Virgin Media Takeover Speculation Revived

As I noted last week, it seemed possible that Virgin Media (VMED) might be back in the crosshairs of private equity when one of its largest shareholders, Franklin Mutual Advisers, indicated that it wanted to meet with management and other shareholders regarding the poor performance of the company. My guess appears to have been accurate […]

A Hedge Fund Manager Responds To Comcast Going Private

In response to yesterday’s post about the Bernstein analysis of Comcast as a private equity buyout candidate I received an email from my good friend and media confidante KG, who is also a hedge fund manager. As usual, KG is thought provoking: I read that Moffett analysis yesterday, and also read your piece. Such rationalization […]

Is Comcast A Candidate For A Private Equity Buyout?

One of the ways I keep up on all things media is through a Google email alert on Providence Equity, which is the major media focused private equity firm. An alert I received yesterday contained a link to an article discussing a note that Bernstein put out last week mentioning Comcast (CMCSA/CMCSK) as a perfect […]

Where Are All The New Cable and Satellite TV Customers Coming From?

One oddity in the current multichannel television landscape is that all the major players are gaining subscribers despite what most observers would consider a pretty intense competitive environment in a mature industry. My rough calculations suggest that DirecTV and Echostar’s Dish Network will add about 2 million subs combined this year. Verizon and AT&T could […]

Virgin Media Shareholder Speaks Out

In an SEC filing yesterday, Franklin Mutual Advisers indicated that it is seeking talks with management and other shareholders of Virgin Media (VMED) in light of VMED’s recently released first quarter results. Franklin owns 9.8% of VMED but has only modestly added to its position recently according to the filing. Here is the key passage […]

Solid Results for Viacom

Viacom (VIA) reported slightly better than expected 1Q07 results. Trends did not differ greatly from analyst expectations but the risk was to the downside so I think the results will be greeted favorably by investors and VIA shares will buck the sell the news reactions seen following good results from Disney (DIS) and News Corp.. […]

Another Good Quarter For Disney

Disney (DIS) reported very good 2Q07 results driven by strong margin performance across all five operating segments. Better profitability allowed EPS to easily exceed consensus estimates coming in at 44 cents, up 19%, vs. expectations of 38 cents, up 3%. Revenues fell very slightly short of estimates at $8.07 billion, $60 million short of estimates. […]

Disney: Slowing Growth, High Expectations Raise The Bar

Margin expansion should propel Disney (DIS) to another quarter of greater than 10% growth in operating income when it reports 2Q07 results after the close on Tuesday. Revenue and EPS growth are only projected to grow in the low single digits due to tough comparisons. DIS has produced significant positive surprises in each of the […]

Warner Music: Might Be Stabilizing But No Upside

Warner Music Group (WMG) reported slightly better than expected 2Q07 results with revenues of $784 million and EBITDA of $96 million both soundly beating analyst estimates. Despite the big beat on these metrics, the source of the upside was not material relative to the challenges faced by the music industry. Upside in publishing and foreign […]

Good Quarter and Great Guidance From Central European Media Enterprises

1Q07 results and 2007 guidance from Central European Media Enterprises (CETV) are very positive. My bullish interpretation was further reinforced following the conference call and a quick read of the 10-Q. I think the guidance was the primary reason the shares moved up $5 yesterday. I am not done with my spreadsheet yet but I […]