Media

As MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) ad execs begin meeting with marketers and media buyers for this year’s upfront, the Viacom unit is putting some finishing touches on reshaping its digital team. Later this morning, MTVN will announce that Suzanne McDonnell (image, left) will lead the Digital Fusion unit, while Heather Hopkins will...

The discussion started by ContentNext’s Ernie Sander and FT.com’s Rob Grimshaw at paidContent 2010 continued with a panel of other digital media execs from traditional media companies—along with Google (NSDQ: GOOG) product manager Josh Cohen.

—Flavor of the month: CNN.com’s KC Estenson: “There are new revenue opportunities...

Pali Capital’s Rich Greenfield opened the paidContent 2010 conference at the TimesCenter with a note of skepticism about the recent spate of media joint ventures, such as Hulu or the recently-launched YouTube music video channel Vevo. Moderator Quincy Smith, ex-CBS Interactive (NYSE: CBS) exec now partner, Code Advisers, put...

After some effusive praise for CBS’ cost containment and ability to withstand the economic downturn, Sumner Redstone, executive chairman, CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), handed the call over to Les Moonves, CEO and president. Before hanging up, Redstone repeated a line he gave when introducing the Viacom (NYSE:...

Playboy (NYSE: PLA) Enterprises’ hopes for a planned sale were dashed during Q4, as its revenue troubles continued as well. As the company’s loss narrowed to $27.8 million from last year’s $146.8 million, combined print and digital revenues fell 14 percent. On its own, digital slid 10.7 percent in Q4.

In...

Two years after HBO started a small trial of HBO Broadband, the Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) premium net is going live with HBO GO on Verizon FiOS. Through HBOGo.com, Verizon FiOS subscribers who also get HBO (the companies won’t release that number) will be able to watch 600-plus hours of...

With online ad spending slowly coming back from last year’s weakness, MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) hopes to see a further boost in revenues by adding deeper ad targeting across its vast 200 websites. The Viacom unit has been testing a variety of audience monitors for most of the past year and it...

Movie previews and news cable outlet Reelzchannel is adding a dash of mockery to its web holdings with the acquisition of HollywoodPressTV. The comedy site is being sold to Reelzchannel by its creator, The Buddy Group, an Irvine, CA.-based online video company. Terms weren’t disclosed. Along with the acquisition, HollywoodPressTV’s Steve...

Through some quirks of scheduling, I got my first taste of Olympics action on a laptop through in-flight wireless—not the big screen in our living room—and watched the winning ski jump late at night on demand using the NBC Olympics iPhone app. The 2010 Winter Olympics may not be the “everything online live” Olympics but...

MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA) CEO Judy McGrath says the Viacom unit’s organic growth is “great,” despite its continued signs of weakness as detailed last week in parent company Viacom’s Q4 earnings. The company was hit by the soft ad market as well as lower sales of Rock...

Viacom’s profits rose significantly in Q4, as the company posted modest revenue and advertising declines, beating analysts’ expectations. Global ad revenues fell 3 percent, while U.S. ad dollars slipped 4 percent, held down by slight weakness in the Media Networks and Filmed Entertainment segments. The Media Networks’ operating income grew 3 percent to $921 million...

In general, cable networks and operators have weathered the past year’s recession relatively well. After a small profit decline in Q3, Discovery Communications (NSDQ: DISCA) ended the year on a positive note as distribution and advertising revenues both gained slightly. Full year revenues were also up 2 percent. The...