Time Warner opts not to whack future Sopranos potential

Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) decided the most obvious business strategy is the best business strategy: keep opportunities for a franchise open! After endless speculation about the fate of Tony Soprano, the series ended with the patriarch eating dinner with his family.

Phil Leotardo did get whacked after a partial betrayal in his own ranks with Tony Soprano's men tracking him down (with help of a small FBI tip), but you knew that Time Warner wasn't going for a new mob series called "The Leotardo's." But the show did end obliquely. Tony Soprano was left alive, although either an assassin or an FBI agent headed into the bathroom and two more unknown characters ominously entered the front of the building.

What is obvious is that even with an open ending, Tony's life is still in disarray and he is an easy target, even after winning the war with his enemy. His attorney said one of his old crew was turning state's evidence and there was an 80% or 90% chance of a federal indictment over an old gun charged lumped with a RICO case. Regardless, Time Warner made the savvy choice: Don't whack potential future profits. "THE END" isn't really ever the end if there is enough money at stake.