With everything from call centers to web site design being outsourced, the clear trend in the business world is to outsource almost any task that can be done cheaper and quicker somewhere else. Reports that CBS (NYSE: CBS) and cable news pioneer CNN, owned by Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) are in talks about outsourcing the news, should come as no surprise.

According to a story in The New York Times, "Broadly speaking, the executives described conversations about reducing CBS's news-gathering capacity while keeping its frontline personalities, like Katie Couric, the CBS Evening News anchor, and paying a fee to CNN to buy the cable network's news feeds. "

With CBS stuck in third place among major networks for years, and general viewership of the evening news falling due to alternative news outlets such as cable news, blogs and internet sites, this tie-up would make economic sense. CBS would be able to keep its brand name and substantially cut costs, as they would be able to take CNN news feeds from around the country.

Continue reading Will the evening news be outsourced?

Will the evening news be outsourced? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

CBS tries to re-brand Katie Couric originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• Bear Stearns Companies Inc (NYSE: BSC), already forced to shut two hedge funds that bet heavily on the risky subprime-mortgage market, is now facing big losses in a third fund that has roughly $900 million in mortgage investments, according to people familiar with the matter, reported the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).
• Three months after announcing that it may sell itself to Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Crescent Real Estate Equities Company (NYSE: CEI) is expected to move ahead with the $2.9B sale for its exit from the public market, reported the Wall Street Journal.

• According to people familiar with the matter, Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), the largest chemicals group in the U.S., is considering making a counter-bid for ICI, which has a GBP7.8B bid from Akzo Nobel (NASDAQ: AKZOY), reported the Telegraph.
• The Telegraph reported that British Airways (OTC: BAIRY) has agreed to pay a fine of GBP121.5M to the U.K.'s Office of Fair Trading and will also pay a fine to the U.S. Department of Justice because of its involvement in an alleged price-fixing scandal.

• Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) has fired four purchasing managers for their involvement in a purchasing scandal involving millions of dollars in kickbacks regarding the display of flooring products, reported CBS News.

Newspaper wrap-up 8-1-07: More bad news at Home Depot originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 01 Aug 2007 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is in talks with Hollywood studies over making new movies available for rental on its iTunes service, according to two studio executives familiar with the matter.
• The Wall Street Journal reported that former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan may have added to subprime troubles by opposing a proposal for the Fed to use its authority to send examiners to the offices of consumer-finance lenders that were units of Federal regulated bank holding companies.

• The Bush administration has repeatedly defended Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) against anti-competitive conduct accusations, including the rejection of a complaint by Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), reported the New York Times.
• A major Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) partner for the company's 787 Dreamliner program - Vought Aircraft - is falling behind in obtaining parts for the plane's fuselage sections, reported the Seattle Times.

• Senator Joe Lieberman said yesterday on "Face The Nation" that the United States should launch strikes against Iran if the government does not stop aiding anti-American forces in Iraq, reported CBS News website.

Newspaper wrap-up 6-11-07: Apple in talks for movie rentals on iTunes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 11 Jun 2007 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In yet another sign of the decline of network television news, General Electric Co.'s (NYSE: GE) NBC dumped "Dateline" anchor Stone Phillips. He won't be the last high-priced talent to be shown the door.

As ratings continue to decline for news programs at NBC, Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE: DIS) ABC and CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) profit pressures are intensifying as shareholders demand to see a return for the money being poured into these shows.

That's why Phillips won't be earning nearly as much at his next job as the $7 million USA Today says he earned at NBC. Odds are best that he'll wind up at News Corp's (NYSE: NWS) Fox News Channel, Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE: TWX) or another cable network such as the Discovery Channel which is now home to former "Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel.

In the wake of Philips' departure, TV personalities up and down the dial are probably quaking in their designer clothes wondering whether they will be next. It's a well-founded fear.

Networks are less patient than ever.

If entertainment programs don't immediately catch on, they are gone after a handful of episodes. Ratings are just as important to news programs. Though nightly news programs have been in decline for years, they still make good money for the networks.

Ratings points translate into advertising sales which translates eventually into profits. No TV star is immune from fiscal realities.

That's why Philips got pushed out the door. "Dateline" has morphed into a program dedicated to catching pathetic sex offenders. His services as a newsman were no longer needed.

Media World: Who's next after NBC's Stone Phillips? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 May 2007 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yahoo! and CBS partner up on local news originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Oct 2006 11:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.