DMW Media: December 2006

Friday, December 8, 2006

Yahoo to Overhaul Corporate Structure, Management

Shares of Yahoo fell more than 2% on Wednesday after the Internet company announced a sweeping reorganization in the face of dwindling market share.

Under the plan, CFO Susan Decker will leave her post to head the company's new Advertising & Publisher Group, which will focus on increasing Yahoo's ad revenue.

The promotion positions Decker as a possible future replacement for CEO Terry Semel. Two other top executives, COO Daniel Rosensweig and Yahoo Media Group chief Lloyd Braun, will leave the company.

Yahoo will also overhaul its corporate structure, dividing its operations into three core groups focused on its audience, advertising network and technology.

Wikia Lands Investment from Amazon.com

Wikia, a site that allows users to share information, news, stories, media and opinions that fall outside the scope of an encyclopedia, said on Wednesday that it has received a new investment from Amazon.com.

The size of the round, the company's second, was not disclosed. San Mateo, Calif.-based Wikia, co-founded in 2004 by Jimmy Wales, the founder of popular open source encyclopedia Wikipedia founder, said that the new capital will help it to expand its range of topics, as well as its geographical scope.

The company also plans to enhance the software that runs both Wikipedia and Wikia with improved usability, spam prevention and community management features. Separately, Wikia said that it has agreed to acquire online sports community ArmchairGM in a deal valued at more than $2 million. Wikia received $4 million in its first round earlier this year.

Internet Movie Downloads, Rentals to Hit 60 Million by 2010

The market for movies distributed over the Internet via on-demand rentals and download-to-own services is projected to grow from an estimated 9.5 million this year to nearly 60 million by 2010, according to a report from Research and Markets.

The estimated $37.25 in revenue generated this year -- just .15% of the total home video rental and sell-through market for 2005 -- could grow to $534 million by 2010.

Still, that figure would represent just an estimated 2% of home video revenues for the year. The report concludes that the single biggest factor holding back Internet movie sales is "Hollywood's reluctance to allow films to be sold over the web so that they can ultimately be viewed on TVs," adding that existing technologies are "too complex for most consumers."

Murdoch Close to Deal for Liberty Media Stake in News Corp

Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is negotiating a deal with Liberty Media that would give him greater control over his company in exchange for News Corp.'s stake in satellite TV firm DirecTV, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

John Malone's Liberty Media is the second-largest shareholder in News Corp. The proposed deal would reportedly see Murdoch exchange News Corp.'s 38.6% stake in DirecTV, three sports networks, and $550 million in cash for Liberty's 19% voting stake and 15% nonvoting interest in News Corp., The New York Times reported, citing a banker familiar with the deal. The Times added that the $11 billion deal is expected to be signed and announced within two weeks.

"For News Corp. this a significant positive as they accomplish a tax-free exit from an asset that contributed no free cash flow and whose long-term prospects are eroding rapidly," Pali Research analyst Richard Greenfield told Reuters.

Thursday, December 7, 2006

Semiconductor Sales Hit Record for Fourth Straight Month

Global semiconductor sales set a new monthly record for the fourth consecutive month in October, according to new figures from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
Sales reached $21.9 billion for the month, up more than 9% from the prior year more than 2% from September.

"Sales of personal computers, cell phones and MP3 players continued to be strong, reflecting the start of the holiday season," said George Scalise, president of the SIA.

Scalise, however, also issued a warning. "There are signs of slower overall economic growth and a slowing economy could impact sales of semiconductors in the coming months," he said.

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Celebhead

Viacom's VH1 Mobile on Tuesday debuted a new made-for-mobile series, "Celebhead." Each episode of the short-form parody will be shot from a different celebrity's point-of-view, with the first episode to focus on Paris Hilton.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061205/nytu104.html?.v=76

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