Media news/analysis in brief - (May 24, 2005)

Companies mentioned below:

• Time Warner (ticker: TWX)
• Hollywood Media (ticker: HOLL)
• Blockbuster (ticker: BBI)
• Pixar (ticker: PIXR)
• Young Broadcasting (ticker: YBTVA)

• Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons is considering spinning off AOL if its new portal strategy fails, according to Fortune Magazine (paid subscription required). Quotes from Dick Parsons:

"If this doesn’t work, then you start to think about AOL much differently.
You start to think about AOL in somewhat the same way I think about the
cable company—we’d have access to the platform, but it would have its
own currency to go out and do acquisitions or other deals. We’d have to
find a way to maximize the value for our shareholders."

"If you ask anyone with any sense who has the best collection of media
assets, it’s Time Warner, and Murdoch comes in a solid second."

• MovieTickets.com (26.5% owned by HOLL), unveiled its new web site.
  The company touted faster search and improved checkout and
  personalization, but didn't mention that the new site also carries more
  advertising. Meanwhile, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith broke all advance online ticket sales records. Comment:
  MovieTickets.com and Fandango have the online movie tickets market
  carved up between them, so they're a natural venue for studios to
  advertise movies.
• Blockbuster CEO John Antioco sold 11% of his shares in the company following the proxy vote that briefly removed him from the board of directors (before he was reinstated as Chairman).  Antioco sold 12,700 shares on 5/17/05 for $10/share, and 150,000 shares at $9.60 - $9.70 between 5/17 - 5/20. He still controls 1.29 million shares.
• Pixar set a new 52-week and all-time high yesterday when it closed at $52.99.  It reached as high as $53.27 in intra-day trading.
• Young Broadcasting Chairman and CEO, Vincent Young, terminated the personal common stock sales plan that he had adopted in September 2004 pursuant the SEC rule 10b5-1.  No explanation was given in the company's press release, but his action is probably related to YBTVA's plummeting stock price.  As of 5/20/05, YBTVA shares were down 46% this year.