Seth Gilbert, 04-5-2008
On a Friday Microsoft made public their offer to buy Yahoo at $31 a share. Yesterday, another Friday, but two months later and with little progress made, reports circulated that Microsoft might be reconsidering its position. Today, any confusion on that point was removed. In a letter to Yahoo Board of Directors (copied below), Steve Ballmer explicitly began the countdown: three weeks. Three weeks and then things get nasty.
The ultimatum issued via the letter demands negotiations be completed and terms reached. If they’re not, Microsoft will take the offer, likely at a lower price, straight to the shareholders in a tender offer and proxy fight.
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Seth Gilbert, 04-4-2008
Every year, usually in the third week of May, TV executives roll into New York City with an exclusive little circus called “Upfronts.” Across the city’s famed theaters like Radio City and Carnegie Hall, and in the back rooms of elite hotels, each major network puts on an extravagant show and party: music, celebrities, food and of course, the reason for the show: TV footage. The audience of advertisers and media buyers takes notes on the presentation of new TV schedules, forms impressions of the projected new programs, and then they make bids for some of the coveted advertising slots. The whole process unfolds like a futures market for TV advertising. It’s even treated as a barometer for the advertising industry and a weather forecast for television. The show is glitzy, over-produced, and especially: exclusive. If it’s not a network show, it’s not shown.
Thursday, Microsoft, a seemingly unlikely source of original video programming, decided “who needs your Upfronts?” and moreover, “who needs TV.” Ahead of schedule and paving a new path, the software giant decided to create their own sandbox to play in. Click to Read More
Seth Gilbert, 04-3-2008
For years, Yahoo’s Ian Rogers has been among the most respected executives straddling the fence between tech and the music industry. In overseeing Yahoo’s digital music enterprises, he built a reputation for championing the interests of music fans and for being incredibly candid (especially in his outspoken critique of DRM encryption). Given that shoot from the hip style, it’s no surprise that he began a recent personal blog entry with the phrase, “I may as well set the record straight.”
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Seth Gilbert, 03-31-2008
In 2006 talent agent and producer Peter Safran left Brillstein-Grey to start his own company. Now he’s taking the mix of talents and assets to the web. Like a growing list of Hollywood bigs doing similar, he’s signed a new deal to develop original online video content. In Safran’s case, however, there’s a catch. He is not setting out to create the next YouTube viral video sensation; he’s not looking to syndicate widely either. Instead he’s taking his productions and going Xbox.
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Seth Gilbert, 03-28-2008
How much investment in social networking companies is enough? If you ask Facebook or new startup weplay.com, the answer may be there’s no such thing. Both have added to their coffers. $4.5m for Weplay, $60m for Facebook.
In the case of Weplay, talent agency Creative Artists had hinted they were serious about venture investment when they moved to set up their own funding structure. In contributing part of the $4.5m raised for the kid’s sports site, they officially stepped up to the plate. Major League Baseball’s Investment arm and Pequot Capital also contributed.
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Seth Gilbert, 03-19-2008
A few years ago there was a Gatorade commercial that pitted soccer star Mia Hamm against Michael Jordan. Back and forth the two competed in contests to win the title of “best athlete.” In the background, the song repeated “anything you can do I can do better.” Today, that commercial can be seen on YouTube. It’s ironic in a way because today YouTube has become equivalent to one of those athletic tests in a similar battle being fought by aspiring TV/PC Convergence devices like TiVo and Apple TV. Like Michael and Mia, the two keep leapfrogging past each other to show which can bring more features and internet sourced content to the TV screen.
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Seth Gilbert, 03-12-2008
When News Corp and NBC Universal partnered to launch their own video distribution portal many thought the odd couple partnership amongst two TV rivals would be little more than an expensive joke. These weren’t companies known for building technology. Nor were these companies, or their brethren in traditional media, known for playing well in the sandbox with each other. The pairing seemed so unlikely many began deriding the then unnamed company with the name: “Clown Co.”
In August, the jokes got cruder when the company sold a 10% stake to Private Equity firm Providence Equity Partners. The deal valued them, an unlaunched, non-public company at a billion dollars. Click to Read More
