Playboy Enterprises, Inc. (PLA) published its quarterly numbers today, and while there were some positive developments, overall, I think it's safe to say that the stock is a risk that should be avoided. Unless, of course, you simply want to roll the dice and speculate.

Hey, nothing wrong with having a little fun, I suppose, although there surely are more attractive speculative bets out there. According to , Playboy lost 83 cents per share in Q4. Last year at this time, there was a loss of $4.40 per share.

Continue reading Playboy Still Not Pretty Enough for My Portfolio

Playboy Still Not Pretty Enough for My Portfolio originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Netflix Soars on Strong Fourth Quarter Numbers

Netflix Soars on Strong Fourth Quarter Numbers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Oprah Winfrey, arguably the most powerful woman in entertainment (if not the world in general), is preparing to pack her luxurious bags. She's announced that in 2011, after a quarter-century of favorite things and heartfelt interviews, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will be no more. The last program is scheduled for Sept. 9, 2011. One can only imagine who might be her guests.

In syndication across the country, Oprah's eponymous program is the top-rated U.S. daytime show (take that, Days of Our Lives!), with an average viewership of 7.1 million this year.

While not entirely unexpected, the news is likely a bit of a blow to CBS Corporation (CBS), as its CBS Television Distribution arm syndicates the program. Additionally, Walt Disney (DIS) might feel the sting of an Oprah departure as Disney-owned ABC is the primary network that airs the show. And will it impact O, Oprah's monthly magazine published by the Heart Corporation? To say nothing of all of the manic women in the audience who long for a chance at one of Oprah's favorite things.

Continue reading Oprah to pull the plug in 2011

Oprah to pull the plug in 2011 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A new executive team is trying to bring MySpace back to its former glory. By focusing on music, videos and games, it hopes to recapture some of its luster. With the MySpace refugees mounting, it's time for some new blood to make some brilliant, future-changing decisions. This week, the company is holding a conference for its global ad sales team to explore ways to bring in traffic and beef up ad spending.

MySpace is poised to haul in $495 million in ad revenue this year, down 15% from last year's $585 million, according to research firm eMarketer. In August, MySpace attracted 64.2 million unique visitors from the United States, off 15% from August 2008, according to comScore, while Facebook pulled in 92.2 million unique U.S. visitors - up more than 100% year-over-year.

Continue reading MySpace (still) refocusing on entertainment content

MySpace (still) refocusing on entertainment content originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Hasbro: A high-risk play that's not for the squeamish

Hasbro: A high-risk play that's not for the squeamish originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Last week it was announced that the long-anticipated separation of AOL from Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) is set to happen before the end of the year -- then what?

If all goes well, AOL will set its own course sustaining what's left of its internet prominence, after falling from what was once internet dominance before its merger with TWX, and the continuous contraction of its dial-up subscriptions.

AOL still attracts more than 100 million Internet users to its online content portal, which includes BloggingStocks, so the adventure will continue. And, an AD-venture it is sure to be.

The same is true for Time Warner, the world's largest media conglomerate with operations spanning film, television, cable TV, and publishing. It will have an AD-venture of its own.

Continue reading TWX to let AOL run free -- good idea!

TWX to let AOL run free -- good idea! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) CEO Rupert Murdoch, at 77, has been around for a while. But it looks like that while may be too long after today's report on News Corp. earnings and outlook. That report suggests that Murdoch wildly overpaid for Dow Jones. But he wanted it and he got what he wanted. The questions for long-suffering shareholders is whether what Murdoch wants is good for them and whether he's the person to lead News Corp through the troubled waters ahead.

Prospects are for more pain. Analysts are estimating a 22% drop in News Corp.'s fiscal 2009 operating profit to almost $4 billion. And with its stock down 56% in the last year, what could Murdoch do to revive it? One possibility is to restructure the newspapers in a radical -- but obvious way -- put all the content online and sell search advertising to those who want access to all the readers. That would cut the cost of the newspapers tremendously.

Continue reading Is it time for a management change at News Corp?

Is it time for a management change at News Corp? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Disney (NYSE: DIS) will be reporting earnings for the fiscal first quarter Tuesday after the market close. There shouldn't be any growth in the bottom line. Of course, no one should be surprised by that. After all, this is Disney we're talking about, a company which provides goods and services that can easily be cut out of any consumer budget. Remember, conservation of cash is becoming quite the fad.

According to this source, Disney may earn $0.52 per share.That would represent a contraction of $0.11, or 17%. The big question is whether or not Disney will miss. If it does, investors won't be happy, because it'll be the second miss in a row. Wall Street was previously accustomed to seeing the Mouse religiously beat the analysts at their holy game. But Q4 changed the story.

Continue reading Earnings preview: Will Disney deliver the magic?

Earnings preview: Will Disney deliver the magic? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Time Warner now expects a loss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Broadcast TV is apparently doing well compared to most other media. That is probably because it can still deliver tens of millions of people in one place and at one time. Marketers with products that sell nationwide and across fairly wide demographics cannot get that breadth of audience anywhere else.

According to The New York Times, "despite the continued fragmentation of national television viewing, the power of the broadcast networks to reach mass audiences on a nightly basis continued to give them an edge over other media."

That logic appears to have been missed by investors. CBS (NYSE:CBS), the biggest market "pure play" in broadcast TV is down over 70% during that last year. Contrast that to Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), which has no national broadcast network. Its shares are only off 40% for the same period.

Disney's (NYSE:DIS) reputation on Wall St. has little to do with its ownership of ABC. Investors like its ESPN cable network and its theme parks. ABC's numbers are often viewed as a drag on Disney's value.

NBC, which is part of the entertainment arm of GE (NYSE:GE), is routinely mentioned as a bad match for the rest of the conglomerate's business. Analysts often point to the fact that GE's value would be helped if it jettisoned the operation. It does not have the margins or growth potential of GE's huge infrastructure division.

If networks are doing so well, shareholders did not get the memo.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

If broadcast TV is doing well, what happened to its stock prices? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's just weeks away -- a potentially big change for the television show that transfixes America. But how many people would watch it if the show's superstar decided to take a hike? That's not just a troubling question for viewers of the show but for investors in the stock of the company that licenses it around the world. What show am I talking about? American Idol. Which star is thinking of leaving? Wait for it -- Simon Cowell. And what stock could take a beating if he leaves? CKX Inc (NASDAQ: CKXE).

Simon Cowell is thinking of leaving American Idol. According to MSNBC, Simon said "I'll make a decision about (whether to stay with the show) next year." Why would Simon leave? He claims it's not personality conflicts but the workload and his belief that the show could keep those demands going "for another 10 years." But if Simon leaves, would the show be as popular? Could the producers find someone else to be the harsh voice of reality?

That's an important question for investors in CKX. Way back in June 2007, CKX accepted a bid to go private in a $1.3 billion LBO led by its founder Robert Sillerman. But on November 4. 2008, that deal fell apart due to tightening credit conditions. This put Sillerman's 19X, which was leading the buyout, on the hook for a $37.5 million termination fee, which it said it would pay for with about 3.3 million shares of CKX common stock then valued at $11.08 per share and $500,000 in cash. The company said it will pay the fee in full within 30 days of the deal's termination date.

Continue reading Would Simon Cowell's departure from American Idol hurt CKX?

Would Simon Cowell's departure from American Idol hurt CKX? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Viacom (NYSE: VIA) had some nasty news for about 7% of its human resources. According to this item, 850 people will lose their jobs at the media conglomerate. In addition, those working in senior-management capacities will reportedly not see any increases in their salaries next year.

Let me say right off the bat that I feel badly for anyone who loses a job. It's one of the toughest things a person can go through. That being said, I do have to say that I think Viacom has no choice but to become leaner. In fact, all the media companies need to take a hard look at how many people they have on their payrolls. Even in good times, I find that, businesses associated with Hollywood oftentimes are way too bloated.

But Viacom and the rest of its colleagues need to look beyond job cuts and salary freezes as a way of keeping costs under control. They need to look at every budget for every piece of content in their development pipelines and slash where appropriate. They need to ask themselves if the talent on a particular project is too expensive. Again, this isn't just an exercise for recessionary periods. This is something that should be done all the time. Hollywood does not do enough in terms of operating efficiently. I mean, consider that many media companies like Disney (NYSE: DIS), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal have so many integrated assets at their disposal. Shouldn't they be making better use of them, engaging a bit more synergy? Ah, but synergy is dead, isn't it? At least, that was the theory behind the split of old Viacom into new Viacom and CBS (NYSE: CBS), right?

Continue reading Viacom cutting jobs to cope with recession, but it needs to do more

Viacom cutting jobs to cope with recession, but it needs to do more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here's an idea for you: Disney (NYSE: DIS) should consider buying Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS). No, I didn't come up with the concept. It came from Martin Peers over at The Wall Street Journal (subscription required). Although this is an interesting idea, I can tell you that as a Disney shareholder, I absolutely disagree with it. In fact, I have to wonder if any Disney shareholder in their right mind could possibly be supportive of such an idea.

Buy EA? The author must have been kidding, right? Honestly, that would be one of the worst things that CEO Bob Iger could do. I really don't think it would happen, but then again, I never thought we'd see a hellish financial implosion based on a crisis of confidence precipitated by the popping of a housing bubble to end all housing bubbles.

Yep, strange days beget strange things, and the notion that the Mouse should invest in EA is perhaps one of the stranger beasts to walk Wall Street. Although the author does make a case that EA is cheap, I shudder to think about how Iger would possibly integrate the publisher into his conglomerate. Disney already has made significant investments in the video-game industry, and many of the games that the company releases are based on intellectual properties that have already been incubated in other parts of the business. Imagine if Disney had to deal with a larger, more complex pipeline, one that would obviously contain a lot of properties that could not be used in, say, the theme parks or by the movie studio. Personally, I think it would be a distraction to Disney.

Continue reading Disney should never buy EA

Disney should never buy EA originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Icahn doubles up on Lions Gate Entertainment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The index for comparison is the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which closed on June 30, 2008 at 1,280.00. The S&P closed Friday at 1,099.23 , down 14.12%.

Each of my five picks is beating the market and three of the five are actually up despite crushing news in the financial sector, unemployment and housing. Congress did pass a Wall Street backstop/bailout bill that President Bush has signed, but only after adding another 450 pages and $130 billion to the amount. Although the five stocks have averaged a 0.75% loss, as intended, they easily beat the S&P by 13.37%.

Here are the five stocks that I still think are worth considering. For my original rationale see the linked story above.

1) Johnson and Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) -- when recommended, the stock closed at $64.34 and paid a 2.89% dividend yield. It closed Friday at $66.16 -- up 2.75%. JNJ was featured in Barron's this month as the most respected from the top 100 companies in the world.

Continue reading Serious Money: Stable stocks beating S&P 500 - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA, XEL

Serious Money: Stable stocks beating S&P 500 - CB, DIS, JNJ, TEVA, XEL originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will the Jonas Brothers be the next big thing for Disney? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is one in a series on prominent company nicknames. See all 25, and share your thoughts and memories about the Mouse House below in the comments.

Anyone who has ever wondered about the term "Mouse House" need only consult the slanguage dictionary of the show business bible Variety, which defines it this way: "the Walt Disney Co. or any division thereof, a reference to the company's most famous animated character, Mickey Mouse." Variety also refers to Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) simply as the "Mouse."

I've recently rediscovered Mickey because of my nearly two-year-old son Jacob, and I'll say that the old rodent looks pretty good. I mean he's not in his Fantasia form, but he can still deliver the goods for the toddler crowd. Jacob probably is confused by many of the same things about Mickey and his gang as I was, such as why Donald Duck wears no pants and what sort of animal is Goofy. Those mysteries will endure until we fulfill our promise to take our son to visit Mickey's house in Florida.

Disney deserves credit for keeping Mickey Mouse relevant for today's kids because it realizes that the character remains vital to the brand of the world's second-largest media company. The company remains the best-run company in the sector and the only stock worth owning.

Company nicknames: Disney, the Mouse House, still relevant after all these years originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 10 Aug 2008 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports that BloggingStocks' parent -- Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) -- is almost done with the work of separating AOL's 8.7 million subscriber dial-up business from its advertising one. And Earthlink (NASDAQ: ELNK), with 3.3 million subscribers, appears to be the logical partner -- particularly if it's willing to pay more than the $2 billion to $3 billion the Journal estimates its worth.

When AOL announced two years ago that it was going to get out of the Internet access business and focus on advertising, I wondered how it would come up with the roughly $2 billion it would lose from the plan to give away all of AOL's content and services to subscribers who don't use AOL for dial-up access. The plan was to replace that cash flow with advertising sales. But the most recently available comparison shows that AOL's revenue has declined 43% from $1.981 billion in Q1 2006 to $1.128 billion in Q1 2008. A 64% drop in subscription revenues to $559 million was not offset by the 41% increase in advertising revenues to $552 million.

Still, I think the idea of combining AOL's shrinking dial-up business unit with Earthlink could benefit Time Warner and yield some cost savings that would boost Earthlink's cash flow.

Continue reading Will Time Warner get $15 billion for a split-up AOL?

Will Time Warner get $15 billion for a split-up AOL? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Media Networks revenue for the quarter increased 8% to $4.1 billion and segment operating income increased 9% to $1.5 billion helped by growth at ESPN and the Disney Chanel.
  
• Parks and Resorts revenue increased 5% to $3.0 billion and segment operating income increased 3% to $641 million amid higher ticket prices and guest spending at Walt Disney World.
• Studio entertainment and consumer products showed declines amid lower box office receipts and the disappointing performance of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

Disney defies skeptics originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sirius acquisiton of XM to finally get FCC approval originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.