The Morning Fix: Emma Stone! Tyler Perry channel. Cord-cutters.
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After the coffee. Before analysis of the News Corp. earnings call.
The Skinny: News Corp. will host an earnings call Wednesday afternoon. Wonder if analysts will be throwing verbal pies at Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch. In the news, Disney had a strong third quarter. Tyler Perry wants to start a cable channel and more people are cutting the cord to their cable and satellite providers.
Same old story. Walt Disney Co.’s profit jumped 11% for its fiscal third quarter. As usual, the gains were attributed to the company’s cable holdings, including its ESPN sports empire. Theme parks were also solid, but the movie studio revenue was flat and operating income was down 60%. A look at the numbers from the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
Keep dreaming. News Corp., the media giant which has been engulfed by a phone hacking scandal at its now-shuttered News of the World tabloid, will release financial results and talk to analysts. Bloomberg reports on an investor group that wants the company to ease the grip of mogul Rupert Murdoch on the company. Good luck with that.
Tyler TV. Can’t get enough of Tyler Perry? Well fear not. Apparently Lionsgate, the production company behind his Madea movies, is thinking of launching a cable channel with Perry, who has already found small-screen success with his TBS comedies including ‘House of Payne’ and ‘Meet the Browns.’ ‘Boondocks’ cartoonist Aaron McGruder, who loves taking shots at Perry’s work, should have a field day with this one. More from the New York Times.
Cutting the cord. The bulk of multichannel video programming distributors, which is what we used to call satellite and cable operators (kind of like how ‘first responders’ replaced firemen and police), saw their subscriber base decline in the second quarter. Some may be dropping their service for economic reasons, but others no doubt are opting for streaming services and the Internet as their gateway to entertainment. The industry, meanwhile, continues to be in denial. I think the telephone companies said the same thing about cellphones a decade or so ago. Analysis from the Associated Press. The New York Post looks at some of the sales pitches MVPDs are trying to woo customers back.
Dating game. Movie studios are gobbling up ideal release dates for big-ticket movies earlier these days. Sometimes the movies have not been green-lighted but are expected since they’re sequels to existing franchises. The Los Angeles Times on the new complexities of being in charge of scheduling at a studio.
Rejected! Comcast lost Round One in its effort to derail a DirecTV marketing campaign promising free NFL games to subscribers. A judge denied the cable company’s request for a temporary restraining order to halt DirecTV’s ad campaign. More from Variety.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Betsy Sharkey loves ‘The Help.’ Emma Stone is on a roll.
-- Joe Flint
Follow me on Twitter. It’s not like you have anything better to do. Twitter.com/JBFlint
