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Media Stories from around the world ___________________________________________
Comcast Takes Control of NBC .. NEW YORK
-- Comcast
Corp. has finalized a deal to buy a majority stake in NBC Universal for
$13.75
billion, giving the nation's largest cable TV operator control of the
Peacock
network, an array of cable channels and a major movie studio.
Although the deal could
mean that movies could reach cable
more quickly after showing in theaters, it already is raising concerns
that
Comcast will wield too much power in the entertainment industry.
Indeed, if the deal
clears regulatory and other hurdles,
Comcast would rival the heft of The Walt Disney Co.
— which Comcast CEO Brian Roberts already tried to buy.
Comcast,
which already serves a quarter of all U.S. households that pay for TV,
would
gain control of the NBC broadcast network, the Spanish-language
Telemundo and
about two dozen cable channels, including USA, Bravo and Syfy. It also
would
have regional sports networks, Universal Pictures and theme parks.
In
agreeing to buy 51 percent of NBC Universal from General Electric Co.,
which
has controlled NBC since 1986, Comcast hopes to succeed in marrying
distribution and content in a way Time Warner Inc. could not. AOL and
Time
Warner are undoing their ill-fated eight-year marriage Dec. 9. Time
Warner has
already shed its cable TV operations.
Comcast
wants the company largely for its cable channels — which are expected
to
provide about 80 percent of the new venture's profit. Comcast is
seeking more
programming to beef up its video-on-demand offerings and rely less on
cable
revenue as the company loses subscribers to rival providers.
GE
would retain a 49 percent stake, with the option of unloading half its
stake in
3-1/2 years and all of it after seven years. The new NBC Universal
would borrow
$9.1 billion that would partially go toward covering the money GE owes
Vivendi.
Time Warner to Spin Off AOL NEW YORK --
Time
Warner announced plans to spin off its troubled AOL Internet unit by
the end of the year, bringing to a close one of the most disastrous
corporate mergers in history.
The US media-entertainment giant said its board
had approved a separation from AOL, formerly known as America Online, to make
it an independent, publicly traded company.
"We believe that a separation will be the best
outcome for both Time
Warner and AOL," Time Warner chairman and chief executive Jeff Bewkes
said in a statement.
"We believe AOL will then have a better
opportunity to achieve its full potential as a leading independent
Internet company."
Time Warner said that before the spin-off goes
ahead it will purchase
the five percent in AOL owned by Internet search and advertising giant Google, which paid one
billion dollars in 2006 for the stake.
Time Warner owns the remaining 95 percent of AOL,
which saw its heyday
as a provider of dial-up service in the early days of the Internet but
has been losing ground as consumers switch to high-speed or broadband
services.
AOL is currently the number four Web gateway
after Google, Microsoft sites and Yahoo! and has been trying to refashion
itself recently as a popular one-stop portal.
End of an Era, ABC Radio
Becomes Citadel Media .. NEW YORK --
Marking the end of an
era in network radio, Citadel Broadcasting,
owner of ABC Radio Networks, has dropped the heritage network radio
name and renamed the network Citadel Media.
The name change was inevitable when
Citadel Broadcasting acquired ABC Radio's portfolio of stations and
ABC Radio Networks in 2007. And with the passing of the legendary
Paul Harvey, who has been associated with the ABC Radio Networks
brand for decades, there were probably fewer reasons to keep the
name.
While it may be giving up brand recognition, Citadel
Media, with
4,400 affiliates reaching 110 million weekly listeners, still
represents some of the biggest programming brands in network radio,
including ABC News Radio and ESPN Radio, via longterm contracts
that were inked during the Citadel/ABC Radio deal.
Citadel Media also has a solid syndication lineup
including Kidd
Kraddick, Tom Joyner via a partnership with REACH Media, Sean
Hannity, via a partnership with Clear Channel-owned Premiere Radio
Networks. Recent syndication additions include Mike Huckabee, Perez
Hilton, Joe Scarborough, Brian McKnight, Rick Dees and Tom Kent to
the Citadel lineup.
. Air America Pulls the Plug .. NEW YORK -- Air
America, the left-leaning talk radio network, will file for
bankruptcy protection and cease broadcasting, Chairman Charlie Kireker
announced.
In a memo to employees and a posting on the Air
America Web site,
Kireker said the network ceased live programming and
would cease broadcasting entirely.
"This past year has seen a 'perfect storm' in the
media industry
generally," Kireker said. "National and local advertising revenues have
fallen drastically, causing many media companies nationwide to fold or
seek bankruptcy protection."
In the memo, Kireker said radio industry ad
revenues have been down
for 10 consecutive quarters and the economic downturn has led other
broadcasters, including Citadel Broadcasting, and related companies
such as the trade publication Radio and Records to declare bankruptcy.
"Those companies that remain are facing audience
fragmentation as a
result of new media technologies, are often saddled with crushing debt,
and have generally found it difficult to obtain operating or investment
capital from traditional sources of funding," the memo said. "In this
climate, our painstaking search for new investors has come close
several times right up into this week, but ultimately fell short of
success."
DSN Featured Stories
Is Radio Dead? Las Vegas -- At the recent International
Consumer Electronics Show here, all kinds of out of this world gadgets
were displayed. Many of them targeting the audio business, shaping the
future of how consumers get their music and digital content. It would
be safe to say within the halls of the convention center, were many
whispers about the future of the radio business. Broadcasters
are
beginning to see their huge slice of the pie shrink incredibly fast, as
new digital platforms threaten their once dominant medium.Full
Story Tips For The Indie Las Vegas -- All across America
musicians are taking their first steps towards a career in the music
biz. Many are just weekend warriors who play a gig and then head back
to their day jobs come Monday. However, many are serious about
launching a career in an over saturated market, and walk into the
industry completely blind. Being an independent artist or an "indie" is
a rough gig in its own right.
Full
Story
Hollywood Rebounds Hollywood
-- According to U.S.
government reports, our economy has officially been in a recession
since December 2007. That comes as no surprise to most of us, who have
battled the day to day pains due to the crisis. Many industries have
collapsed such as the auto and retail sectors. However, one unusual
bright spot comes out of Southern California... Hollywood! The film
industry is actually reversing its fortunes due to tough times, after
years of erosion due to digital technology. Full Story
Rockin' On Heaven's Door
Las Vegas
-- For many rockers, the
name Madd Maxx Hammer may conjure up memories of the first time they
heard the likes of Metallica and Pantera on their radio's. During the
1980s and 1990s America's most popular rock jock was none other than
Madd Maxx Hammer. An in your face rocker who was heard across the
nation via the legendary Z-Rock radio network, as well as many other
high profile rock stations. Hammer was also a popular broadcast boxing
announcer and syndicated writer for the sport. Full Story
Aliens Exposed In The Media Sedona
-- Recently there has been a rise in awareness from the media when
it comes to the topic of Extraterrestrials. Mainstream networks such as
ABC and FOX openly reporting about the subject, as well as big budget
movies hitting the big screen; Universal's The Fourth Kind.
Certainly there has always been an interest in the unknown, going back
to Close Encounters of the Third Kind
to theX Files.Full
Story
Tom Kat Records... An American Label Las Vegas -- The music
business has really taken a
hit since the digital revolution at the turn of the century. With music
available via so many new media platforms such as online and mobile,
record companies are struggling to survive.The dominant
players are the major labels, who have merged and bought and sold each
others assets many times over in the last decade.Full
Story
Part
15 AM Radio in the
U.S. Las
Vegas - About
10 years ago the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), began a trend
of deregulation that changed the face of radio broadcasting in the
United States. Medium, and small market broadcast owners were being
purchased left, and right by larger broadcasters, at prices they
couldn't refuse! Not to mention, many of these owners had tremendous
debt loads, and endless overhead. Full Story
Stories
from Off The Wire! are
selected from the editors of the Digital Syndicate Network, via media news sources, press
releases, and contributing corespondent submissions