Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Deal chatter heats up in Hollywood
Thu Jul 2, 2009 4:04pm EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Anupreeta Das and Jui Chakravorty Das
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dealmaking in Hollywood could get hot and heavy in coming months as movie studios explore ways to fight tumbling DVD sales and distribute entertainment in new formats.
Even as the recession squeezes financing from Wall Street banks and funds, the deal chatter has picked up because studios have already cut expenses and are looking for new growth opportunities for their movies, TV series and other content.
Viacom Inc's Paramount Studios is in early talks with several studios, including News Corp's Fox and Sony Corp's Sony Pictures, to cut costs by combining DVD manufacturing and distribution operations, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
Time Warner Inc, which owns the Warner Bros studio, is considering a bid for DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc, according to Variety columnist Peter Bart.
And Liberty Media Corp chief John Malone told shareholders last week that Sony Pictures and privately held Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer could be up for sale soon.
"What we're hearing is everybody's talking to each other on how to get joint ventures and structure costs," said veteran investor Mario Gabelli, whose Gamco Investors owns Viacom stock. "It's driven by how do you reduce costs, how do you raise financing, how do you distribute products globally."
With little hope of DVD sales picking up -- as online and mobile technologies change the way people view entertainment -- media bankers expect consolidation, but say more studios will prefer to combine units or strike partnerships and joint ventures rather than buy each other outright.
Traditional M&A may raise the hackles of antitrust regulators since there are only six major studios and a handful of smaller players, one banker said. "Studios will tend toward creating JVs to bring them together so that there is some pricing power over content," the banker added.
Acquisitions could also present integration challenges on the theatrical side of the business because of different movie production schedules, a second banker said.
"Everyone thinks studio consolidation makes a lot of sense," said a third banker. "There is tremendous overhead that can be reduced. But it's difficult given the egos and personalities involved."
Media moguls, from movie titans Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Katzenberg to overlords Sumner Redstone and Rupert Murdoch, have been invited to attend an annual retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho, next week, where they may well plot deals.
DEAL POTPOURRI
Bankers and analysts say cable companies like Comcast Corpcould make a play for the rich content libraries that studios own. Comcast, the No. 1 U.S. cable operator, already owns a stake in MGM, which also counts private equity firms Quadrangle and Providence Equity Partners among its owners.
A fourth media banker suggested that Lions Gate Entertainment Corp could be a good fit for Comcast because it could transform the independent studio's wealth of content into a cable network.
All four bankers requested anonymity because they do business with these studios or their parent companies. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
UPDATE 1-Warren Buffett donates $1.5 bln Berkshire shares
Also On Reuters
Commentary: Miles O'Brien and why planes crash
Judge tentatively dismisses conviction in MySpace case
Blog: Citizen journalism, mainstream media and Iran
More Entertainment News
Jermaine Jackson: "I wish it was me" who died
| Video
Jay Leno wins cybersquatting case
Just A Minute With: Ray Romano on "Ice Age"
David Carradine died of asphyxiation: pathologist
Hipster factor poses challenges for movie marketers
More Entertainment News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Air New Zealand staff bare all to get flyers' attention
UPDATE 1-Arianespace launches "largest commercial satellite"
Millionaires' springtime optimism wilts: survey
OAS chief to visit Honduras for talks on coup | Video
U.S. Marines launch key operation in south Afghanistan | Video
North Korea raises tension with missile launch
Pet python kills Florida toddler
Kevin Jonas, of Jonas Brothers, engaged
Iran hardliners want Mousavi prosecuted
NY City apartment sales down over 50 percent
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Testing the reset button
Michael Jackson will revealed
U.S. begins Taliban offensive
Honduras: Micheletti won't back down
Crash girl phones home
Deadline for Honduras looms
Jackson Will
Afghanistan's war within
Private Fawcett funeral held
Franken wins Minnesota Senate seat
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Special Coverage: Michael Jackson
The King of Pop
Full coverage of Michael Jackson's sudden death, with the latest news, videos, facts and timeline. Full Coverage
We want to hear from you
Join the Reuters Consumer Insight Panel and help us get to know you better
Please take a moment to complete our survey
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.