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T-Mobile USA To Take Extreme Measure; Will Ditch The Traditional Content/App Deck

Tricia Duryee — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:53:30 -0500

From our sister site MocoNews: Starting this fall, T-Mobile USA will take the extraordinary step of ditching its traditional deck on the phone and replacing it with a platform that's open to almost any developer, multiple sources have told us. Think of *Apple's* App store, but for the entire carrier's handset line-up from smartphone to feature phone. As one developer, who was briefed on the matter, said: "The App store was a big deal, but that's one phone. This is an entire carrier." In other words, we are talking about T-Mobile's 31.5 million subscribers today vs. the 10 million iPhones Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) expects to sell by year-end (granted, the iPhone users tend to be more engaged as early adopters). The impact of this move by T-Mobile could set off a wave of changes in the industry, as other carriers feel pressure to offer new applications on their networks. Clearly, for this to happen, T-Mobile will have to follow through on its promises to encourage developers to participate. We are waiting for a statement from T-Mobile and will update when we have it....full details on MocoNews.

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Early Bird Sales Now Open: EconMusic: Sept. 23, London; Confirmed Speakers

Rafat Ali — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:25:56 -0500

Early bird ticket sales are now open for EconMusic, our half-day conference on Sept. 23 exploring the emerging economics of the digital music business.

We'll resist the "dinosaurs" comparison, but EconMusic will be held at London's Natural History Museum—an impressive venue in Kensington, right in the heart of the district occupied by many of the major labels.

In the wake of UK ISPs' agreement with the British Phonographic Industry, we will debate P2P vs. retail, "celestial jukebox" subscriptions, mobile, social media, licensing, the death of the record label and more. This is an afternoon event for senior music and digital media executives, focused on this area that is heating up so much. We've got a great list of participants so far, with more to come. The conference site is now live and we'll be finalizing program details within the coming weeks.

Confirmed Speakers

-- Billy Bragg, musician
-- Martin Stiksel, co-founder, Last.fm
-- David Courtier-Dutton, CEO, Slicethepie
-- Ben Drury, CEO, 7Digital
-- Ian Henderson, VP digital business EMEA, SonyBMG
-- David Hyman, CEO, Mog
-- Johan Vosmeijer, CEO, Sellaband
-- Mark Mulligan, VP and research director, JupiterResearch
-- Will Page, executive research director, MCPS-PRS
-- Erik Nielsen, MD, Intact Records

If you have any questions or suggestions about the program, email us at events AT contentnext.com. For sponsorship queries, email our business side at advertising AT contentnext.com.

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10-Q Watch: Yahoo Runs Up $36 Million In Legal, Other Costs Over Microsoft, Ichan In 1H08

Staci D. Kramer — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:29:18 -0500

In its 10-Q filed with the SEC today, Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) said its numbers for Q2 and 1H08 include "incremental costs of $22 million and $36 million, respectively, for outside advisors related to Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Corporation's ("Microsoft") proposals to acquire all or a part of the Company, other strategic alternatives, the recently resolved proxy contest, and related litigation defense costs." The second quarter ended June 30, so that doesn't include July, which also should have been costly given the amount of time devoted to proxy issues. Microsoft and more. That's not all the costs, of course—and doesn't begin to cover the amount Yahoo lost in sunk time, diverted internal resources and pure distraction.

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Yahoo Expands Privacy Controls Across Portal As Regulatory Scrutiny Sharpens

David Kaplan — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:39:42 -0500

Hoping to mollify Congress and state legislators, Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) is broadening 'opt-out' controls covering targeted ads across its portal. Yahoo offered up the new tools as part of its response to a Congressional inquiry about ad targeting sent to 33 companies, including AOL (NYSE: TWX), Google, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) as well as internet service providers like Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Cox Communications and Charter Communications (NSDQ: CHTR), from the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The House's activity follows similar hearings held two weeks ago in the Senate, following concerns that led Charter Communications to drop its ad targeting experiment with NebuAd last month.

Yahoo's enhanced opt-out provision should be available by the end of the month. Yahoo will set up a "privacy center" link on the home page and nearly every page on the Yahoo.com network. Users will also be able to access the opt-out through a link in the public service advertising campaign Yahoo has been running with online ads across its network to educate users about customized advertising. The company already allows users to opt-out of ads its serves on third-party sites like eBay (NSDQ: EBAY). Late last year, internet marketing companies breathed a sigh of relief when the Federal Trade Commission said it would let the industry police itself rather than adopt new regulations. But the FTC has been considering whether new regs might be necessary in the face of rising consumer complaints and federal and state legislative activity taking aim at behavioral targeting practices. Release

-- LAT: Not surprisingly, Yahoo's measure doesn't go far enough for privacy advocates. And since this is an election year, it's an open question whether Congress will feel that Yahoo has done enough for its taste as well. As Jeff Chester, of the Center for Digital Democracy, points out, Yahoo doesn't want a Congressional clampdown on its search deal with Google (NSDQ: GOOG). For the CDD, the problem is that Yahoo is still going to collect user data, even if they opt-out. Chester also dismisses as disingenuous Yahoo's argument that without the ad revenue it makes from targeted ads, it wouldn't be able to offer as much free content.

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Top Headlines Of The Week From paidContent:UK, mocoNews And contentSutra

Amanda Natividad — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:47:08 -0500

We've just opened early bird ticket sales for EconMusic, our half-day digital music conference on Sept. 23 at the Natural History Museum in London. In the meantime, all of the videos of our EconCeleb conference—including Harvey Levin's Q&A as well as Bonnie Fuller's—are now up so be sure to watch those.

Also, another busy Q2 earnings week, with results from Sirius, Warner Music Group, Macrovision and lots more.

Top Headlines of the week from our sister sites paidContent:UK, mocoNews And contentSutra:

paidContent:UK:
-- Sony Buys Bertelsmann's 50 Percent Stake In Sony BMG For $1.2 Billion
-- Shiny Media Co-Founder Norris Leaves To Form Online Video Startup
-- Teletext Holidays Moving Too Quickly In Mobile?
-- Earnings: Virgin Preps 50Mbps Cable Broadband, Mobile Dongles
-- ITV Call: Grade's Winning Broadband Viewers, Just Not More Advertisers

Be sure to take our ITV poll: Can ITV Hit Its £150 Million Web Income Target? Also, more earnings coverage at our PCUK Earnings channel

mocoNews:
-- Motorola's New Leader Estimated To Make About $94 Million In Compensation
-- Who's Going To Buy Verisign's Share of Jamba?
-- Sprint And Clearwire Say Imposing Regulations On Merger Would Hamper Abilty to Compete
-- Sprint Call: CEO Dan Hesse: "It Will Take Some Time To Fully Resolve Our Challenges"
-- Clearwire Call: New Subscribers Take Backseat As Focus Moves To Mobile WiMax Build-Out

More at our mocoNews Earnings channel

contentSutra:
-- News Corp. Investing $100 Million In TV Channels Across India
-- 3G Doors Cleared For BSNL And MTNL
-- NDTV Posts Rs 105 Crore Operating Loss In Q1 FY09
-- Airtel Live To Be Embedded With Nokia Handsets?
-- Friendster Closes $20 Million Round; Focuses On Asia Now; New CEO
-- Star In Talks To Acquire Asianet; Balaji In Talks To Exit Star

We're also looking for a sharp, energetic editor for contentSutra, preferably in Delhi or Mumbai. More details in the full listing.

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Forbes Publisher Jim Berrien Stepping Down From Day-to-Day; Tension With Elevation?

Rafat Ali — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:28:52 -0500

Jim Berrien is stepping down from running day-to-day operations as president and publisher of Forbes Magazine Group, after nine years at the helm, the company announced today. Instead, he will now be the the chairman of Forbes magazine, starting January next year. The publisher was responsible for the launch last month of luxe titles ForbesLife Executive Woman and ForbesLife Mountain Time, reports Mediaweek.

There has been some speculation over the last year that Berrien may have had some disagreements with Elevation Partners, the media PE firm that owns 40 percent of Forbes, the company, though the company has denied that. As to a replacement, the Forbes family "will be considering a variety of scenarios," said a Forbes spokeswoman, told Mediaweek.

Berrien's memo, posted on SAI, has this interesting bit: "As many of you know, the media business has seen a lot of change over the last few years--not all of it good. What I love most, high-level selling of ideas and deal-making, has been challenged by an ever-growing influence of media agencies doing their best to commoditize the extraordinary products and services under the Forbes brand." Hints of pork-bellies argument…

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Top Jobs Of The Week In Digital Media

Amanda Natividad — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:45:58 -0500

Some choice jobs in digital media posted this past week:

-- Warner Bros. Entertainment: Director, Programming and Acquisitions
-- MTV Networks: Director, VH1 Ad Sales Research
-- Babelgum: VP, Business Development
-- Cablevision: Director, Programming Acquisition
-- Lime Wire: Director, Corporate Communications

Lots more at our job board.

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Ad Nets Accounted For 30 Percent Of Publishers' '07 Sales; Premium Price Erosion?: IAB, Bain

David Kaplan — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:27:08 -0500

In the past year, ad networks accounted for 30 percent of major publishers' online sales, compared to five percent in 2006, according to a study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and Bain and Co. The report, which is available for free download on JackMyers.com, makes the point heard often this year that the use of remnant ad nets could erode premium prices. At least for 2007, the price disparity between CPMs for remnant/unsold inventory generated by ad nets versus the direct sales publishers remained wide. On average, CPMs on remnant ad nets ranged from $0.60 to $1.10 versus $10-$20 in direct sold display inventory, or only 6- to 11 percent of direct pricing. Some of the report's other findings included:

-- The lower CPM connection: Publishers still have substantial unsold inventory. And while websites have benefited from making more inventory available to ad nets, the problem is that the prices are so cheap, the revenue gains are fairly small. So while third party ad nets accounted for roughly 25 percent of total inventory sold, they comprise only 2 percent of display revenue. Publishers' desire to reduce their unsold inventory levels appear connected to greater use of ad networks and, therefore, to lower CPMs.

-- Better targeting, higher CPMs: The report suggests that better ad network targeting and inventory management will generate higher CPMs. Also, John Frelinghuysen, a partner in Bain & Company's Global Media practice, tells Jack Myers that "further scale-up and (potential) consolidation of networks should enable higher margins."

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Telefonica Complains Lycos Europe Sell-Off Too Slow

Robert Andrews — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:00:59 -0500

Telefonica's (NYSE: TEF) LE Holding Corporation, the subsidiary through which it owns 32 percent of Lycos Europe, has filed an application for an inquiry in to the "policy and conduct of business" at the once-mighty portal. The complaint was made at the Amsterdam Court of Appeal's enterprise chamber in Lycos Europe's native Holland. paidContent:UK understands the application complains that Lycos Europe management has not examined fully enough all options for sale of the company.

Lycos Europe, a JV with Bertelsmann, put itself up for sale in a strategic review back in April. But, though CEO and Bertelsmann family heir Christoph Mohn suggested AOL (NYSE: TWX) and German ad net Tomorrow Focus were bidding around €200 million, it's clear the sale process is dragging; last week Lycos Europe told me: "For the moment, there are no updates to be made." Reporting further losses this week, it said it expects to sell in the second half of this year. Dresdner Kleinwort is conducting the search.

Lycos Europe said it would review Telefonica's request. The situation is sticky as it pits the joint majority shareholder against the CEO, who himself owns 12 percent according to Telefonica.

Lycos Europe has always been a separate company to America's Lycos Inc but both sites have suffered since they were the web's most-visited back in the portal days of 1999. The US company has changed hands twice since then and the European venture has failed to capitalise on the online ads boom - though it still trumpets recent product releases like Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) Answers clone Lycos iQ, it's been losing money at a particularly chronic rate in the last two years. Emblematic of the state of affairs, Lycos Europe last year paid Lycos Inc $5.2 million to renew its license to use the brand, while entering the US itself under a completely different name, Jubii.

We received speculation that one bid would be put in from a suitor teaming up with Lycos Inc's Korean owner Daum, in a move that would reunite the two sites - but both Telefonica and Lycos Europe told us they knew nothing of such an approach.

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'UK Hulu' Kangaroo Further Delayed In Competition Inquiry

Robert Andrews — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:03:34 -0500

UK VOD JV Kangaroo, which was already facing an antitrust inquiry of six months before even launching, is now being delayed by a further month - because the trio behind the venture haven't yet agreed on key terms. The Competition Commission (CC), which in June began an investigation in to possible market distortion, last week asked the partners for important bits of information - but BBC Worldwide, ITV (LSE: ITV) and Channel 4 said they were still negotiating on those areas and will instead supply the info in September. CC today said this puts its provisional conclusion back to November and the final deadline to mid-January.

Commercial TV leader ITV was particularly critical when the commission started its inquiry - it's facing a TV ad drop-off and banking on Kangaroo to help meet its optimistic £150 million ($285 million) web sales target, which it this week postponed by two years to 2012. Kangaroo will offer ad-supported and pay-to-view shows from the main three networks after they have been shown on free, public-service channels. But CC has already identified potential competition concerns on VOD wholesale rights and retail prices.

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Blinkx Bids $41 Million For Ad Net MIVA, Aiming For Wider Distribution

Robert Andrews — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:28:12 -0500

Video search index Blinkx wants to buy pay-per-click ad network MIVA, formerly FindWhat, for million. The London- and San Francisco-based firm has offered $1.20 per share, valuing Miva at $41.13 million, a 54 percent premium on yesterday's $0.78 close and funded by cash from both companies. Blinkx reckons the acquisition would allow it to more quickly roll out the technologies it's developed over the last year - probably most notably, its own video advertising proposition, AdHoc. Blinkx launched AdHoc in June 2007 but it seems MIVA can offer Blinkx greater distribution. It does PPC on both a vanilla basis and its Precision Network caters to vertical publishing segments.

In Blinkx's letter to the MIVA board, the company says MIVA faces "several challenges" including new technology costs, "deteriorating cash position", deterioration of its Media EU business and "continued decline in revenue and profitability". Blinkx says its matching technology "will enable immediate platform improvements for MIVA", will bring it higher CPMs and can add to its toolbar product. The pair partnered back in 2005, when Blinkx served MIVA ads on to its SmartAds platform. MIVA income fell 4.6 percent year-on-year in Q1 while losses improved at $5.1 million (GAAP).

The timing is interesting. MIVA president and CMO Seb Bishop left the business this week after eight years, with CEO Peter Corrao now also assuming Bishop's president role. Its Q2 earnings come on Monday. MIVA has offices in the US, UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain.

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Earnings: Jupitermedia Ekes Out Higher 2Q Revs But Swings To Loss

Staci D. Kramer — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:31:16 -0500

Jupitermedia (NSDQ: JUPM), the online media and images firm, reported slightly higher revenues of $35 million for Q208, compared with $34.6 million last year, but still wound up in the red. It losses shot up, to $3.28 million, compared to a small profit of $386K in the year-ago quarter. Revenues from its online images business decreased to $26.09 million, from $27.28 million in the year-ago quarter, On the online media side, it had a surprising increase, to $8.9 million, up from $7.28 million in the year-ago quarter, likely the result of Mediabistro contribution. Earnings release

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Backwards Reeled The Mind: Inkie Will Print First, Serve Philly.com Later

Staci D. Kramer — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:46:10 -0500

The Philadelphia Inquirer is reverting to what once was the policy for most newspapers—print first for most stories, then online. Now, with the exception of breaking news, the Inkie plans to buck the trend of online first or going online after the print editions are in but before they've been delivered. The new policy also affects the paper's bloggers, who are urged to check with editors if uncertain about whether they should be developing stories online. No explanation why but it isn't hard to find the logic: paying readers should come first, make subscribing more relevant, etc. Then there's the added twist of sharing philly.com with the competing Daily News. However logical that sounds, at the same time the Inquirer risks making itself less relevant for those who already have made the transition online and losing their attention—and with that, becoming less relevant for advertisers.

Managing Editor Mike Leary told staffers about the change Thursday, in a memo that showed up on Romenesko: "Beginning today, we are adopting an Inquirer first policy for our signature investigative reporting, enterprise, trend stories, news features, and reviews of all sorts. What that means is that we won't post those stories online until they're in print. We'll cooperate with philly.com, as we do now, in preparing extensive online packages to accompany our enterprising work. But we'll make the decision to press the button on the online packages only when readers are able to pick up The Inquirer on their doorstep or on the newsstand." As for breaking news: "This does not mean that we will put the brakes on the immediate posting of breaking news that puts us first in a competitive Web marketplace. On the contrary." The paper started a morning team this year focused on being "first with the news."

For Jeff Jarvis, it's another death knell: "Protecting the past is no strategy for the future. It is suicide. It is murder. You should be ashamed of yourselves."

But online news vet Howard Owens likes the idea of differentiating the two and says the paper isn't going far enough. "I say, never put those stories online, but still make sure every single reporter and editor is working hard to ensure a great online edition."

Photo credit: It's Our City

Social Media Deals Report: This 199-page report, filled with charts and data, examines the categories, number and size of VC and M&A deal in social media from 2007 through 2008. Visit the ContentNext Reports page

Broadband Content Bits: Whedon's Sing-Along; Hulu HD; Bebo Series; 'Scary City'; 'Tropic Thunder'

Amanda Natividad — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:16:54 -0500

-- Joss Whedon's 'Sing-Along' resurfaces on Hulu: Now you see it, now you don't, now you see it again. Sci-fi director and writer Joss Whedon's web series, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, is now available in its entirety on Hulu for four months. A few weeks ago Whedon released the "vanishing" project online in three parts before taking it down completely after three days, with plans to eventually releasing the DVD with special features and commentary.

-- Hulu expands HD gallery: Hulu expanded its HD offerings this week, featuring a total of 27 documentaries, sports and movie clips (including Whedon's Sing-Along), and full TV shows such as The Office, 30 Rock, Heroes and 24. The gallery, having launched last December with movie trailers, does not offer embed codes but is streaming ad-free, at least for now. In June, CBS Interactive (NYSE: CBS) announced it added HD embeddable clips on its video player, while ABC began its HD offerings in May, in addition to new navigation and embedding features.

-- Bebo premiering new series: After the success of Kate Modern and Sofia's Diary, Bebo has launched another interactive series dubbed The Secret World of Sam King. Produced with Universal Music Group, the show follows Sam King, a mailroom worker who starts his own record label and features guest stars including tween sensations the Jonas Brothers. VideoEgg will host the 3-5 minute webisodes and Virgin Mobile (NYSE: VM) and Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) have signed on as integrated product sponsors.

-- LonelyGirl15 exec creating mystery series: Yumiko Aoyagi, an exec producer on LonelyGirl15, is gearing up for the U.S. launch of her Japanese murder-mystery web series, The Scary City. Beginning Sep. 15, viewers can tune into five 2-3 minute episodes and embed them onto third party sites. Aoyagi plans to eventually distribute the show to mobile phones and adapt it as manga graphic novels, with ultimate hopes of turning the venture into a full-length film.

-- DreamWorks removes 'Tropic Thunder' promo site: Apparently, they didn't think "once upon a time… there was a retard" would be offensive. After disability rights advocates hit out at simplejackmovie.com, a promotional website for Ben Stiller's upcoming comedy Tropic Thunder, for featuring that tagline, DreamWorks closed the site Monday night. Paramount Pictures developed the site which was meant to be an homage to Stiller's actor character to take a satirical jab at Hollywood for often portraying mentally challenged characters.

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Google: AOL's Not Worth $20 Billion Anymore

Rafat Ali — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:14:45 -0500

Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has filed its 10-Q quarterly, and some interesting language about how it continues to value its 5 percent stake in AOL: "We review our investment in AOL (NYSE: TWX) for impairment in accordance with FSP SFAS 115-1, The Meaning of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment and Its Application to Certain Investments ("FSP 115-1"). Based on our review, we believe our investment in AOL may be impaired. After consideration of the duration of the impairment, as well as the reasons for any decline in value and the potential recovery period, we do not believe that such impairment is "other-than-temporary" at June 30, 2008 as defined under FSP 115-1. As a result, our investment in this non-marketable equity security is carried at cost on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. We will continue to review this investment for impairment in the future. There can be no assurance that impairment charges will not be required in the future, and any such amounts may be material to our Consolidated Statements of Income. "

Translated, it means it Google is does not believe the current value of AOL is near $20 billion. Back in December 2005, Google paid about $1 billion for a 5 percent stake in AOL—though it's debatable whether Google ever believed AOL was worth that much. It was a defensive move—preventing Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) from powering AOL search—so it paid a premium. There's obviously some legalese here: the asset is still being booked "at cost" on the balance sheet (so no writedown just yet), but this is a new note not present in previous quarters, suggesting there's been a financial trigger to cause this.

AOL meanwhile has just completed the process of splitting its ISP unit from the content/services unit, and the $10 billion number on the content/services unit has been bandied around ever since Microsoft made a bid for Yahoo.

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Earnings: DivX Q2 Near High End; Outlook In Line

Joseph Weisenthal — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:13:45 -0500

Digital video technology firm DivX (NSDQ: DIVX) has announced Q2 revenue of $21.3 million, up 16.6 percent from last year. Net income jumped to $1.67 million ($.05 per share) from $1.0 million ($.03 per share). Set against a self-provided chart of quarterly expectations, the key numbers all came in high. Adjusted EPS of $.11 per share is slightly ahead of estimates. For the full year, the company is anticipating revenue of $95-$100 million, which is right around current census estimates of $98 million. The company says it's seeing traction in emerging areas such as mobile and gaming.

Release | Webcast

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Time Inc. Strange Buy: Acquiring Reader's Digest School Funding Raising Unit QSP For $110 Million

Rafat Ali — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:20 -0500

Huh. No, really...get school-aged kids to flog magazines door to door to bolster revenues. Time Inc. has bought out QSP, a school and youth groups fundraising company that was part of Reader's Digest Association, for $110 million in cash. RD is owned by PE firm Ripplewood Holdings.

For Time Inc, the fit is, well, I'll let them describe it: "It sees fundraising as a growing area for subscriptions across the magazine publishing industry and envisions benefits to operating QSP's large direct-selling force in North America." In other words, it will focus QSP on selling magazine subscriptions as a way to raise funds, something the company was already doing in addition to other incentives/gifts such as food items.

And there is history to this: RDA and Time Inc. jointly ran QSP after it was founded in 1963, but RDA bought Time Inc.'s share in 1971. QSP went on to become one of the largest fundraising company in North America helping schools, scouting groups and other organizations..it says over the years it has raised more than $3 billion.

Time Inc is slated to launch its online magazine megastore Maghound by next month, so there are some synergy possibilities there. Then of course it owns Synapse, the big magazine subscription marketing business, so there are some obvious synergies there.

But buying QSP as a time when it is trying to cut print costs, AND, focus on more digital efforts seems counter-intuitive, more harvesting a slowing business than actually latching on to a growth market. Some numbers from Time Inc's results in parent Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Q208 numbers are illuminating: Time Inc's revenues declined 6 percent ($77 million) to $1.2 billion, reflecting a 9 percent decrease ($66 million) in advertising revenues and a 10 percent decline ($14 million) in other revenues, offset slightly by a 1 percent increase ($4 million) in subscription revenues.

For RD, it does makes sense: it says it is focusing on its publishing businesses and "building multi-platform communities of customers based on our branded content". It recently sold off Taste of Home Entertaining magazine to a group of private investors led by Eric Schrier, former president and CEO of RD.

Social Media Deals Report: This 199-page report, filled with charts and data, examines the categories, number and size of VC and M&A deal in social media from 2007 through 2008. Visit the ContentNext Reports page

Earnings: Macrovision Q2 Revs Up 11 Percent; Asset Sale Process Past 'Phase 1'

Joseph Weisenthal — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 14:16:31 -0500

Macrovision (NSDQ: MVSN) Solutions, the successor to Macrovision and Gemstar, has reported Q2 revenue of $148.6 million, up 10.7 percent compared to $133.9 million. The numbers assume that the two had been merged last year, and it excludes certain ops marked for discontinuation, like TV Guide and the games business, which has been sold. Adjusted pro-forma EBITDA (yes, that's three layers of adjustments but necessary to get a clean comparison out of this release) was $39.2 million, up from $33.5 million. The technology solutions business grew 21 percent to $105.9 million, while the media networks side fell to $42.6 million from $46.7 million. The company says integration of the companies is going smoothly and that they're on track for $50 million in annual cost savings.

Besides TV Guide magazine, which it is counting as a discontinued business, it is also including eMeta, the publishing right access company it bought in 2006 for $35 million, in the discontinued line. Not sure if it is close to selling off that part, but likely.

""It is not surprising, given the widely publicized downturn in advertising markets, that our non-strategic Media Networks segment is performing below our original expectations. Additionally, we determined that our eMeta business is not core to our technology solutions strategy and have now classified it in discontinued operations," said James Budge, CFO.

Release | Webcast (5:00 PM ET)

Conference call: CEO Fred Omarosa said the company is past "Phase 1" of the asset sales process: "Phase 1 has come to a close which has resulted in multiple expressions of interest.. the qualified potential purchases are furthering their due diligence." He noted that there have been dozens of meetings with potential buyers so far. Although the weak ad market is hurting the networks business. Omarosa said the company is confident with estimate sale proceeds of $350-$500 million.

Later during the Q&A, Omarosa indicated that the sales would likely be complete by the end of the year and that the interested buyers includes a mix of both strategics and financials (PE).

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Earnings: The Knot's Q2 Profits Fall 52 Percent; Revenues Essentially Flat

David Kaplan — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:50:10 -0500

Weddings lifestyle company The Knot pointed to a challenging economic environment, as it posted a 52.1 percent decline in Q2 profits, as net income was $2.3 million ($0.07 per basic and diluted share) from last year's $4.8 million ($0.15 per basic and diluted share). Revenues barely rose to $28.7 million from Q207's $28.5 million.

-- National online revenues were up modestly to $5.4 million and $10.1 million for the three- and six months ended June 30, 2008, respectively, compared to $4.9 million and $8.4 million for the corresponding periods in 2007.

-- Local online revenues also recorded small gains of $8.0 million and $16.3 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2008, respectively, as compared to $7.6 million and $14.9 million for the corresponding periods in 2007.

-- Merchandise revenue from the sale of wedding supplies was up 10 percent, but registry services remained relatively flat compared to 2007. Publishing and other revenues declined by 22 percent, with the majority of the decrease resulting from the timing of the release of The Knot Best of Weddings publication. This magazine was released in Q1 this year, while last year it was published in Q2. Publishing and other revenues dropped 7 percent in the first half of the year versus the same period in 2007.

Release | Webcast (4:30 PM EDT)

-- Conference call: CEO David Liu sought to assure investors that the bridal business is pretty recession-proof. Unfortunately, some of the businesses The Knot depends on for its online advertising are not so immune and have cut back. Still, he said he believes the company's slowdown is temporary.

Social Media Deals Report: This 199-page report, filled with charts and data, examines the categories, number and size of VC and M&A deal in social media from 2007 through 2008. Visit the ContentNext Reports page

NBCU-Olympics: Let The Widgets Begin

Staci D. Kramer — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:02:36 -0500

Was going to go with 'let a thousand widgets bloom' but we're way beyond that with the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) has set up a massive promotional network with more than 4,000 official partners—all driving users back to NBCOlympics.com with a mix of RSS, direct links, widgets and more. We've already written about the deals with MSN and AP (with its 2,000-plus domestic media outlets); other distributors include AOL (NYSE: TWX) and its video search engine Truveo, The Sporting News, the USOC and some of its sites, some athlete sites, a batch of lifestyle outlets ranging from VIBE.com to Petside.com. That's in addition to all the NBC digital sites and partners. ~~No answer yet from NBC as to whether all get rev share~~. An NBC spokesman says no rev share for the distribution partners.

At the same time, much like March Madness although on a larger scale, NBC is propagating widgets that any site can use to take part. The result: a lot of places where users can find out a varying degree of detail, some potential reflected glory, and a lot of unpaid, online publicity for NBC. Widget is embedded after the jump.
Exclusive Summer Olympics news & widgets at NBC Olympics.com!

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