MGM, home of such classic franchises as the James Bond and Pink Panther series, will be entering a pre-packaged bankruptcy rather than a merger with Lionsgate. MGM shareholders overwhelmingly elected a Chapter 11 filing wherein 95.3% of the studio will be controlled by senior debt holders.
Archive for October, 2010
One hot topic in the home entertainment industry is the increasing percentage of consumers who are becoming “cord cutters”—users who choose to drop their cable television subscriptions in favor of alternatives such as streaming and downloading.
Cable monstrosity Comcast, which for many consumers embodies everything that is wrong with the cable industry, has lost nearly 300,000 subscribers in the last quarter alone and now has fewer than 23 million. This puts it behind Microsoft’s Xbox Live service, which now boasts more than 25 million users across 26 countries.
Netflix’s CEO, Reed Hastings, declared that Netflix was now “a streaming company” during his Q3 results commentary last week. But Netflix’s transition to a streaming-dominated model has not been cheap, and costs will continue to rise.
Coinstar announced its third quarter numbers today, and the report from the Redbox parent was very positive. Overall revenue was up 42% over the same quarter in 2009, and the company turned a profit of $19.5 million. Revenue in the company’s Redbox division was up more than 54%.
It looks like bankrupt Blockbuster will be able to keep the lights on and pay its employees for a little while longer, thanks to court approval it received today for a $125 million loan. The money will also allow BB to pay claims to studios in order to keep its inventory current.
Apple, who recently revealed another outstanding quarter’s financials, is sitting on a war chest of more than $50 billion (yes, billion) dollars. With one of the world’s most successful companies holding on to that kind of cash, it’s inevitable that the industry will be abuzz with possible candidates for acquisition.
Names such as Sony, Facebook and Yahoo have all been thrown around as possible M&A targets for Apple, but it’s also possible that Steve Jobs and co. could have their eyes set on streaming and DVD-by-mail powerhouse Netflix.
He’s at it again. About a week ago, Merriman Curhan Ford analyst Eric Wold suggested that a streaming partnership between Redbox and Amazon would be mutually beneficial. Today, Wold made the same proposal, but swapped Amazon out for the world’s largest retailer, Walmart.
Here are the movies that are coming to Redbox this week (October 26, 2010):
Get Him to the Greek, Winter’s Bone, Lake Placid 3, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, Attack on Darfur, Jim Henson’s Pajanimals, and The Girl Who Played with Fire.
Altitude Starring: Jessica Lowndes,Juliana Guill,Ryan Donowho,Landon Liboiron,Jake Weary
Genre: Horror,Action,Horror,Sci-Fi,Thriller
Release Year: 2010
movie details / trailer
Attack On Darfur Starring: Billy Zane,Edward Furlong,Kristanna Loken
Genre: Action,War
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Get Him to the Greek Starring: Jonah Hill,Russell Brand
Genre: Comedy
Release Year: 2010
movie details / trailer
Get Him to the Greek (Blu-ray) Starring: Jonah Hill,Russell Brand
Genre: Comedy
Release Year: 2010
movie details / trailer
Lake Placid 3 Starring: Yancy Butler,Colin Ferguson
Genre: Action,Drama,Sci-Fi
Release Year: 2010
movie details / trailer
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse Starring: Kevin Conroy (V),Tim Daly (v)
Genre: Action,Animated,Sci-Fi
Release Year: 2010
movie details / trailer
The Girl Who Played With Fire Starring: Michael Nyqvist,Noomi Rapace
Genre: Drama,Foreign,Thriller
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
The Girl Who Played With Fire (BLU-RAY) Starring: Michael Nyqvist,Noomi Rapace
Genre: Drama,Foreign,Thriller
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Wild Grass Starring: Sabine Azema,Andre Dussollier
Genre: Drama,Foreign
Release Year: 2009
movie details / trailer
Winter's Bone Starring: Jennifer Lawrence,John Hawkes
Genre: Drama,Drama
Release Year: 2010
movie details / trailer
Winter's Bone (BLU-RAY) Starring: Jennifer Lawrence,John Hawkes
Genre: Drama,Drama
Release Year: 2010
movie details / trailer
What will you be watching this week?
Despite a stellar third quarter, particularly in the streaming area, Netflix may be in for a rough road ahead when it may be forced to pay more for content acquisition and marketing. One of the few blemishes in its Q3 financials was Netflix’s subscriber acquisition cost (SAC), which was the highest of the year at 14.5%.
Even in the throes of bankruptcy, Blockbuster can’t seem to catch a break. After having the motives of its CEO and largest shareholder recently called into question, now a group of BB’s unsecured creditors have filed a motion questioning the way the company is going about repaying its debts to major movie studios.
