The DVD market continues to disappoint. There's an article over at The Hollywood Reporter discussing the industry and its sorry state. According to the piece, sales of discs are down 13% at the end of the third quarter.

Interestingly enough, the article goes on to give a positive spin to the news by pointing out that the Blu-ray format is gaining traction, and that digital distribution and rental of discs are also acting as offsetting elements. While that may be true, I'm not so sure I can be as positive, because I still believe that the studios have a long way to go in terms of answering the DVD issue.

Disney (DIS) received an increase in price target over at UBS, according to this item posted at The Fly On The Wall. UBS now thinks the Mouse will reach $38 per share instead of merely $33 per share. Looks like the institution may be worried that it'll miss out on the stock's recent momentum.

I'm sure many observers believe Disney is gearing up for a prosperous 2010. If you pull up a one-year chart over at AOL quotes, you'll note the remarkable uptrend the shares have been in; this uptrend is not only appealing to traders, but to investors as well. Investors like me.

I read a piece over at the Los Angeles Times about the rapidity of changes going on within Disney's (DIS) studio system. As a shareholder, I'm hoping for the best, but I'm not expecting much. Sometimes it's better that way when it comes to the Mouse. Those who have owned the stock as long as I have know what I'm talking about.

The cited article discusses the moves being made by the new studio head, Rich Ross. He replaced the well-respected Dick Cook. Well-respected or not, Cook had to go. I concurred with CEO Bob Iger's perception that a change in leadership was necessary for the celluloid portion of the Disney business model.

Disney (DIS), the media company behind Mickey Mouse and Buzz Lightyear, and whose colleagues in the industry include CBS (CBS), General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal, News Corp. (NWS), Sony Corporation (SNE), Time Warner (TWX), and Viacom (VIA), reported results for Q4 and the full fiscal year on Thursday after the bell. While the bottom line came in ahead of expectations, I have to say that the release was disappointing to this shareholder.

Earnings on an adjusted basis for the quarter came in at 46 cents per share, higher than the number predicted by analysts. Unfortunately, as I go through the data, I don't think I'm too comforted by such income performance.

Disney (DIS), a media business that competes with Viacom (VIA), CBS (CBS), News Corp. (NWS), and General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal, will be talking up its fourth-quarter numbers on Thursday after the bell. Are you a shareholder? If so, are you excited? Well, don't get too excited, because we might not be getting any growth, even if the Mouse beats on the bottom line. According to Earnings.com, the call is for 40 cents per share versus the 43 cents per share made in the comparable period.

You know what, though? For the most part, I'm not so concerned with exactly how much Disney makes this quarter. I'm a shareholder, and I want to see management at least come in at the estimate, of course, but I'll be more interested in the conference call. Way more interested this time around, in fact.

When I discussed Lions Gate Entertainment's (LGF) first-quarter results, I noted the disappointing statement of cash flows. Unfortunately, the company didn't do much better in the second quarter. For the six-month period, Lions Gate used over $160 million for operations compared to the roughly $40 million used in the similar frame one year ago.

Of course, cash flow doesn't always get the most coverage. Investors tend to get more excited by a swing to profitability. On that count, Lions Gate scored admirably, earning 26 cents per diluted share versus losing 44 cents per diluted share twelve months prior. Earnings.com indicates that analysts were really underestimating the Q2 income potential here: the call was for 6 cents per share.

News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), the big media conglomerate that competes with Disney (NYSE: DIS), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, issued Q1 data on Wednesday after regular trading was over. Revenues declined 4%, but earnings per share went up 10% to 22 cents. According to Bloomberg, that was enough to beat analysts by four pennies.

That's pretty decent for the company, but there are a couple of spots in need of serious help. It goes without saying that the newspaper industry is having a rough time, so it's not so hard to understand why the news groups experienced a significant decline in operating income.

Cable giant Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) posted Q3 numbers earlier today. It seems like the company is doing well with earnings growth and cash flow, even if revenues moved up a meager 3%.

Adjusted earnings per share grew over 20% to 28 cents per share. According to our earnings preview, the market was looking for 25 cents per share. Operating cash flow increased a little under 3%, but free cash flow went up almost 20%, aided by a smaller amount of capital expenditures compared to the previous year's similar quarter. I'm sure shareholders are more than satisfied with the growth rate of the green stuff over the past three months. Comcast saw excellent expansion of free cash over the last nine months, too.

Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), which is said to be buying a controlling stake in NBC Universal, is scheduled to discuss its third quarter 2009 financial results in a conference call Wednesday at 8:30 AM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

During the three months that ended in September, Comcast launched an internet portal for kids, a collaboration with the NFL, and a trial of On Demand Online. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect this leading entertainment, information, and communication provider to report earnings of $0.25 per share, just a penny per share lower than in both the previous quarter and a year ago. Comcast earnings have beat the Street view in the past four quarters, by as much as seven cents per share. Revenue for the third quarter is expected to be 3.5% higher to $8.9 billion.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the advertising market could be ready for an upswing. Michael Morris, an analyst at UBS, is making a connection between improved sales at retail stores and a robust environment for commercials and the like. His reasoning is sound: if retail businesses are doing better, then they might want want to take advantage of new cash levels to invest in marketing initiatives aimed at bringing in traffic.

Indeed, the advertising industry has been in the dumps. Any good news is welcome. Media entities such as Disney (NYSE: DIS), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), CBS (NYSE: CBS), News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, are counting on increased opportunities to sell their respective inventories at better prices.

Printers of the world unite! Feeling the squeeze from the likes of Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), a group of magazine publishers is forming an industrywide joint venture ... for protection.

Led by Time Inc., a division of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), participating companies would create a digital storefront for their content. In this way, they could peddle their goods without the hefty carve-outs that come with Amazon and Apple deals.

Analyst upgrades:

• UBS upgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $265 from $170, citing higher iPhone expectations, new partnerships, and likely upward revisions to Street estimates driven by gross margins.
• Wells Fargo upgraded Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm views a possible deal between end General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal positively, as it thinks NBC will provide higher-margin growth for Comcast.
• Janney Montgomery upgraded Michael Baker (AMEX: BKR) to Buy from Neutral after the company completed the sale of its Energy business. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $40.
• Jefferies assumed coverage of Endo Pharma (NASDAQ: ENDP) and upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. The firm cites valuation, a strong base business, and solid cash flow for the upgrade, and has a $30 target price on shares.
• Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
• U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) is feeling a little heat from studios Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal. The major media companies would all like to make more money from Netflix's business model, according to BusinessWeek.

No one is really satisfied these days with the DVD industry. Growth in home video is no longer what it used to be. So content makers perceive a need to engage new strategies to offset the this lack of expansion. It would be nice if those strategies were confined to innovation in movie development and the reduction of project budgets. Instead, trying to negotiate more beneficial deals with distributors such as Netflix will probably be the focus of media execs.

Is Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) getting ready to buy General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal? Hard to say. According to our sister site DailyFinance, it looks like the rumor of this theoretical event might be just that -- a rumor, nothing more. Then again, maybe there's something to it.

It seems likely, though, that Comcast does want to clinch a deal with some big media company. Remember when Comcast wanted to buy Disney (NYSE: DIS)? Quite frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if it ends up taking NBC Universal off GE's corporate hands. But which group of shareholders would this benefit the most?

The roots of Vivendi go back to the mid 1800s, when the company was created by an Imperial decree by Napoleon III. Basically, it became a top provider of water.

It was a business that generated tons of cash flows -- and allowed for dealmaking. However, this activity almost destroyed the company. As a result, over the past few years, Vivendi has been restructuring its operations, with the main focus on mobile.