FriendFinder Networks raised $50 million in its IPO today—the latest in a string of stock market debuts by digital media-related companies. The IPO is a major milestone for the owner of Friendfinder.com and other adult sites, which has tried to go public for several years. FriendFinder had initially filed to…

Facebook has filed a few different trademark lawsuits against sites it doesn’t approve of, like Teachbook and humor site Lamebook. Some of those cases might be considered close calls legally, and both of those sites are still up. But now a much bigger company is messing with Facebook’s name: adult…

Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is already involved in two battles over the phrase “app store”—one with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), which is opposing Apple’s trademark application, on that phrase, and a lawsuit against Amazon which has launched its own app store, called “appstore.” Now it’s come to light that the company has…

FriendFinder Networks, which filed to go public in late 2008, but pulled the offering a year ago, citing “market conditions,” is trying once again. The company is best known for owning Penthouse (and for unsuccessfully trying to buy Playboy (NYSE: PLA) last year) although it makes most of its money…

Just like Gawker Media’s eschewing the typical blog format for the redesign of its site network, Maxim hopes that its mostly young, male users will notice that its new look is more like that of a game or video site as opposed to a “web magazine.” The site’s new look,…

Penthouse-parent FriendFinder Networks, which pulled its plans for an initial public offering last fall, has now raised $551.2 million in debt financing. Intriguingly, CEO Marc Bell tells the WSJ that the company, which also owns several adult social networks and dating sites, is about to launch “three big initiatives.” 

Some of the stories people are talking about this morning:»  Twitter app developers have seen a 50 percent cut in early-stage investment over the past year—though it’s not clear if that’s the result of Twitter’s own evolving business model or tied to the number and type of new apps on…

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 mainstream, Paul H. Lee, the company’s managing director for new digital ventures, told paidContent. The company hasn’t decided on a name yet, but it already…

Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA) posted slightly better-than-expected results in Q2, as company watchers continued to wonder about Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s bid to take to the company private and the counteroffers. Meanwhile, digital revenues continued to improve, but the total publishing segment was pulled down by print and other woes.

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q209	Net Inc. vs Q209
Playboy	Release	N/A	10%	37.9%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

It’s been over half a year since Playboy (NYSE: PLA) entertained any possible buyers, so founder Hugh Hefner has decided enough is enough; he has stepped in with an offer to take the company private for $5.50 per share. The 84-year-old Hefner currently owns 69.5 percent of PEI’s Class A…

Ahead of its Q2 earnings report in August, Playboy Enterprises (NYSE: PLA) is warning investors that it will take a $3 million charge resulting from additional layoffs. The number of Playboy’s roughly 782 total staffers who are being dismissed wasn’t specified. In a statement, CEO Scott Flanders said that the…

Playboy (NYSE: PLA) is planning a mix of new sites that it hopes will appeal to a variety of readers and advertisers, company execs said during its Q1 earnings call. In addition to expanding its mobile presence, Playboy is working on a “free, safe-for-work site” it’s calling TheSmokingJacket.com, as well…

No one expected that Playboy (NYSE: PLA) CEO Scott Flanders would have an easy time in his first year on the job. But the media company appears to be benefiting from the aggressive cost cutting Flanders undertook, as the he warned that ad declines at the flagship magazine would likely…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q109	Net Inc. vs Q109
PLA	Release		15.4%	92%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

After a six month search for a new CEO, Maxim publisher Alpha Media Group has asked its former CMO Joe Mangione to return from retirement to take on the role, AdAge reports. Back in September, AMG’s CEO Stephen Duggan resigned; he was the third chief exec at AMG since Dennis…

Apple’s ban on some sexually-suggestive content in the iTunes App Store was due to an increasing number of complaints from women’s and parent groups, a top exec tells the NYT. But the policy is selective, as not all apps featuring scantily-clad women have been bannished. For example, Sports Illustrated’s free…

Playboy (NYSE: PLA) President Alex Vaickus opened up the company’s Q4 earnings call with a big “thank you” to pop singer John Mayer, whose controversial interview in the March 2010 issue has been covered by 1,500 media outlets. But as he and CEO Scott Flanders made clear, executives don’t expect…

Playboy (NYSE: PLA) Enterprises’ hopes for a planned sale were dashed during Q4, as its revenue troubles continued as well. As the company’s loss narrowed to $27.8 million from last year’s $146.8 million, combined print and digital revenues fell 14 percent. On its own, digital slid 10.7 percent in Q4.…

		EPS*	Rev. vs Q408	Net Inc. vs Q408
Playboy	Release		13.2%	81.1%

* vs. Analysts' Estimates: Beat Met Missed

Adult entertainment company Friendfinder Networks is finding the going tough in a recessionary market, much like the rest of the industry and has rest its expectations: after filing for an IPO exactly a year ago and hoping to raise $460 million in it, it has now filed an amended S-1…

Update: 30 minutes later, WSJ is also reporting along similar lines on outsourcing of print/publishing to AMI, though it doesn’t have anything on the sale. Edit will remain with Playboy (NYSE: PLA), while rest of the functions, including ad sales and distribution, will now be managed by AMI, it quotes…