Media Money with Julia Boorstin
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In the wake of Yahoo's announcement on Monday that it's snapping up Tumblr for $1.1 billion, the attention has shifted to which companies could be next.
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Buffett, Murdoch, Among Allen Conference Biz Leaders
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
It's been a whirlwind here at the Allen & co. Conference--watching and interviewing all the biggest names in the media world. Everyone's paying close attention to Rupert Murdoch. He rushed into the Sun Valley Inn Wednesday morning just in time for breakfast. .
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Media Moguls Head to Sun Valley
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
I'm here in Sun Valley, Idaho, where all the movers and shakers in the media business are gathering for the Allen & Co. media conference to schmooze and make deals. This is where seriously big business alliances are born..
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"Transformers" Help Paramount Shift Gears
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
"Transformers" took the box office by storm this weekend, bringing in a total of $152 million at the domestic box office since it opened on Tuesday, and a total of about $250 million worldwide. This isn't just a nice summer opening--this is huge news for Paramount, which is going to get a huge boost from this hit: not just from its take on this film, but also from the fact that it's Paramount's first potential franchise since Mission Impossible. And unlike the MI series, they're not relying on a huge star (Tom Cruise), nor are they paying him a huge chunk of gross.
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Live Earth: Not Quite A Global Audience Warmer
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
After all the hubbub about Live Earth, it wasn't quite the worldwide phenomenon everyone was hoping. I had intentions of watching the concert, but ended up spending time outside enjoying the lovely summer weather. The estimated 2.7 million viewers fell short of the 3 million viewers NBC usually draws on summer Saturday nights with repeats and Stanley Cup Hockey.
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GE, Apple, GM Find "Green Pastures" On Live Earth
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
Tomorrow, the NBC Universal Family brings us Live Earth--with a three hour primetime special on NBC, plus 18 hours of coverage of Bravo and seven hours on our very own CNBC. Plus coverage on all sorts of other channels in the family--including Telemundo, Mun2, Universal HD, and the Sundance Channel. A sign of the power of the Live Earth message, NBC has attracted some top-notch (huge and influential) advertisers--General Motors, Apple, and American Express.
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Apple's iPhone: Breaking Down Who's Making The Money
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
While most Mac geeks were worshipping at the iPhone altar this weekend, we here at CNBC got some tech geeks to dissect an Apple iPhone for us (see video below). Called a "tear down", it's when you break apart a gadget to figure out what's inside, and how much those components cost. We got one of the top companies in this field--called iSuppli-to peel apart the (Apple) gadget for us.
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Yahoo, Google And Others Join Lear On Voter Drive (Update)
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
The media world loves to get revved up about elections and this year the issue is voter registration. Norman Lear is spearheading a campaign called "Declare Yourself." And no surprise, Lear, perhaps one of the most successful television writer/producer in TV history, is using his contacts and his expertise, turning TV humor into a tool. He's gotten two of the stars of "Reno 911" to create four videos to get what they're calling "the target demographic" to vote.
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"Transformers:" Will Movie Transform Viacom's Paramount Studios?
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
I attended the "Transformers" premiere Wednesday night--and my first star spotting epitomized the importance of the film for its parent company. It was Sumner Redstone (he qualifies as a star for the CNBC set) and he was slowly retreating from the hubbub of the red carpet and (surrounded by bodyguards) slipping into a black car.
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YouTVpc and Peekvid Sued By Movie Studios Over Piracy
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
The Motion Picture Association of America filed suits late Tuesday on behlaf of Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox against YouTVpc.com and Peekvid.com. The Wall Street Journal broke the story Wednesday night. The sites don't actually provide copyright-violating material--which is their defence--but they do show users where to find that material, which is the studios' problem with the site.
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Video Games "Play" Into Hollywood's Picture
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
The businesses of movie making and video game making are tighter than ever. Today, they're rubbing shoulders at the Hollywood and Games Summit. These are two industries that need each other more than ever. Movie studios count on the reliable licensing fees that come from selling 5 million video games. And the video game makers like the fact that by paying a licensing fee they can tap into a guaranteed fan base, and all those marketing dollars the studios have spent. Virtually every big summer movie is also a video game: "Pirates," "Spiderman," "Shreck," and coming up "Ratatouille," "Transformers," and "Harry Potter."
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About Media Money
Media Money keeps you ahead of the curve in the ever-changing but always exciting media business. From Hollywood to Bollywood, digital explosions to perils in publishing, Julia Boorstin brings you the insight you need to better understand this evolving but ever entertaining industry.
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Working from Los Angeles, Boorstin is CNBC's media and entertainment reporter and author of CNBC.com's "Media Money" blog.