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November 17, 2011 @ 2:30 PM
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Liberty Converts Starz - Amazon's Global Enterprise - ACA Blasts Raycom/Belo SSA

Analyze This: Liberty Capital said it would eliminate its current tracking stock structure by converting each share of Liberty Starz into .88 of a share of Liberty Capital on Nov. 28. Citi's Jason Bazinet says based on the closing price of Capital ($77.70) and Starz ($68.10), the .88 exchange ratio yields a .6% premium for Liberty Starz. "We believe the Capital/Starz combination may foreshadow a spin of Capital's Sirius stake as the consolidation… will place more operating assets under one legal entity," the analyst writes. --- Zacks Equity Research remained 'neutral' on Time Warner Cable with the firm saying it is "highly concerned regarding the continuation of the company's video subscriber loss" and mounting competition from fiber and OTT services.

$$$: Dear Google, we want to take over the world, too. Love, Amazon. Daily Finance reports on how the internet sales-tax debate affects the online sales giant. --- Consumer review website Angie's List's first day on the market was a good one… the firm opened at $18 per, up 39% from its IPO offering of $13. --- LinkedIn shares jumped by as much as 7.2% to $76.71 in mid-day trading today. --- T-Mobile said it has stashed millions … to the tune of $64M … to retain key employees if it is indeed taken over by AT&T. --- Hey DIRECTV, you made Retirement Planning's "Active Stock" list! So there's that...

Rules & Regs: The ACA is not happy about Raycom's shared services agreement with Belo to control three Tucson-based stations, including those of Fox and CBS. ACA President Matt Polka described the deal as a "breathtaking disdain for public interest" and a violation of the FCC's ban on consolidation among the top local stations. The exec said the two sides' agreement will lead to "higher retransmission fees; higher advertising rates; less competition, localism and diversity; and job loss among news reporters and production employees." Local reports have already indicated that all workers except sales staff will lose work at Belo's Fox-affiliate KMSB. --- A House panel voted to advance a bill that would limit the FCC's influence on companies seeking merger approval. The Republican-sponsored bill would require the agency to identify and publish a perceived harm that would be remedied by a proposed merger, among other requirements. Critics say it undermines the FCC's ability to impose public-interest conditions on M&A activity.

In Court: Not so fast Verizon, Cablevision's stranglehold on MSG isn't over yet. The company filed a lawsuit against the FCC's decision to require Madison Square Garden to make its HD feeds of MSG and MSG+ available to Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse subs. The suit seeks an immediate stay of the decision that would make the nets available on Nov. 25. --- LA Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt filed a lawsuit this week against Fox Sports for crowding the team's plate while it tried to auction off its media access rights. The suit comes on the heels of Fox's cease-and-desist notification that the team stop trying to sell those rights when the company's RSN Prime Ticket actually holds exclusive negotiating concessions through Nov. 2012.

A to Zee: Zee Entertainment, the largest publicly-traded broadcaster in India, is reportedly in talks with Comcast and Time Warner Cable to expand distribution here in the States. Bloomberg has more. In related news, Zee Group invested $250M in Veria Living for content development and production expansion.

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