When News Corp. spins off its publishing assets this summer, it plans to start the new company with $2.6 billion in cash and no debt, according to a new regulatory filing. That kind of cash means the potential for some major acquisitions, even as CEO Robert Thomson struggles with declining print advertising revenue.

"The new News Corporation's strong balance sheet will provide the Company with full financial flexibility to pursue its strategic agenda, which is to further develop and expand the power of its market-leading brands over a myriad of platforms," said News Corp.'s Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch in the filing.

The annual South by Southwest Interactive festival, which begins on Friday, is anticipated to be bigger than ever this year. About 25,000 people are expected to attend, which is 5 percent more than last year.

The five-day festival, which includes presentations by tech leaders, networking events, and a "Startup Village" that showcases startups, has become a can't-miss destination for entrepreneurs looking to introduce their products or draw buzz.

However, SXSW's massive size has also made it a marketing destination for major brands, including Nintendo, AOL, Yahoo, Macy's and Absolut Vodka.

The event is considered a smart way to reach early adopters and influential consumers, who are likely to Tweet, share photos on Instagram, pin on Pinterest, or post on Facebook or Tumblr about the latest product that's grabbed their attention.

(Read More: SXSW-Bound 'Buspreneurs' Found Start-Ups on the Way)

Pandora keeps drawing more listeners to its streaming music service, but it's been struggling with the fact that music licensing fees have been outpacing advertising revenue growth.

When Pandora reports earnings after the bell Thursday Wall Street expects the streaming music company to report fifty one percent higher revenue than a year ago of $123 million, on the loss of five cents per share, a loss of two pennies more than a year ago. Investors and analysts will be paying particularly close attention to the company's outlook-- looking for signs of whether the company can start to reverse the trend.

Traditional media stocks have been on quite a run into the Dow Jones' rise towards hitting the intraday peak of 14,198, with the five biggest media giants hitting new highs.

Driving the media industry's gains: growing advertising revenue, and the fact that digital distribution revenue is proving accretive, rather than cannibalizing revenue from cable distribution.

Of the traditional media players, Disney is the best performer, with its stock up more than 58 percent since the market's October 9, 2007 closing high. The biggest of the media conglomerates has soared as CEO Bob Iger has mastered the art of creating premium family-friendly brands, which it can exploit across all its platforms — the parks, TV networks, film, consumer products, and now even digital games.

(Read More: Disney Earnings Beat; 'Star Wars' Spinoffs Planned)

NewsCorp.'s long-anticipated plans to launch a national sports network have finally come together. On August 17, the company will convert Speed TV to Fox Sports 1, launching it in 90 million U.S. homes.

The new channel will take advantage of News Corp.'s rights to college basketball and football, along with NASCAR, soccer, and UFC. The news comes as the media giant prepares to spin off its publishing business from the entertainment businesses this summer.

When Walt Disney welcomes shareholders to its annual meeting on Wednesday, it won't just be taking a victory lap, despite the fact that its stock is up more than 30 percent over the past 12 months and is trading around all-time highs. The media giant is facing opposition on two fronts—Bob Iger's dual role as chairman and CEO and its compensation plan.

The Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds has proposed a plan to separate the roles of CEO and chairman. The plan is backed by high-profile pension fund CalSTERS, the Netherlands' PGGM Investments, and two of the largest proxy advisory services—ISS and Glass Lewis.

Andrew Mason has been fired as CEO from Groupon, but the business hasn't changed in the past 24 hours. The stock is flying higher—investors seem relieved that the struggling company is making big changes to turn things around.

There also seems to be an element of relief that the company is saying goodbye to Mason's quirky, wild-card management style. But with the stock down some 75 percent since its November 2011 IPO, as profit margins are squeezed, the big question now: Can a new CEO save Groupon?

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason was handed a pink slip Thursday, fired after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter results along with a dim outlook.

"After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today," Mason said in an email to employees announcing his departure.

"If you're wondering why… you haven't been paying attention," he added. (Read the full text of the email below.)

Groupon shares shot up more than 10 percent following the news. What's the stock doing now? Click here for the latest after-hours quote.

The stock has fallen more than 75 percent since its November 2011 IPO. In regular trading Thursday, the stock fell 25 percent after the disappointing fourth-quarter results came out late Wednesday.

The results revealed that the company has had to slash its fees from merchants to grow its business and that its new Groupon Goods business would decline in the first quarter. Mason was so confident on the earnings call, he drew criticism of being entirely out of touch. Twenty-four hours later the guillotine fell.

(Read More: Why Groupon Earnings Were Such a Disappointment)

Groupon has not yet announced his successor but said Executive Chairman Eric Lefkofksy and Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis would serve as co-CEOs until one is found.

"This company outgrew Andrew, his vision notwithstanding. The company has different challenges now. It's in a different stage of its life and requires a different team," said Stern Agee Analyst Arvind Bhatia, who has a rare "buy" rating on the stock.

"For a company that's doing $5 billion in billings, they're not generating that much profit and I think there's an opportunity for somebody to come in and improve their margins over time," Bhatia said.

(Read More: Forget Dismal Earnings, Groupon Still a Buy: Analyst )

Here is the full text of Mason's email to Groupon employees:

People of Groupon,

After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding – I was fired today. If you're wondering why… you haven't been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that's hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.

You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I'm getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we've shared over the last few months, and I've never seen you working together more effectively as a global company – it's time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise.

For those who are concerned about me, please don't be – I love Groupon, and I'm terribly proud of what we've created. I'm OK with having failed at this part of the journey. If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I'll now take some time to decompress (FYI I'm looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I'll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.

If there's one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what's best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness – don't waste the opportunity!

I will miss you terribly.

Love,

Andrew

Facebook announced on Thursday it plans to acquire the Atlas Advertiser Suite from Microsoft. The company didn't reveal a price tag, but sources said Facebook is paying in the ballpark of $100 million.

It's not a big deal, but it's a strategic one; the technology will be key to help Facebook better measure its ads impact on purchasing behavior across the web. That information should drive more ad purchases. It should also help Facebook and brands better utilize ads, to make sure they yield the best results.

When New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Signed Legislation approving the legalization of online gambling, he said he was looking to help the struggling Casino industry, but it could also be a game-changer for Zynga, other social game companies, and the technology providers that offer the infrastructure to manage gambling. New Jersey is the third state to approve online gambling, and there are many steps—and perhaps even years—before this business takes off, but as such a populous stake, it's a key step in tipping this business to the mainstream.

Zynga shares added nearly five percent the session Christie signed the legislation, after jumping on Friday, after Nevada approved online gambling. While Zynga struggles to grow the number of people who pay to play its free games, and pushes to grow the amount that small percentage of people are paying, real-money gaming would provide a much-needed new revenue stream. Over 30 million people play Zynga's poker game on Facebook alone every month. So if even a small percent of those people are convinced to gamble with cash, that would provide a much needed boost to Zynga's bottom line.