- 3-D In A Recession: Director James Cameron Weighs In
- Viacom's Paramount Sued for Misrepresentation
- Auto Bailout May Save Big 3 But No Help For Advertisers
- Nielsen's New Ad Service: Will Networks Get More Money?
- Sumner Redstone's Next Step Is Juggling Debt
- Newspaper Ad Revenues Take Even Bigger Fall
- Predictions: 9 For '09 In Media
- Broadway's Recession Plan For Tough Times
- What's Facebook Got? And What Is Twitter Worth?
- Thanks for Search Ads
More Videos
- Pfizer's Statin Study: What An Email Response!
- PGA Spokesman: Sponsors Believe In Us For Long Term
- Kilduff: Expect Rebound In Oil Prices Early 2009
- How to Move Forward After a Layoff, Part 2
- Jobs Numbers: Breakdown by Sector
- Congress And Automakers: Long And Difficult "Marriage" Ahead
- Great Companies Come at Fair Prices
- Yoshikami: Investing & the Obama Presidency
- Wall of Shame: Fortress Investment's Wes Edens
- Energy Goals a Moving Target for States
- Brown-Forman Profit Rises; Boosts 2009 Outlook
- Congress Weighing Major Restructuring of Auto Makers
- Plunging Yields Take Shine Off Treasurys
- Job Losses Hit 533,000 Last Month, Worst in 34 Years
- Citigroup Sells German Arm for $6.7 Billion
- Charts Predict S&P Festive Rally Above 1,000
- BMW's Global Sales Plunge by a Quarter in Nov.
- What the Pros Say: S&P May Fall to 700
Text Size 
The 26th annual Allen & Co. conference kicked off Tuesday night with the arrival of a parade of the biggest moguls in media and technology. They're here to talk shop and make deals with the deepest pockets and smartest minds in private equity and venture capital.
This event has sparked some of the biggest media deals, from Google's[GOOG
Loading...
()
] acquisition of YouTube to the Disney-CapCities merger in 1996. This year there's no avoiding the fact that the economy is in a downturn and the credit markets are tight, but it's not keeping the big names from rolling in.
Warren Buffett, Time Warner [TWX
Loading...
()
]CEO Jeff Bewkes, Viacom's [VIA
Loading...
()
]CEO Philppe Dauman, money man Henry Kravitz, Hollywood super agent Michael Ovitz, News Corp's [NWS
Loading...
()
]Rupert Murdoch and sons James and Lachlan all arrived Tuesday afternoon. And many of the big names we talked to acknowledged the economic realities, but were still optimistic.
David Zaslav, looking forward to Discovery Communications upcoming IPO, pointed out that while the entire advertising market is hurting, cable is holding up quite well. Disney [DIS
Loading...
()
]CEO Bob Iger, basking in the success of "Wall-E," wouldn't comment on Lehman Bros. downgrade earlier this week, but said he'll talk about how the company's holding up in the economic downturn when Disney reports earnings on July 30. Ron Myer, CEO of Universal Pictures, said he's pleased with how the summer movie season is going so far. "Wanted" opened very strong, just over a week ago. William Morris CEO Jim Wiatt pointed out that while the economy is tight that doesn't mean the right deals won't happen.
More posts |
And then there are the startups at the conference, in the spotlight for their innovative technologies, cast in the light of potential acquisition targets. Which ones are hot enough, even in this cooling economy, to merit an investment? Spotrunner's CEO Nick Grouf is here for his third year. And while he says he's not looking to be acquired, the company's do-it-yourself low cost online ad business is doing such phenomenal business this election year, it's bound to draw interest. Also in the spotlight are Bill Me Later's Gary Marino, Slide Inc's Max Levchin (a founder of PayPay) and WeatherBill's David Freidberg, who are reportedly on a "New Breed" panel on Friday. Social news site Digg's Jay Adelson is buzzing around, as are the founders of online video site Joost.
I spoke with one of last year's "New Breed," Slingmedia CEO Blake Krikorian about where they've come in the past year. SlingBox's "place-shifting" technology that allows you to access your television anywhere was a hot topic last year. One reason Krikorian was smiling (in addition to the golf), he says the economic slowdown hasn't hurt SlingBox sales a bit.
What we're watching for? News on Yahoo's [YHOO
Loading...
()
]potential deal with Microsoft [DIS
Loading...
()
]and whatever alternatives may emerge. Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is expected here, as are Bill Gates and Microsoft's acquisitions chief Hank Vigil. I'm going to be watching carefully to see who exactly Yang shmoozes with. Will it be the Google Guys? Time Warner's Bewkes? Murdoch? We shall see.
I'll continue to blog the buzz- so check in often!
Questions? Comments?
Del.icio.us
Digg It