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Viacom, Inc.

  • Viacom, Disney, and J.J. Abrams: A Long Time Ago in the Final Frontier

    By Scott Levine - May 16, 2013 | Tickers: EA, VIA, DIS

    Reinventing a franchise is a tricky situation. On one hand, a director must stay true to the source material, but he also wants to incorporate his own vision—to distinguish his interpretation from the others. Most fans and investors believe that J.J. Abrams has the force to make two favorite franchises live long and prosper.

    To go boldly where some men have gone before. . .

    Abrams’s re-imagination of Gene more »

  • These Stocks Still Entertain Investors

    By Austin Higgins - May 13, 2013 | Tickers: DISCA, SNI, VIA

    The entertainment industry is a fickle one. Yesterday’s star is sometimes today’s loser. This can be true with entertainment stocks, as well. Three entertainment companies posted earnings the first week of May. This is what investors need to know about their earnings and what is to come. 

    Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI) operates a number of popular television channels including the Food Network, Home and Garden Television, and more »

  • Making Money at the Movies

    By Ash Anderson - May 9, 2013 | Tickers: TWX, VIA, DIS

    Word came out this past Sunday that Walt Disney’s (NYSE: DIS)  Iron Man 3 made a staggering $175.3 million in the domestic market, making the movie the second highest opener of all time, right behind last year’s Avengers.

    If you’re a Disney investor, you’ll no doubt love it that this company is pulling in the big bucks with its blockbuster movies. And if you factor more »

  • The House of Mouse Does It Again: Disney Earnings Compared

    By Erin McBride - May 9, 2013 | Tickers: CMCSA, EA, VIA, DIS | Editor's Choice

    The House of Mouse is an enviable place.

    The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) reported a 32% increase in net income from the year previous for the most recent fiscal quarter.

    The brand name media giant reported net income for the fiscal second quarter rose 32% from a year ago to $1.51 billion. Revenue for the quarter rose 10% to $10.55 billion. Earnings per share for the quarter more »

  • An Important Business Model Shift

    By Reuben Brewer - May 8, 2013 | Tickers: AMZN, NFLX, VIA, DIS

    Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) has changed the media world forever. That said, the business model it used to get its streaming service off the ground is undergoing an important shift. If the company makes the transition, it could materially change the Internet video streaming industry. What's less certain is if it will make Netflix shares even more valuable.

    In the Beginning

    When Netflix first hit the market, it was a more »

  • Entertain Yourself: Your Investment Will Thank You (Part 1)

    By Brendan Marasco - April 29, 2013 | Tickers: CMCSA, NWS, TWX, VIA, DIS

    Imagine a priceless vacation to Disney World. Now, imagine returning to the resort, reclining on the couch, and watching your favorite television program. Then, top off the seemingly perfect day by viewing your favorite movie with family and friends.

    Okay, return to reality.

    You have the opportunity to invest in a profitable firm with high liquidity and modest debt. Or, you can invest in a profitable firm with poor liquidity more »

  • Entertain Yourself: Part 2

    By Brendan Marasco - April 28, 2013 | Tickers: CMCSA, NWS, TWX, VIA, DIS

    How is the dream vacation planning? Disney’s (NYSE: DIS) Shanghai resort and theme park sure sounds like a good option for 2016. (For those that did not read the first part of this analysis, you will want to review the content here.)

    To continue, we will look at profitability ratios:

     DisneyTime WarnerNews CorpComcastViacom
    PM 13.07% 10.51% 11.65% 9.91% 16.90%
    ROA more »

  • The New News Corporation

    By Shas Dey - April 22, 2013 | Tickers: NWS, TWX, VIA

    News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) has chosen the name 21st Century Fox, a reference to its film studio Twentieth Century Fox, for its new entertainment division, which will be spun off in the next couple of months. The spinoff gives this 78-year-old film-studio brand a modern twist. The company recently released a regulatory filing giving details of the split and the new company New News Corporation, which I have detailed more »

  • Will Twitter Become the Next Big Player in Online Media?

    By Leo Sun - April 18, 2013 | Tickers: CMCSA, GOOG, VIA, DIS

    Microblogging site Twitter, which currently has 200 million active users, recently surprised its social media peers by announcing that it was working with two major television networks to add streaming video content to its site.

    According to Bloomberg, San Francisco-based Twitter is currently in negotiations with Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA) and Comcast’s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) NBCUniversal to forge content-sharing partnerships. Viacom is the parent company of Paramount Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy more »

  • The New News Corporation

    By Shas Dey - April 18, 2013 | Tickers: NWS, TWX, VIA

    News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) has chosen the name 21st Century Fox, a reference to its film studio Twentieth Century Fox, for its new entertainment division which will spun off in the next couple of months. The spinoff gives this 78-year-old film-studio brand a modern twist. The company recently released a regulatory filing giving details of the split and the new company New News Corporation, which I have detailed below more »

  • Will Twitter Become the Next Big Player in Online Media?

    By Leo Sun - April 16, 2013 | Tickers: CMCSA, GOOG, VIA, DIS

    Microblogging site Twitter, which currently has 200 million active users, recently surprised its social media peers by announcing that it was working with two major television networks to add streaming video content to its site.

    According to Bloomberg, San Francisco-based Twitter is currently in negotiations with Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA) and Comcast’s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) NBCUniversal to forge content-sharing partnerships. Viacom is the parent company of Paramount Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy more »

  • How The Undead Can Breathe Life into Investors’ Portfolios

    By Scott Levine - April 2, 2013 | Tickers: ATVI, AMCX, VIA

    There’s no denying it any longer. Zombies are everywhere, and people couldn’t be happier . . . well, not all people. Some actually believe that they are in imminent danger--so many people, in fact, that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention actually released a formal statement in June 2012. In an e-mail to The Huffington Post, agency spokesman David Daigle wrote:

    “CDC does not know of a virus or condition more »

  • How A Little Mouse Can Earn You Money

    By Kyle Goodwin - March 25, 2013 | Tickers: TWX, VIA, DIS

    The Force is strong with this one. The Walt Disney Company’s (NYSE: DIS) acquisition of Lucasfilm in late 2012 for $4.05 billion will become one of the greatest moves in entertainment history. The potential revenue Disney can generate from the Star Wars franchise numbers in the billions over the course of a few years, and I will show you in the following paragraphs why you should jump onto more »

  • Is Liberty Media Eyeing Full Control of Charter?

    By Shas Dey - March 24, 2013 | Tickers: CHTR, LMCA, VIA

    Trading in Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) shares was halted last Monday when the stock experienced an upward move of more than 8% on news of a possible purchase by John Malone’s Liberty Media (NASDAQ: LMCA). A formal announcement came the next day stating that Liberty Media will invest approximately $2.617 billion in Charter for a 27.3% stake.

    Liberty Media will buy approximately 26.9 million shares at more »

  • The Troubles With Copyright Holders

    By Nate Wooley - March 20, 2013 | Tickers: EBAY, TWX, VIA, DIS

    Interesting decision out of the supreme court this week: SCOTUS has decided that items made outside the United States can be resold inside the country using the 'first sale' doctrine. The case involved a Thai student who resold textbooks that were first purchased overseas by relatives. Simply a case of a student selling textbooks, right? Most of us likely did that in college. Of course, most of us didn't more »

  • These Stocks Will Be Blockbusters This Year

    By Madhu Dube - March 19, 2013 | Tickers: DWA, IMAX, TWX, VIA

    From what I am currently seeing, the summer of 2013 looks like it will be very hot.  No, I'm not talking about a heat wave--I'm talking about all the movie releases planned by the different production houses. Here's a glimpse of the schedule of two of the biggest film-producing companies in the coming months.

    Name

    Release Date

    Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX)

    		  

    The Hangover Part III

    May more »

  • Looking Closely at the Outdoor Channel Merger

    By Anh HOANG - February 23, 2013 | Tickers: DISCA, OUTD, VIA

    In November 2012, Outdoor Channel Holdings (NASDAQ: OUTD) announced that it would be sold to InterMedia at around $8 per share, with a total transaction value of $208 million. However, UTR, who owns more than 2% stake in Outdoor Channel, would like to stop the deal. UTR commented that the Outdoor Channel’s board ran an inefficient sale process that would not bring a maximum value to the company’s more »

  • This Media Giant Might Double in Four Years

    By Anh HOANG - February 10, 2013 | Tickers: CBS, TWX, VIA, DIS

    Charlie Munger has advised Monish Pabrai to focus on cannibals in order to invest successfully. Cannibals are companies that are “eating themselves away,” i.e repurchasing a huge amount of their shares over time. In a recent 2013 Barron’s Roundtable, Mario Gabelli, a famous investment manager, has recommended a business that he had been invested in for 25 years. This business had been buying back stocks and it would more »

  • Make 6.4% Off This TV Channel Going Private

    By Mike Thiessen - January 18, 2013 | Tickers: DISCA, OUTD, VIA

    Temecula, California-based Outdoor Channel Holdings (NASDAQ: OUTD) is currently slated to merge with newly-formed sports media outfit InterMedia Outdoor Holdings. Known as "IMOH," InterMedia Outdoor is a wholly-owned subsidiary of New York-based InterMedia Group that will be re-formed as a new company once the deal has been finalized. Although multiple potential lawsuits threaten to delay or derail the deal, it is currently expected to close in January of 2013. 

    As more »

  • A SWOT Analysis of Walt Disney

    By Damon Churchwell - December 31, 2012 | Tickers: CBS, CMCSA, VIA, DIS

    A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) overview can be useful in determining whether a company is a worthwhile investment. Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) had a solid year in its fiscal 2012 (ended in September), growing per-share earnings 21%. The shares followed suit, climbing nearly 30% in calendar 2012. We will take a look at what drove the improved showing, what we anticipate in terms of internal initiatives, and what actions more »

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