The Morning Lowdown 10.14.10
photo: Corbis / Patricia Curi
» Sometimes saying sorry is not enough… A day after Lee Abrams, the Tribune Read more »
Sprint’s New ID Service Is Not About The Apps, It’s About Targeted Ads
photo: Tricia Duryee
Sprint (NYSE: S) unveiled a new service today at CTIA called “Sprint ID,” which bundles packs of applications together around a theme, so th… Read more »
NBCU Backs Set-Top Box Ad Company Invidi With ‘Small’ Investment
photo: jenniferrt66
TV ad targeter Invidi Technologies has received a “small” investment from NBC Universal (NYSE: GE), the WSJ reported. The network, which is… Read more »
The Morning Lowdown 10.05.10
photo: Corbis / Patricia Curi
» Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer believes he can correct the companies mobile missteps, arguing that a revamped Windows… Read more »
Warner Bros. Hires Transpera’s Ballard To Lead Digital Games
Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX) has hired mobile gaming veteran Greg Ballard to lead its digital games business, as the company continues to double… Read more »
The Morning Lowdown 10.04.10
photo: Corbis / Patricia Curi
» The NYTCo (NYSE: NYT) expects to pay back billionaire Carlos Slim’s $250 million loan three years ahead of schedule. Not only t… Read more »
Comcast Interactive Shifts Fandango’s Budkofsky To Run Mobile Ads
As its parent company’s pending merger with NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) continues at a languid pace, the recently reorganized Comcast Interacti… Read more »
Burke Will Head NBC Universal Following Comcast Merger
photo: All Things D / D8 Conference
Confirming the obvious, Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) and GE announced this afternoon that Comcast COO Steve Burke will succeed Jeff Zucker as CEO o… Read more »
Zucker: Why Announce Exit Now? No Reason To Hold Back In A Twitter World
photo: Corbis / Shannon Stapleton
Why did Jeff Zucker announce his pending exit as CEO of NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) months before the merger with Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) is like… Read more »
Memo From NBCU CEO Jeff Zucker: ‘The Time Has Come’
photo: AP Images
NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) CEO Jeff Zucker’s memo telling the company he plans to leave when it merges with Comcast: Read more »
Zucker Will Leave NBCU Following Comcast Merger; All About Burke Now
photo: AP Images
Following months of denials to the contrary. NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) CEO Jeff Zucker told his staff via a memo that he will leave the compa… Read more »
Comcast Divvies Up CIM Pre-NBCU Merger; Banse Changing Roles
photo: Corbis
Steve Burke isn’t ready to announce who will run the various components once the NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) merger with Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA)… Read more »
The Morning Lowdown 09.22.10
photo: Corbis / Patricia Curi
» As document sharing site Scribd looks for ways to increase revenues from its archives, it admits it may have gone to far in not… Read more »
Spotify Gains Another Premium Option – Sonos Wireless Players
photo: Spotify
Spotify has given itself one more, small reason why people might subscribe to Spotify Premium – a hook in to Sonos’ wireless music systems a… Read more »
Hedge Fund Manager Falcone’s Big Bet On Wireless Broadband
photo: Don Hammond / Design Pics / Corbis
Investors in the Harbinger’s hedge fund are increasingly uncomfortable with Philip Facone’s obsession with building a high-speed wireless br… Read more »
The Morning Lowdown 08.26.10
photo: Corbis / Patricia Curi
» Former US Weekly editor Janice Min is spicing up The Hollywood Reporter — but is the venerable trade mag getting too gossipy?… Read more »
This Isn’t FarmVille: Playboy Kicks Off Gaming Label With ‘Poisonville’
Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA) is forming a new video game label this year as part of a wider digital strategy to make its brand more mains… Read more »
Spotify’s Brown Is COO At Academic Network Mendeley
Paul Brown, who is leaving as partnerships SVP at Spotify, is becoming chief operating officer for Mendeley, a start-up often described as a… Read more »
Spotify SVP Brown Leaving For New Startup This Week
Spotify’s partnerships SVP Paul Brown is leaving after 18 months with the music startup, saying his exit’s on good terms. Read more »
Playboy’s iPad App: Same Price As Newsstand, But No Digital Gatefold
One of the old jokes people used to make about buying Playboy magazine was that they “just read it for the articles.” Well, when someone buy… Read more »
DailyCandy Launches ‘Style Alerts’ On Android; NYC Gets It First
DailyCandy, the Comcast-owned fashion and entertainment e-newsletter operator, has unveiled its first app effort, a “location-triggered” mes… Read more »
Playboy Slims Loss, Revs Drop 10 Percent
Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA) posted slightly better-than-expected results in Q2, as company watchers continued to wonder about Playboy fo… Read more »
Nickelodeon’s Sachs Joins DailyCandy As Sales Exec
DailyCandy, the Comcast-owned fashion and entertainment e-newsletter operator, has added MTVN (NYSE: VIA) ad exec Jeanne Sachs to its execut… Read more »
The Morning Lowdown 08.03.10
photo: Corbis / Patricia Curi
» CBS (NYSE: CBS) and Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) have struck a major, comprehensive 10-year carriage agreement, that will prevent the… Read more »
In Unlimited-Music Race, Rdio Beats Spotify To U.S. Launch
photo: Spotify pics: Spotify | Zennstrom/Friis: Corbis | Montage: ContentNext
Despite trying for over a year, Spotify has been beaten to U.S. launch by Rdio, the comparable online music start-up backed by Atomico Ventu… Read more »
Comcast’s Burke: ‘With NBC, Our Ad Business Will Be Worth $10 Billion’
photo: Corbis
Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) execs said the company posted double-digit growth in auto, health care and retail advertising in Q2. As the fall elect… Read more »
Comcast Profits Pulled Down On NBC Costs
photo: AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac
Comcast’s acquisition of NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) is still pending before regulators, but the deal has already cost the cable operator $22 m… Read more »
Playdom’s Pleasants And Disney’s Wadsworth On The Deal
So, why did Disney (NYSE: DIS) decide to buy Playdom? Disney Interactive Media Group President Steve Wadsworth told paidContent in a joint i… Read more »
Disney Buys Playdom For Up To $763.2 Million
Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) is making a big move into social games, with the purchase of fast-growing social game developer Playdom for up to $7… Read more »
Playboy Launches SFW Site TheSmokingJacket
As speculation swirls around Playboy (NYSE: PLA) founder Hugh Hefner’s bid to take to the company private — and the counteroffers — the sa… Read more »
FriendFinder Counters Hefner; Offers $210 Million For Playboy
Four days after Playboy (NYSE: PLA) founder Hugh Hefner made a bid to take his company private, Penthouse parent FriendFinder Networks is ma… Read more »
FCC Resumes Its Review Of The Comcast-NBCU JV
photo: Corbis
The Federal Communications Commission informed Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) and NBCU that on July 6 it had officially re-started the shot clock on… Read more »
Updated: Hefner Offers To Take Playboy Private; Penthouse Making A Move?
It’s been over half a year since Playboy (NYSE: PLA) entertained any possible buyers, so founder Hugh Hefner has decided enough is enough; h… Read more »
Playdom Buys Resurgent Social Games Startup Metaplace
Metaplace, a social games startup which switched strategies earlier this year after its first business failed, has been purchased by Playdom… Read more »
Comcast Promises $20 Million Minority Venture Fund As Part Of NBCU Merger
As part of its lobbying efforts to get approval — and acceptance — for its pending merger with NBC Universal (NYSE: GE), Comcast (NSDQ: CM… Read more »
Playboy Laying Off More Staffers, Morphing Into ‘Brand Management’ Company
Ahead of its Q2 earnings report in August, Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA) is warning investors that it will take a $3 million charge result… Read more »
FCC Stops Comcast-NBCU Shot Clock Again
The FCC is stopping the shot clock on the Comcast-NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) merger for a second time. Thursday, June 24, had been day 50 on w… Read more »
Playdom Follows Up Its Funding Round With Another Acquisition
photo: Corbis / Wally Eberhart
Playdom, which raised $33 million in a funding round earlier this week, is buying yet another social games startup. It has purchased five-ye… Read more »
First Look: Spotify’s On TV, But It Still Needs Partner Deals
photo: Spotify
Spotify has been offering pay-TV operators a set top box version of the music service for some time now. But so far it only has the deal ink… Read more »
Senator Wants Comcast To Sell Hulu Stake As Merger Condition
Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, is calling for a raft of strong conditions on any Comcast/… Read more »
