Media Money with Julia Boorstin
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Microsoft debuted its long-anticipated next generation Xbox, called the "Xbox One," a device that allows users to switch more easily between entertainment options.
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What Are Parsons' Plans Before Leaving Time Warner?
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
Dick Parsons spoke at Merrill Lynch's media conference in London and said he's "getting close" to handing over the reins. Who's his successor? He said deputy Jeff Bewkes is "the right man" to succeed him, though obviously that's up to the board of directors. Which is no surprise. So how soon is close? Well, his contract expires next year, so we can pretty much expect him to be gone by end of 2008.
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Amazon-Netflix Deal In The Making?
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
Netflix shares shares were up nearly 6% Wednesday on rumors that Amazon.com is interested in buying the DVD rental-by mail company. Adding to the Wall Street heat, Jackson Securities Analyst Brian Bolan said that this is the right time for Amazon to cash in some of its highly valued stock to buy Netflix, whose stock has been under pressure from stiff competition. Bolan's estimates Netflix could cost Amazon over $1.5 billion.
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Sony Battles Apple Over Internet TV
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
Sony's TVs may dominate the market, but TV isn't the stable world it used to be. People watch more and more TV content on their computers, and new players like Apple (with its iTV) and Microsoft (with downloads sold over its XBox 360) are pushing into the space. So Sony's tactic is to make their TVs more like computers-- the 18 new Bravia TVs they launched today are all Internet enabled.
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Can eBay "Auction Off" Google?
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
Ebay wants to auction anything and everything, and now it's using its auction technology to create an efficient ad sales system to compete with Google, which dominates the online ad sales space. Starting today eBay is going to start brokering radio advertisements. Working with Bid4Spots (quite the obvious name) some 2,300 radio stations will auction airtime through eBay media marketplace. Ebay profits by taking a piece from advertisers payments.
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Nelson Takes "Full Reins" At HBO
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
As I predicted last week, HBO has named Bill Nelson, its interim CEO, as Chris Albrecht's permanent replacement. Nelson, was HBO's former COO. Sources tell me that the choice was down to Nelson and two other insiders. But as interim CEO, Nelson always had a leg up! Nelson's been around HBO since 1984, and he's worked in all parts of the company-- domestic and international marketing, acquisitions, finance, etc.
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Web Searching in 3-D?
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
Searching on the web has been hot forever, or at least since Google created its nifty homepage. But now Ask.com is coming up with a crazy new way to compete--Ask3D, a new search platform. It can't really be 3-D if it's on your computer screen, but it is a 3-panel interface, that delivers results with both Web links and video, images, and links to things like music, all one one page. Sort of like if you searched all of Google's categories (news, images, video) all with one click.
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The NBC "Shuffle" (And HBO Too)
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
NBC is hiring Ben Silverman, producer of "The Office" to partner with Marc Graboff, as co-chairmen of NBC Entertainment and the NBC Universal Television Studio. The two will succeed the network's departing head of entertainment, Kevin Reilly. With ratings sinking--down 9% for the past six months over the year earlier period--the buck stops at Reilly. And even though NBC just recently renegotiated his contract for another three years, he's on his way out. NBC would rather pay out his remaining salary (or part of it) then have him in charge.
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Disney's "Pirates 3" -- Off to a Swashbuckling Start
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" has already brought in 58 million dollars internationally. The film opened on Wednesday in many overseas countries and Thursday night in the U.S., putting it on track for strong numbers over the long holiday weekend. Seventeen million dollars of that comes from domestic theaters Thursday night, and that number will even bigger after Friday night and the remainder of the holiday weekend.
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Cannes & the Music of Politics
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
The Cannes Film Festival is about halfway through, and it's not just about starlets and red carpets -- real business gets done. Cannes is where American filmmakers go to meet with buyers from "foreign properties" to sell their international distribution rights. Often, independent filmmakers will sell foreign rights before the film is made, to finance production -- selling on the strength of the stars and the concept.
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Writers Guild Strike Looms
Posted By: Julia Boorstin
The Writers Guild of America warned the movie studios and TV networks that they're going to persist with demands for a bigger cut of new-media revenues.The WGA put out its 25-item "pattern of demands," which emphasize that writers must be compensated appropriately when their work is played on digital platforms like the internet or cell phones. That includes work created specifically for those new platforms, or content created for traditional media and repurposed for the new media world.
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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.