Comcast-NBCU Tell Staffs Deal Won’t Close This Year

The train has been delayed, not cancelled, but delayed as the likely merger between NBCU and Comcast will not be closed by end of the year. Certainly for fiscal year reporting, not clean, but so goes the slow engine of the government. For fired staff members of NBCU, more days of employment, and for others, who knows.

"Despite considerable objection, including from the very vocal Sen. Al Franken, the merger still appears to be on track for approval but it also likely will come with strings attached designed to protect consumers from the consolidation." What will those rules entail and how will they impact the future business of this merged organization remains to be seen. But like we say in business, there is always a work around solution. And whatever the rules may be, solutions will be found to allow the business to move forward. Ahhh, the old loophole trick.

When will the deal close? Some speculation the delay may only be two weeks or less, others through January. Hard to imagine it going on too much longer.

Gaming Revenue - No Movie Required

It doesn't take a movie tie-in to make a game successful. And Activision's Call of Duty seems to hit the spot for gaming enthusiasts. Despite its Adult Rating of M for mature, Call of Duty Black Ops sales has exceeded 1 billion dollars in just 42 days on the market. "That's quicker than the company's previous blockbuster video game, "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," which passed the 10-figure plateau in 64 days." It seems that the Call of Duty franchise is doing quite well, even without a movie connection. So will the game inspire a movie? I wouldn't doubt it.

More impressive for CoD - BO is that it is more successful then any movie, except for one. "'Avatar' -- the 3-D blockbuster ... wears the crown as the fastest entertainment property to ring up $1 billion in sales, having done so last year after just 20 days in wide release." Certainly in this depressed economy, entertainment still has its winners.

FCC poised to adopt network neutrality rules

It seems that the support has been found to pass the FCC rules on net neutrality, providing equal streaming access to all. "More than a year after FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski pledged to put in place so-called "network neutrality" regulations, the agency is poised to adopt those rules at a meeting on Tuesday." And while it seems black and white, these new rules may indeed still contain areas of gray. Will internet providers find the loopholes to work around the rules? And will the courts come in and be forced to rule on its constitutionality? Ultimately, the rules are meant to provide a level playing field for all content and lower the barriers for other companies to stream competitive content online. Good news for Netflix and Google? A new competitive landscape is certainly forming.

Hulu IPO On Hold

Is Hulu having troubles? Concerned about going public perhaps and opening up the books? Afraid that the model isn't working? Certainly lots of questions, but no answers. Only that the IPO may be off the table. "Online video site Hulu LLC has taken off the table the idea of going public, at least for now, and may consider other financing options, people familiar with the matter said." But will these owners agree to invest more of their money into this venture?

One wonders how well the premium subscription model is working. "Some consumers have complained that the Hulu Plus selection remains limited, and the company already cut its monthly price to $7.99 from $9.99 during the preview period. Many of Hulu's investors have been pushing it to consider other paid models that could help them earn more money from their content." Can more money be made licensing their product to companies like Netflix? Perhaps online is the new syndication model.

Google TV Delayed

Attention cord cutters, you may have to wait a little longer for your Google TV. More tweaks may be needed to build a consumer friendly platform and so Google is delaying its release. "Google has asked Toshiba, LG Electronics and Sharp to postpone launches of Google TV-based products, which had been planned for next month's Consumer Electronics Show, as the Internet giant needs more time to improve the software." First impressions are everything and if the Google software is problematic, smart to delay before the unveiling then try to fix later. By then, the damage would have been done.

Interestingly, internet connected TV sales are not doing well. "Last week Best Buy -- another key launch partner for Google TV -- reported weaker-than-expected sales for the quarter ended Nov. 27, blaming in part disappointing sales of Internet-connected TVs." Of course, why buy one if you already have a connection to the internet through your gaming devices like Wii, Playstation, and XBox 360, and DVD and blu-ray players. How many connections do I really need.

Can Google break into the game. Maybe not by CES, but 2011 should be an interesting year.

Facebook Troubles

We expect when we turn a light switch that the light comes on. We expect when we pick up the telephone receiver, the dial tone is there, we expect when we turn on our TV, our cable is working. And we expect when we type in our URL, that the website comes up. And when it doesn't, who do we blame. Our broadband provider, our computer, or the website itself. And so it seems with Facebook's website down for another period of time, something is up. And so while we cannot access our Facebook accounts, let us realize that we shouldn't trust any one site to hold us hostage. So climb down off the ledge. It should be back online soon.

Cablevision May Finally Spin Off Rainbow

The discussion to spin the assets of Rainbow, AMC, IFC and others, has been swirling around Cablevision for quite some time. In fact, they issued a tracking stock in the 90's before pulling Rainbow back into Cablevision. Well the results of the spin off of MSG certainly must have tasted good because the board of directors are moving forward with a Rainbow spin off. "The spin would be constructed as a tax-free pro rata distribution to stockholders and is expected to be completed by mid-year 2011." Good news to investors seeking to unlock more value for Cablevision stock and certainly healthy profits for the family and key employee stockholders.

From the article: "The new Rainbow's assets will include:
• National programming networks: AMC, WE tv, IFC, Sundance Channel and Wedding Central
• IFC Entertainment, an independent film business that consists of multiple brands - including IFC Films, IFC Productions and the IFC Center
• Rainbow Network Communications, a full service network programming origination and distribution company, delivering programming to the cable, satellite and broadcast industries
Cablevision would retain its cable and telecommunications businesses, Newsday, News 12 Networks, MSG Varsity and Clearview Cinemas.
Completion of the spin is subject to several external conditions, including receipt of a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, and final approval from its board of directors.
Cablevision reiterated that it is not considering the sale of Rainbow or its cable and telecommunications business."

Are iPad Apps Killing Newspapers?

Seems like a redundant question. The fact is that the digital age is hurting the print media. For newspapers and magazines, consumers have gone to the clouds to aggregate and access their information. And with an economy in trouble, the web has proved far less costly a means to view content. Readers have gotten more and more comfortable reading articles on their computers and smart phones. The iPad is simply another product choice for viewing.

It certainly doesn't take a survey to see what is right in front of our eyes. Still it does verify the trend. "The survey showed that 58 percent of respondents who use the Apple tablet at least an hour a day for news are very likely to cancel their subscription in the next six months. One in 10 said they had already done so and have switched to reading digital newspapers on their iPad." Still content remains king and newer delivery methods that are faster and cheaper always beat out their more cumbersome rivals. It is a natural evolution of our changing entertainment landscape.

Mark Zuckerberg Time Man Of The Year

Okay, so The Social Network movie did well with Golden Globe nominations. But Facebook has been around a few years now and nothing revolutionary seemed to occur this year. "For connecting more than half a billion people and mapping the social relations among them; for creating a new system of exchanging information; and for changing how we all live our lives, Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is TIME's 2010 Person of the Year." Runnerups were Julian Assange and the Tea Party, both interesting choices. I ask, what about Steve Jobs and the iPad. Revolutionary, I think so. Quickly a must have device for some businesses as well as individuals. I'd say yes. But I don't get to vote. So congratulations mark.