U.S. hedge fund calls for Sony Entertainment spin-offMay 14, 2013 TOKYO (Reuters) - A New York-based hedge fund with a reputation as an activist investor has proposed that Sony Corp spin off its entertainment division via an IPO, saying the move could boost the Japanese electronics firm's shares by as much as 60 percent. An IPO of Sony Entertainment,... ...Read More »
Viacom and CBS beat expectations in tough TV ad marketMay 01, 2013 By Jennifer Saba and Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - Sumner Redstone had a good day on Wednesday as his two companies Viacom Inc and CBS Corp reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street estimates on the back of unexpectedly strong TV advertising revenue. Viacom revers... ...Read More »
Major media companies top estimates in shaky ad marketMay 01, 2013 By Jennifer Saba and Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - Some of the biggest media conglomerates beat earnings expectations on Wednesday, though Time Warner Inc, Viacom Inc and Comcast Corp all found their television businesses under scrutiny in a tough advertising market. Tim... ...Read More »
Viacom turns the corner on its ad slumpMay 01, 2013 (Reuters) - Viacom Inc reported a 6 percent drop in revenue because of a weak slate of movies from its studio Paramount Pictures, but advertising revenue turned positive during the quarter. The company said for the quarter that ended March 31, revenue was $3.14 billion, slightly lower than... ...Read More »
James Bond's UK film studio launches mission to the U.S.April 29, 2013 LONDON (Reuters) - British film studio Pinewood Shepperton, home of the James Bond movies, plans to build its first movie, television and music studio in the United States, part of an international expansion strategy launched in 2009. The owner of Europe's largest film studio, Pinewood... ...Read More »
News Corp to call entertainment company 21st Century FoxApril 16, 2013 (Reuters) - News Corp said on Tuesday it will call its newly independent entertainment company 21st Century Fox after the media conglomerate splits later this year. The name 21st Century Fox - playing off the company's film studio 20th Century Fox - replaces the previously announced na... ...Read More »
Fox threatens to become cable channel amid Aereo disputeApril 08, 2013 By Liana B. Baker LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - News Corp's Fox TV network raised the stakes in its battle with Web startup Aereo Inc on Monday, threatening to remove itself from the free airwaves entirely and become a cable channel if courts do not shut down the online TV service. ... ...Read More »
Fox makes threats to become cable channel amid Aereo disputeApril 08, 2013 By Liana B. Baker LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Broadcast TV network Fox could become a subscription service that customers would have to pay for if the courts are not able to protect Fox's business from the startup Aereo, News Corp Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey said on Monday. ... ...Read More »
U.S. film festival cancels award to UK film after tax scamMarch 26, 2013 LONDON (Reuters) - A U.S. film festival has withdrawn an award given to a British movie about a Gulf War veteran seeking justice after a London court jailed five people for making the movie as part of 2.8 million pound ($4.3 million) tax scam. Tax inspectors were told that A-listers from H... ...Read More »
Large Hollywood photo collection to be auctioned in New YorkMarch 25, 2013 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of photographs and negatives from a large collection of Hollywood images will be sold during a two-day auction in New York next month, Guernsey's auction house said on Monday. The Movie Star News Collection, which photographer Irving Klaw started ... ...Read More »
Apple blames record labels, film studios for high Australian pricesMarch 22, 2013 By Jane Wardell SYDNEY (Reuters) - Apple Inc blamed old-fashioned record companies, film studios and TV networks for the inflated prices Australians pay compared with U.S. consumers for digital downloads, as it defended its pricing strategy on Friday. Executives fro... ...Read More »
News Corp publishing arm to have $2.6 billion in cashMarch 08, 2013 By Liana B. Baker and Jennifer Kwan (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp said on Friday that the publishing arm it plans to spin off from its entertainment assets will have about $2.6 billion in cash on hand and no debt when it becomes an independent company. Th... ...Read More »
Tito's pet film studio at risk of Yugoslav fateMarch 07, 2013 By Matt Robinson BELGRADE (Reuters) - On a forested hill above the Serbian capital, stray dogs nose through plywood film sets, the remnants of what was once one of the world's most prolific movie studios. Founded in the wake of World War Two by Yugoslav leader Jos... ...Read More »
Fox takes aim at ESPN with national sports TV channelMarch 06, 2013 By Liana B. Baker and Lisa Richwine (Reuters) - News Corp introduced a long-rumored national cable television sports channel, Fox Sports 1, on Tuesday, aiming to compete with leader ESPN in an increasingly crowded TV sports marketplace. Fox will launch the channel on ... ...Read More »
Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of ordealFebruary 25, 2013 By Georgina Prodhan VIENNA (Reuters) - A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by the captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house. K... ...Read More »
Cellar victim Kampusch raped, starved in film of her ordealFebruary 25, 2013 By Georgina Prodhan VIENNA (Reuters) - A new film based on the story of Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch shows her being repeatedly raped by captor who beat and starved her during the eight-and-a-half years that he kept her in a cellar beneath his house. Kampu... ...Read More »
Comcast sees growth from NBCUniversal stronger than anticipatedFebruary 13, 2013 By Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - Stronger-than-expected growth in NBCUniversal's entertainment unit gave Comcast Corp <CMCSA.O> the impetus to buy the rest of the company from General Electric Co <GE.N> two years earlier than expected. "NBCUniversal's... ...Read More »
Fox dampens higher profit, revenue at News CorpFebruary 07, 2013 By Jennifer Saba (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's News Corp on Wednesday reported higher quarterly revenue and profit on strong growth at its cable assets including its Regional Sports and FX networks. But the rosy quarterly figures - revenue and profit beat expectati... ...Read More »
News Corp names more senior executives in prep for splitFebruary 01, 2013 (Reuters) - Soon-to-be publishing company News Corp named William Lewis, one of the executives who dealt with the aftermath of the phone hacking scandal, as chief creative officer. Also joining the executive suite will be Anoushka Healy, who was named chief strategy officer. ... ...Read More »
Final cut: The gems and stars left off the Oscars listJanuary 30, 2013 By Leonard Maltin (Reuters) - If I could remove any word from Oscar conversations, it would be "snubbed." It's catchy and makes good headline fodder, but it implies that a cabal of Academy members sat in a room and consciously decided to ostracize this actor or that moviemaker. These b... ...Read More »
