Do you want to watch television on your iPad? No problem. Just download an app. Cablevision (CVC) claims that its customers can watch 300 channels at home, according to Reuters.

The interesting feature of this program is that you don't need the Internet. Cablevision uses a digital code to deliver content to an Apple (AAPL) iPad. The app allows you to search channels by genre and record programs.

Continue reading Cablevision App Lets You Watch TV on Your iPad

Cablevision App Lets You Watch TV on Your iPad originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Warner Brothers, Time Warner's (TWX) movie entertainment arm, is going to launch part 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows in 3D during 2011. We take this opportunity to estimate the value of such movies from Time Warner's perspective. Time Warner competes with Viacom (VIA), News Corp. (NWS), CBS (CBS) and Disney (DIS) in the media and entertainment business.

Our price estimate for Time Warner's stock stands at $35.51, in line with market price.

Continue reading What the Final Harry Potter Film Means to Time Warner

What the Final Harry Potter Film Means to Time Warner originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Viacom (VIA) competes with other media and broadcasting companies like Time Warner (TWX), News Corp. (NWS), CBS (CBS) and Disney (DIS) in the media and entertainment business. Our price estimate for Viacom's stock stands at $58.36, which is a roughly 10% premium to market price.

Viacom makes money through cable and satellite operators, such as Comcast (CMCSA), Time Warner Cable (TWC), and DirecTV (DTV) that pay Viacom a monthly fee for each of their subscribers that receive Viacom-owned channels such as Nickelodeon, MTV, VH1 and TV Land. Viacom also sells advertising spots on its channels to advertisers like Coca-Cola (KO), Ford (F) and Procter & Gamble (PG). These revenues are partially a function of the total number of U.S. pay-TV households. The modifiable chart below showcases how changes to this metric affect Viacom's stock value.

Continue reading TV Channels Drive 79% of Viacom's Stock Value

TV Channels Drive 79% of Viacom's Stock Value originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Viacom (VIA) competes with other media and broadcasting companies like Time Warner (TWX), News Corp. (NWS), CBS (CBS) and Disney (DIS) in the media and entertainment business. Our price estimate for Viacom's stock stands at $58.36, which is a roughly 15% premium to market price.

The company recently signed a deal with Hulu to make more of its TV content available on the subscription/ad-supported portal. In its press release Viacom stated that:

Continue reading Viacom's Deal with Hulu Makes Sense

Viacom's Deal with Hulu Makes Sense originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

According to Box Office Mojo's early estimates for the four-day holiday weekend, Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) thriller Unknown has taken the number-one position with a domestic haul of $25.6 million. The next two movies on the chart came close to that figure, but the more interesting thing about them is that they come courtesy of The Walt Disney Company (DIS).

In second place is Gnomeo and Juliet with $24.8 million. Pretty cool, actually. I didn't think the cartoon would necessarily hold up as well as it has in the second weekend.

Continue reading It's Disney vs. Time Warner at the Multiplex

It's Disney vs. Time Warner at the Multiplex originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Based on what I was reading going into the weekend, I thought the multiplex was going to be an unexciting place. I was therefore rather surprised to see what I thought were relatively impressive numbers attached to the top films.

According to early estimates for domestic grosses at Box Office Mojo, Sony's (SNE) Just Go With It, starring Adam Sandler, is so far credited with a first-place showing; the movie is believed to have made about $31 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period. But Viacom's (VIA.B) Justin Bieber: Never Say Never product isn't giving up without a fight. At the time of writing, it was in second place with $30.3 million. Essentially, it's a tie.

Continue reading Viacom's Bieber Film Gives Sony's Sandler Project a Fight

Viacom's Bieber Film Gives Sony's Sandler Project a Fight originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Activision Blizzard: Buy the Dip?

Activision Blizzard: Buy the Dip? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Viacom's (VIA.B) B shares sold off on Thursday following the distribution of the media conglomerate's fiscal Q1 numbers. It's a shame. The stock has been doing really well, as can be seen by this chart. It would have been good if the shares had rallied with the data. That's all right. Even though the equity closed down almost 1% to $43.55 on active volume, it's still not too far away from the 52-week high of $45.29.

Is the price action a signal to sell? Well, I can't say I was blown away by the earnings news. According to the corporate release, adjusted profit from continuing businesses went down 11% to $1.02 per share. Okay, fine, a drop was already on the radar. In fact, the Associated Press says that the bottom line was four pennies ahead of the forecast.

Continue reading Viacom Sells Off After Q1 Earnings Report

Viacom Sells Off After Q1 Earnings Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Viacom's B shares (VIA.B) hit a new 52-week high of $43 on Friday during the intraday session (it eventually closed at $42.28). This is a stock I watch fairly regularly, and it's looking like it wants to make a run to even higher heights.

The equity has done well since hitting a 52-week low of $27.89 nearly a year ago. The twelve-month chart shows the stock's escape from a sideways-trading pattern. You can't help but call the media company attractive from a technical viewpoint.

I also find the business to be interesting from a valuation perspective. Even with the appreciation in price, the shares are arguably not too expensive.

Continue reading Viacom Hits New 52-Week High

Viacom Hits New 52-Week High originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 22 Jan 2011 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As everyone knows by now, the Apple (AAPL) iPhone is headed for Verizon's (VZ) reportedly more reliable network. With so much excitement over the announcement, traders and investors can look at various ways to profit off of this.

The obvious beneficiary is Apple, but there are additional ways to play it, such as the advertising companies, as Verizon hits the airwaves to promote the iPhone, even at the expense of the Android. A few ideas to consider include names like CBS (CBS) and Viacom (VIA), which should win no matter which platform wins.

Continue reading Trading the Verizon iPhone

Trading the Verizon iPhone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Little Fockers

Continue reading GE's 'Little Fockers' Beats Viacom's 'True Grit'

GE's 'Little Fockers' Beats Viacom's 'True Grit' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Viacom (VIA.B) is seeing a bid today. The B shares are up, at the time of this writing, by 3.4% to $39.40. The 52-week high is currently set at $39.76, and it was hit during the intraday session. A look at the chart shows a stock that has been breaking through new trading levels.

Will it continue to do so? Well, the third-quarter numbers show something of a mixed bag, in my opinion. Adjusted earnings from continuing businesses increased a mere 6% to 75 cents per share. That was enough to beat the estimate of 70 cents per share, as indicated in this Associated Press article.

Continue reading Viacom Up on Earnings Numbers

Viacom Up on Earnings Numbers originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Disney Set to Report Q4 Earnings

Disney Set to Report Q4 Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A year ago, a fierce battle was being waged between two Hollywood studios for the dominance of the Halloween movie marketplace. Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF) was high on its latest gory sequel, Saw VI, while Viacom (VIA.B) was pinning its hopes on a low-budget film entitled Paranormal Activity. It was something of a David-and-Goliath situation; certainly the bloody brand equity of the Saw franchise could not be bested by some goofy found-footage-themed piece of celluloid?

Haven't the Goliaths of this world learned anything? Saw VI ended up the loser of the competition. I was amazed. Lions Gate, however, wanted to give it another shot. So, Saw 3D, which supposedly may be the final one of the series (yeah, we'll see), declared war on the sequel to Viacom's demon tale, Paranormal Activity 2, this past weekend; Jigsaw apparently is out for a little revenge.

Continue reading Saw 3D: Final Attempt Does the Trick for Lions Gate

Saw 3D: Final Attempt Does the Trick for Lions Gate originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Viacom Dominates Theaters with 'Paranormal Activity 2'

Viacom Dominates Theaters with 'Paranormal Activity 2' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Viacom's 'Jackass' Franchise Makes Triumphant Return

Viacom's 'Jackass' Franchise Makes Triumphant Return originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 Oct 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Soleil upgraded Community Health (CYH) to buy from hold based on expectations for improved 2011 demand. The firm has a $40 price target on the stock.
• Wunderlich upgraded Invesco Mortgage (IVR) to buy from hold following the company's better-than-expected Q3 dividend. The firm also raised its target price for shares to $23.50 from $21.50.
• Goldman upgraded SuccessFactors (SFSF) to conviction buy from buy, citing cloud exposure.
• Vulcan Materials (VMC) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Comstock Resources (CRK) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Ladenburg.
• Trimble Navigation (TRMB) was upgraded to buy from hold at Canaccord.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AAPL, CYH, DIS, ISRG, IVR, NYT, SNDK, TWX, VIA, VMC, WFMI ...

Analyst Calls: AAPL, CYH, DIS, ISRG, IVR, NYT, SNDK, TWX, VIA, VMC, WFMI ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Goldman upgraded Costco (COST) to buy from neutral based on valuation, improving fundamentals and potential catalysts. The firm raised its price target to $68 from $62.
• Soleil upgraded MGM Resorts (MGM) to buy from hold, citing valuation, easing balance sheet concerns and a multiyear convention recovery. The firm upped its target for shares to $14 from $13. Note, Soleil also downgraded Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to hold from buy.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) to overweight from neutral with a $59 price target following the company's better-than-expected Q2 results.
• Dell (DELL) was upgraded to buy from outperform at CLSA.
• CommScope (CTV) was upgraded to buy from neutral at UBS.
• EnCana (ECA) was upgraded to sector outperformer from sector performer at CIBC.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BA, COST, DELL, GD, INTC, LVS, MGM, PCLN, TWX, V, VIA ...

Analyst Calls: BA, COST, DELL, GD, INTC, LVS, MGM, PCLN, TWX, V, VIA ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Viacom (VIA.B) issued a press release at the beginning of the month touting MTV's excellent summer. The cable asset is apparently very satisfied with the ratings generated by some of its famous franchises.

Management said MTV's performance from June through August was the best in three years. Ratings increased 16% on a year-over-year basis during that time period. Without checking, can you guess what was highlighted near the top of the release? I'm sure Jersey Shore immediately came to your mind. The show engaged 5.8 million total viewers at its series high.

Continue reading Viacom's MTV Had Fun in the Sun - Let's Hope It Lasts

Viacom's MTV Had Fun in the Sun - Let's Hope It Lasts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I've been thinking about the whole Jersey Shore zeitgeist. You know the show. It's on Viacom's (VIA) MTV. It's a huge hit, everyone is talking about it and its stars (Snooki, The Situation, etc.). It also was mentioned in a recent conference call the media company had with investors.

It was reported that the cast was able to significantly increase its salary for the reality series. When I first heard about the demands, I mused to myself that this was a grand opportunity for Hollywood to say no to minor celebrities. After all, it's just a reality show, folks. Even though Snooki is immensely popular, there are many more Snooki-type individuals out there. Dime-a-dozen comes to mind when thinking of the goofy girl with the poofy coif.

Continue reading If Snooki Can Beat Viacom, Is the Hollywood Business Model in Trouble?

If Snooki Can Beat Viacom, Is the Hollywood Business Model in Trouble? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Aug 2010 12:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.