MediaBiz

• Analyze This: Belo 1Q11 reported pro forma earnings of 9¢/share; down y/y from 11¢ (no Olympics, no politics). Total revenue was down 1.9% y/y; but “other” was up 10% “due primarily to increases in Internet and retransmission revenue ...” --- Nokia plans to outsource its Symbian software ops to Accenture ... transferring about 3K employees and hoping to save $1.46B. --- Rogers declared a 35.5¢/share quarterly dividend. --- WSJ and Reuters report News Corp wants $100M+ for MySpace. --- LIN Media’s 1Q11 net revenue was up 1% y/y. “Digital revenues, which include Internet advertising revenues and retransmission consent fees, increased by 31% to $17.2 million, compared to $13.2 million for the first quarter of 2010.” --- Citing smartphone margin pressures, Citadel’s Shing Yin keeps AT&T and Verizon at ‘neutral.’ As for CenturyLink’s announcement this morning that it would acquire Savvis for $40/share, Yin writes it is a “savvy strategic move.” --- Barry Diller’s IAC posted a 1Q11 profit of $18.1M (v y/y loss of $18.7M) as revenue jumped 22%. --- Just before the pay TV world reports, Collins Stewart’s Tom Eagan writes, “We do not expect any major surprises out of the Pay TV 1Q11 results. For the sector, we expect: 1) growth in video subscribers; 2) cable (continuing) to take a majority of broadband net ads; and 3) fewer fixed line subscriber losses than 1Q10 and 4Q10.” --- McGraw Hill's TV unit cited retrans fees as helping drive a 10.2% y/y earnings growth. --- All Things Digital reports Visa was among the latest round of investors in mobile payment company Square.

• Rules & Regs: Privacy issues ... in an interview with WSJ, Steve Jobs said, "Apple has 'never transmitted' the precise location of iPhones to the company." He further said he would be testifying in Congress about the issue. WSJ further reported, "Earlier Wednesday, Apple released a statement acknowledging that it was partly responsible for users' concerns."

• Retrans & Renewals: DISH v. Journal deadline is tomorrow night.

• Tech: Like avoiding conflict diamonds, the Dodd-Frank financial regulations require companies to certify rare metals are from conflict-free sources. --- SCTE issued a call for papers for Cable-Tec Expo (11/14-17 in Atlanta) here.

• Up in the Sky: Sirius XM will cover the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II live from the Vatican on May 1st. --- No more SETI ... no luck (so far), no more funding.

• Kudos: Babson College will induct Ralph and Brian Roberts into its Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs at Babson's World Stage, the 32nd Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs celebration, Thursday, April 28, 2011, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA. Click here for info.

• Folks: Young Broadcasting named Tony Cassara as CEO.

• Heads-Up: Here’s the latest thing you need to know ... from the NY Times (click here) comes an explanation of proximity and “Color.”

• Advertising/Marketing: FaceBook wants to help Madison Avenue buy ads ... on FaceBook.

• Programming: Bloomberg reports Comcast (and others in the wings) wants to try the same idea as DIRECTV for quick premium VOD. --- Meanwhile, The Wrap reports the YouTube initiative isn’t universally accepted in Hollywood with Fox and Paramount demurring. --- Comcast VOD can now boast of shows from all 4 major OTA nets.

• Up, Over & Down There: Music site Vevo is invading the UK. --- Rogers will launch LTE in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver this year.

• Spectrum: Verizon's LTE had outages.

• More News in The Morning BRIDGE ... early tomorrow morning in your in-box.•