc

By SDH
Nielsen is rolling heads at its media business unit with a concentration in the company’s digital and conference and expo groups. The company just days ago announced that it was buying IAG Research, a privately held company based in New York that measures consumer engagement with television programs, national commercials and product placements for $225 million. Can you imagine what the heads being rolled are saying? This is probably Nielsen’s way of trying to offset that cost? At the end of the day, Nielsen is clearly more interested in tracking how much we watch TV and surf the web than the publications in their Business Media Unit. Their growth avenue is consumer behavior, so why not sell the Business Media Unit, pay down some debt and call it a day.

Media Gumbo: Jim Cramer staying on the Street.com and only on the Street.com, Harvey Weinstein feels stiffed by Jeff Zucker, hates his guts and more…

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 15:38:00 +0000

If the war between NBC Universal and the Weinstein Company doesn’t give a major boost to the new season of “Project Runway” we don’t know what will. In an article in Today’s New York Post, Harvey Weinstein is painted as money hungry back stabber, who is taking the show from NBC Universal’s Bravo cable network and handing it to the Lifetime simply because Lifetime is offering more money. Jeff Zucker is painted as a low baller who wants to keep the show for the current rate even though the show is making NBC Universal boat loads of money. This seems to be getting uglier and uglier and there is only one person who may come out on top smiling and that’s Lifetime Entertainment Prexy Andrea Wong. If she does end up with the show, by the time the show airs, everyone will know Lifetime is the new home of “Project Runway”. She will probably only need to use half of her marketing budget. Come on, you can’t buy this publicity!

Big mouth Jim Cramer, the cofounder of popular financial website Thestreet.com and host of CNBC’s “Mad Money” has renewed his contract with Thestreet.com and will get $1.3 million in his first year. However Cramer won’t be able to write for any competing websites which we don’t know why he would even want to in the first place.

Disney is going heavy on animation and already has some top level celebs on board to voice some characters. The company pulled the curtains up on its animation slate via a splashy 3 hour presentation and it looks like Bob Iger is planning to milk this thing. The slate, while not entirely a surprise to Disney followers, is certainly ambitious. Over the next five years, Disney's offerings will include a quartet of straight-to-DVD animated features starring Tinker Bell and her friends; the company's first hand-drawn musical in nearly two decades, "The Princess and the Frog"; a 3-D retelling of "Rapunzel"; and much-anticipated additional installments to the "Cars" and "Toy Story" franchises.

As it turns out, everyone at Reader’s Digest Association is alive and well and busy

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:44:00 +0000

By SDH

So after our post about the odd silence from Reader’s Digest Association we got an email from RDA’s Director of Public Relations Ellen Morgenstern basically telling us that all is well at RDA and the company has been hard at work on some projects. The company is currently upgrading their corporate websites which explains the lack of news updates. They are working on new launches and other business expansions. Just like we thought, they are just busy being busy. Can’t wait to see the finished products.

Its either silent time at Reader’s Digest Association or they all died of carbon monoxide poisoning

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:04:00 +0000

By SDH

We're almost two weeks into the second quarter of 2008 and we haven't heard a peep from Reader's Digest Association which could mean many things. RDA CEO Mary Berner either has the troops sticking to a new policy the says all under her rule must remain quiet for the first quarter of every New Year, there may be nothing exciting going on at RDA to share with the rest of the media world, or Berner has her team in place and they are hard at work. We can go on but we would just be wasting our time because it's probably one of the reasons we mentioned above! We were just looking around for the hot topics of the morning and Mary Berner just happened to pop into our heads, so we checked the RDA corporate website for any news release we may have missed but the 2008 section of the site's press release page is empty, the link isn't even live. Anyway, we're waiting Mary, please share some news fast.

If Tribune was still a public company, Sam “Crazy Sam” Zell’s little antics probably wouldn’t fly on Wall Street at all

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 21:24:00 +0000

By SDH

Is new Tribune CEO Sam Zell trying too hard to be different? Is he trying too hard not to be the typical media suit? Since taking over Tribune Zell has told employees that the company’s internet policy is out the door and they are free to surf the web and look at anything they want, he also fooled fools when he ordered up an April fools joke sending out a fake press release stating that the company changed its name to Zelcomediaenterprises. Zell even had the company’s website changed to reflect the fake name as well. Now Sam Zell’s Tribune is back in the news again with the craziest press release ever. It’s as if they got a gossip blogger to pen the release. It was about the appointment of Marc Chase as President of Tribune Interactive. Never mind that Chase is a former radio exec. However, this may be exactly why the release was written in this manner to take away from the fact that Zell’s new Interactive Prexy probably doesn’t know what the hell his new roll means. With antics like these, is Sam Zell painting a funny face and putting a red nose on Tribune? Or will he inspire other media CEO to loosen their ties and take the stick out of their asses?

Random Quotes: Jeff Bewkes really likes his job, no he really really does, yeah he does!

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:20:00 +0000

"You probably think it's good to be the CEO of Time Warner Cable. I know there is press here tonight, so I will say it 'is' good. Ironically, when I think about how much better it is than the days at HBO doing Sex and the City and The Sopranos, I 'don't' want to cry."
-JEFF BEWKES, CEO TIME WARNER

Even Disney’s Bob Iger believed CBS was really getting into bed with CNN probably still does, pressures ABCnews.comers to be all they can be

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:50:00 +0000

By SDH

With the web still abuzz about a possible CBS News, CNN join up, Disney CEO and Wall Street darling Bob Iger talks about why he had to pass on an ABC News, CNN join up. He says that CNN wanted an actual joint venture when all he was looking for was a news gathering agreement. The way it sounds is as if CNN wouldn’t budge on their stance at all. Iger does admit that the lack of a cable news partner puts ABC News at a disadvantage but, he isn’t looking to change that by acquiring one. Could these reasons be the same reasons why CBS News is now saying they weren’t in talks with CNN? Was CNN trying to muscle them into a joint venture as well?

Entrepreneur magazine on the block for a sweet $200 million, Mansueto Ventures not interested

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:54:00 +0000

By SDH

Entrepreneur Media the parent company of Entrepreneur Magazine says that the title is on sale for $200 million, even though last week Entrepreneur Media Prexy Lou Pearlman denied the magazine was on sale, saying instead that he was looking for some cash to grow the business. Yeah! Bids are already reportedly pouring in but no word on who the bidders are. What some say would be the ideal new owner for Entrepreneur, Mansueto Ventures, say they are not interested in buying the magazine because they are already working on their own magazine geared towards Entrepreneurs. Well we think it would be a little easier to just buy Entrepreneur at a lower price of course and just slap a new name on it, no?

Advertising revenue for Entrepreneur was $94.5 million in 2007—flat (down 0.1 percent) over the previous year, according to the most recent Publishers Information Bureau figures. Ad pages dropped 6.6 percent (to 1,238.74) last year. Entrepreneur’s total paid circulation average—609,765—was flat for the second half of 2007, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations FAS-FAX. Its single copy sales average, which make up a fraction of the magazine’s circ, increased 13.1 percent to 48,238. Perlman, however, said the company is “bucking the trend in a down market,” citing growing online revenues.

Entrepreneur Goes on the Block [Folio]

Big Media Aggregated: Disney and News Corp goes shopping

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:54:00 +0000

By SDH

Disney Interactive Studios (DIS) the game arm of the media and entertainment giant has reportedly agreed to purchase Chinese company Gamestar. DIS general manager Graham Hopper feels good about the deal saying Gamestar will play a significant roll in DIS’s global growth plan. Wonder if Gamestar’s 90 staff members fit into that growth plan?

In other shopping news, News Corp’s Fox Networks, the company’s year-old online advertising network will announce today that it has bought control of European video ad network Utarget as part of a move to expand in Europe and Asia. Wendi Deng Murdoch, wife of Rupert is probably the mind behind this strategic swallowing. The Utarget deal comes after U.S.-based Fox Interactive Media (FIM) reorganized staff last week in anticipation of a possible revenue target shortfall. The reshuffling, long in the works, will also see the launch of FIM's long-anticipated U.S. online advertising network, called the FIM Audience Network.

CBS News: CNN, what CNN?

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:05:00 +0000

By SDH

Someone either leaked info on the deal or CBS News really isn't thinking about using CNN for news content, because they are denying any back door talks with CNN. Reports popped up all over the internet yesterday following a New York Times article saying CBS was about to enter a partnership with CNN to use the cable news giant's news gathering services. The deal was supposedly being negotiated by CBS News Prexy Sean McManus and CNN International president Jim Walton. We think a deal was in the works but word got out too soon so McManus is playing it down now.

"We are extremely satisfied with and proud of our newsgathering operation," a CBS News spokeswoman said Monday. "No outside arrangement is being negotiated."

Who will make it work? Bravo’s un-hot but wealthy lady chief, takes on Lifetime’s very hot and probably wealthy lady chief

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:41:00 +0000

By SDH

One of them is clearly hotter than the other, but none of them are hotter than the mega cable hit “Project Runway”. But NBC Universal’s Bravo which has been airing the show, will lose it to rival cable net Lifetime. Now Bravo is suing Lifetime to block the show form moving to that network. But how did all this come about? Well Harvey Weinstein the CEO of The Weinstein Company which produces the show stuck it to Bravo Chief Lauren Zalaznick, who was recently lauded in a New York Times article, by doing a deal with Lifetime’s top skirt Andrea Wong even though Weinstein promised Bravo that it would have an opportunity to match any offer to purchase the rights to “Project Runway” So where will “Project Runway” end up? For now, the hot Andrea Wong is excited to add the show to her line up of network TV of the week movie re-runs. But Bravo and/or its parent company NBC Universal wont let it go without a fight. Both sides have put their legal eagles in action. Hey Lauren, if it’s worth going to court over, you should have gotten the clearance to pay what the Weinstein’s were asking for.

For Yahoo! News, The rescue of 401 children from a ranch in Texas with ties to jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, is just entertainment

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:00:00 +0000

By ZOE

No we're not going off our usual beat here but we were kinda puzzled when we came across this headline(right) at the top of Yahoo! News' Entertainment news page. We're not sure how this falls into this category but either someone was asleep at the controls at Yahoo! or Yahoo! is making it known how they feel about the whole polygamy thing.

Randy Falco’s job and the future of AOL hang in the balance as Wall Street and Investors play Jeff Bewkes’s favorite game of wait and see

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:34:00 +0000

By SDH

AOL has gone through many changes since its name was ripped from the corporate logo and Steve Case called it quits. Jon Miller stuck around as CEO until he was booted for the TV exec Randy Falco and his crazy eyed number two Ron Grant. Now the company leaving Virginia behind for the concrete jungle that is New York City in an effort to stand strong in the ad game, Investors, Wall Street and we’re sure Time Warner’s board is waiting to see what the outcome will be. Under the watchful of the Time Warner COO Jeff Bewkes, the sleepy web giant transformed itself from an outdated dial up business to an open and free ad supported web portal. Both AOL CEO Randy Falco and President Ron Grant have their hands full for 2008. The two must carefully integrate the recently purchased Bebo.com and show investors that their plan is working. If it all this goes you can bet, Wall Street and Investors will be calling for heads to roll and/or a sale.

Folio Magazine releases their annual stroke job list of magazine industry influencers and innovators

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:01:00 +0000

By SDH

Folio Magazine the magazine about magazines and the people who markets them does it again with their popular Folio 40 list where magazine industry execs get to see their names in print and read all the nice things Folio, whose subscribers are said execs, has to say about them. Each magazine industry professional listed on the Folio 40 will no doubt continue the stroke job via an internal press release to their employees shoving the accomplishments in their faces as if it benefits anyone but themselves. We bet they will also update their resumes mentioning this listing as well. The list hi-lites those making bold and smart moves in the industry via the following categories: the Visionaries, the doers, the influencers, those under the radar and of course the ones to watch. Our good old buddy (in our heads of course) Jeff Bewkes made the list under the “Ones to watch” category because according to Folio: All eyes have been on Jeff Bewkes since he took the helm of the mega media company January 1. Even before Bewkes' appointment was announced, speculation about Time Inc.'s future ran rampant. Bewkes has since downplayed the possible sale of the publishing division, but the industry will have to wait and see. Wow!! He made the list for this? We think David Pecker would have been better in Bewkes’s place with a merger still possible for AMI and all the other shit that Pecker has all over his hands. At this point to include Bewkes on the list seems like a quick space filler. If not Bewkes or Pecker, then Time Inc CEO Ann Moore, because whatever decision Bewkes makes regarding the future of Time Inc, wouldn’t it be based on what Moore can squeeze out before her contract runs out of steam?

Lachlan Murdoch's quest to buy Consolidated Media Holdings, dead in the womb

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:13:00 +0000

By SDH

Lachlan Murdoch's comeback has just hit a second road block. When the deal was announced, it included Murdoch, and fellow media man James Packer who agreed along with Murdoch to go 50-50 on the deal. But then the deal’s private equity backer SPO Partners got cold feet and backed out of the deal leaving Lachlan and his buddy James scrambling for another deep pocketed private equity group which they did find in Providence Equity Partners. Well now the deal has reportedly fell apart again over price and because now James Packer only wants a 25% stake in the deal, leaving poor Lachlan with the task of trying to convince his backers to take a bigger chunk. So it looks like all has failed and Lachlan Murdoch is moving on announcing in a letter released by the Australian Securities Exchange today, that the consortium was abandoning the planned acquisition of a 75% stake in Consolidated Media Holdings. Why didn't Lachlan just give his daddy Rupert a call and said “dad, I really need this deal to happen” We think Rupe would have come to his sons rescue right away.

Heavy.com creates new position and hires former Glam Media exec Richard Rocca to sit in it

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:33:00 +0000

By SDH

It’s safe to assume that Heavy.com has money to burn. Late last year the independent video site hired away former Maxim editor Jimmy Jellinek who bragged about how sweet his new salary was. But before that Heavy hired away former Stuff publisher John Lumpkin who also bragged about his new salary. Now Glam with their track record of paying sweet salaries will add another head to their payroll with the hiring of former Glam Media senior director Richard Rocca who will sit nicely in the newly created but necessary position of Executive Vice President, Business Development. It won’t be long now till Rocca brags about how his new salary is way better than when he was at Glam.

Full Press release after the click.....

HEAVY HIRES RICHARD ROCCA AS VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Former Glam Media Executive Moves To Web’s Leading Independent Video Site

New York, NY – April 7, 2007: Heavy.com (http://www,heavy.com/), the web’s leading independent video site, today announced the hiring of Richard Rocca for the newly created position of Vice President, Business Development. Formerly Senior Director for Glam Media, Rocca will establish premium brand partnerships and identify new revenue opportunities via strategic sales. Rocca will be based out of Heavy’s west coast office. CMO Eric Hadley made the announcement.

“Heavy offers the optimal solution to engage both advertisers and consumers in an online video environment,” said Richard Rocca. “Joining the Heavy team was a clear choice for me as they’re continuously one step ahead of the rest of the digital landscape and have great offerings for publishers and advertisers of all sizes.”

“Following such an admirable track record at Glam Media and Gorilla Nation, we look forward to big things from Richard here at Heavy,” said Eric Hadley. “I’m very excited about Heavy’s recent growth, and with the addition of Richard Rocca, we’re further solidifying our position as the foremost online men’s destination.”

While with Glam Media, Richard Rocca established its internal sales team, executed new publisher network partnership agreements and developed the strategy for the launch of Glam’s lifestyle channel, Glam Living. Prior, Rocca held the positions of Vice President of Business Development for Gorilla Nation and Director of Sales Operations for I/PRO.

About Heavy
The Heavy Corporation (http://about.heavy.com/) includes Heavy.com, the Web’s leading independent video site and the leader for 18-34 year old guys, and Husky Network, a premium video monetization platform for publishers of all sizes.Heavy.com is one of the web’s leading consumer video companies and the leader for 18-34 year old males, a key demographic for marketers and advertisers. Heavy’s original programming staples include: “Over The Hills;” “Superficial Friends;” “Kung Fu Jimmy Chow,” “The Burly Sports Show” and “Behind the Music that Sucks.” Heavy’s original programming is available on Verizon V-Cast, Verizon FiOS, Comcast VOD, TiVo, Sony PSP, Apple iPod and Joost. Advertisers on the broadband network include Coors, Nissan, Panasonic, Diesel, Axe, Sony and Nike. Husky Network, a premium video advertising network, provides brand advertisers with hand-selected premium publishers and bloggers who use Husky’s highly engaging and effective video ad units. For more information please see http://www.huskynetwork.com/

# # #

Will Tom Freston ever break his silence?

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:11:00 +0000

By SDH

When Sumner Redstone fired Tom Freston to cover his own short comings on the whole Myspace deal, he sent Tommy off with a sweet $85 million thank you pay out after Tom signed a gag order baring him from talking shit about Redstone and Viacom. But gag orders don’t last for long and it has probably expired already. We know Tom Freston has lots to say about his short stint as CEO of Viacom working directly under Redstone. We would love to hear what really happened with the Myspace.com deal because the talk is that, it was Redstone himself who prevented Tom from moving on the social networking site which would have fit nicely with MTV and its online properties. We think a tell all book is in order. Sumner paid big to keep Tom quiet but people always talk.

Sam Zell couldn't have bought into the newspaper business at a more shitty time

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:06:00 +0000

By SDH

Poor Sam Zell. The real-estate mogul probably woke up one day and said "you know what I want to be in the media business". So Sam coughed up about $315 million of his own money and tapped some investment bankers for the rest. When Sam got his money right, then he made his move on Tribune, the company that publishes loads of Newspapers and owns loads of television stations. Now with billions of dollars in debt, Sam is looking at the possibility of selling off profitable newspapers like New York Newsday, and cutting bodies from his newsrooms. As it turns out, Sam Zell may have gotten into the newspaper business at a really shitty time. Ads are down, paper and ink costs are up, most of us reading them online and people are worried about losing their jobs at any moment due to the shitty economy. Tribune’s net income also hit the shit slopes with only $87 million in 2007 compared to $594 million back in 2006. So how is Sam planning to stay above the tide? Well cutting more jobs, selling off assets and keeping the troops pumped all at the same time. Sam is on the mission to squeeze out cash wherever he can so he can make a $650 million balloon payment from the takeover financing that is due in December, and one for $750 million due in mid-2009. And you’re worried about a $100 cable bill?

Sumner Redstone will be remembered as cantankerous old man, Les Moonves will be done soon, Tom Freston was fired by Sumner because of Sumner

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:00:00 +0000

“I guess I’d like to be known as a loving and supportive father and grandfather,”
-SUMMNER REDSTONE ON HOW HE WOULD LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED

By SDH
The New York Time’s Tim Arango (Wazzup Tim?) puts fingers to keyboard on the subject of Sumner Redstone’s legacy and the drama that hangs over it. Sumner is like that old man who lives in that house on your block with the uncut lawn and old truck in the driveway that everyone is afraid to say hello to because he is mean and gives the neighborhood kids and their mommies the creeps. For years many have wondered who will succeed him as lord of CBS and Viacom, and even to this day the soon to be 85 year old Redstone, can’t give a straight answer. It’s as if he doesn’t even want to entertain the thought of not being in control one day believing he will live forever. In the article, analysts question the break up of CBS and Viacom, An insider claims Tom Freston was fired because Redstone hampered his ability to move on Myspace (Duh!) and CBS CEO Les Moonves is on the slow road out. Ok so we added that one. Sumner Redstone seems to have rubbed many people the wrong way, on both the business and family side. So we can’t help but wonder, if when he dies, some in Hollywood and even his family will silently be celebrating.

Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer taking a Suge Knight approach to the whole Yahoo! Thing

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 20:00:00 +0000

By SDH

And we thought this evaporated into thin air when Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang said fuck you to Microsoft’s $40 billion offer. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer really wants Yahoo! and it looks like he is sick and tired of waiting around while Jerry Yang plays hard to get. Now Ballmer is offering ultimatums, telling Yahooers they had better come to the table or they will go over heads to get the deal done. Ballmer believes Yahoo! got the best offer out there and will try to convince the company’s shareholders that it is.

"If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo board," wrote Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer.

The Tina and Barry Show: Tina Brown the former editor of everything you can think of got into Barry Diller's pockets for a new online project

noreply@blogger.com (Media Wire Daily) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:38:00 +0000

By SDH

Like almost everyone who once worked on the print media side at some point or another, Tina Brown is taking her next act to the web and got Barry Diller to come out of his pockets to back it. Brown will launch a new un-named aggregated news site which seems to be the norm now because there is a need for more destinations as to read the same aggregated shit. Diller seems to be the go to person if you have a half way decent idea for a website. One of his most recent backings is the Huffington Post spin off, 236.com. Brown's new venture is already being compared to other sites like Huffpost and the Drudge Report and may even have an editor already. We're sure Brown won't be throwing a huge bash to celebrate the launch of her latest effort. Diller is really rolling them out huh? IAC is set to roll out their website for brown people next week.

While some have speculated that the site is an attempt by Diller to rejuvenate IAC, such analysis is surely hyperbole. IAC, after all, still is a $6.1 billion company even after its shares have been nearly halved in the past year. Additionally, IAC's online content efforts of late -- including financial site FiLife.com, a joint effort with News Corp.'s Dow Jones, and political comedy site 23/6 -- are of negligible value compared with such IAC assets as Ticketmaster, Ask.com and