I’m struck today by the contrast between two corporate ousters and how one signifies class and the other signifies crass. The first: as the whole world knows by now, AOL’s CEO Jon Miller was pushed out by Time Warner’s top management in favor of an NBC veteran with expertise in ad sales, Randy Falco. It’s sad for Miller, who had an impossible job bailing out a sinking ship these past four years, because he apparently liked his job and would have preferred to stay.
But, Time Warner issued the obligatory “we wish him well” statements. Chairman Dick Parsons had this to say about Miller
We thank Jon Miller for his four years of farsighted leadership during a difficult time at AOL. We wish him well as he moves into the next phase of his career.
I’m sure Miller might not see it this way, but venerable Time Warner was honorable in its public (and probably private) treatment of him, particularly in contrast with how brash upstart Gawker Media’s executive Lockhart Steele Nick Denton treated the fired editor of Gawker’s Valleywag, Nick Douglas.
Douglas was ousted by Denton in a surprise move that had the blogosphere buzzing earlier this week — young Douglas’ snarky style and high-profile perch had obviously attracted some fans. But that’s beside the point.
The point is that Denton Steele went out of his way to, well, um, trash Douglas in a staff memo that found its way to The New York Times’ DealBook blog. Not only did poor Douglas not get anything remotely resembling a “wish you well” from Denton, Denton Steele put in writing that he thought Douglas “settles in too closely with the subjects,” had “an elevated sense of one’s own importance,” and displayed a “repeated misunderstanding of the purpose of our sites.”
Denton’sSteele’s memo gets worse too. While Gawker may have had good reasons to replace Douglas as Valleywag’s editor, did DentonSteele have to go out of his way to trash the guy — in writing, no less — among company staff? That is just mean-spirited, particularly given that Douglas is fresh out of college and was probably cocky, particularly given the high-exposure, juicy job he had been handed with no life experience to guide him.
Can you imagine Dick Parsons circulating a comparable memo to Time Warner staff about Jon Miller? There’s probably no love lost between Time Warner’s senior management team and Miller, but there’s no way that Parsons, or any other seasoned and reasonable executive, would harm an employee in such a shameful way, particularly an employee who had just been fired.
So take heart, Jon Miller. It could have been worse. At least Time Warner wishes you well.
Update: This post originally identified Gawker’s Nick Denton as the author of the butt-kicking memo. In fact, the author was a Gawker executive with the improbable name of Lockhart Steele. Thanks to Mathew Ingram for the correction.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 2:23 PM | Print | Comments (1)Two of the smartest and toughest negotiating moguls in the media world are about to part ways, according to Business Week’s Steven Rosenbush. Liberty Media Chairman John Malone and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch have been entwined for years through a series of complex business deals that gave Malone 19% voting control of News Corp. and therefore, in effect, control over Murdoch and his business plans.
These two giants were like-minded allies for many years, but the power Malone has had over News Corp. has turned the alliance of kindred spirits into an uneasy pairing. The solution, or so it seems, is that Malone will trade his voting stake in News Corp. for News Corp.’s 38% stake in DBS provider DirecTV. Murdoch’s also going to fork over some cash — Malone’s News Corp. stake is worth about $16 billion, while 38% of DirecTV is worth only about $7.4 billion.
I can’t see this deal generating a financial benefit for either company. News Corp. is paying off Malone to get out of the company’s hair while Malone is getting what Murdoch himself referred to as a “turd bird.”
At first blush, it looks News Corp. is getting the short end of the stick. But, Malone’s going to be stuck with an asset, DirecTV, that can only expect to shrivel and die over time — unless, of course, Liberty Media is willing to add terrestrial broadband capability to the satellite-delivered video service via the construction of WiMax networks, an idea that Murdoch briefly considered. Rosenbush quotes IDT Chairman Howard Jonas, a friend of both moguls, as saying that Malone also might want DirecTV to round out his global portfolio.
Liberty Media is already the top cable operator outside the U.S., but currently has no U.S. video distribution business, a void that the DBS provider could fill.
“Liberty already is the largest operator of cable systems outside the U.S. By getting control of DirecTV, he would become the only truly global distributor of media,” Jonas said. That would give him a unique role in an increasingly global media market.
But, nothing is a done deal, yet. Both moguls are terrifically complex and tough negotiators and time will tell just how the final pact shakes out.
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 9:50 AM | Print | Comments (0)
Cable’s VOD doesn’t get the respect it deserves, according to some advertisers and operators, because there’s no good way to measure viewership. TV ratings company Nielsen Media Research plans to rectify that, in part at least. Nielsen is announcing today that it will produce ratings data for on-demand programs offered by cable operators.
The ratings service (which I can imagine will be beset by glitches galore given the vast numbers of on-demand choices) will be limited to on-demand content produced by national broadcast and cable networks. Nielsen doesn’t yet have permission to access data related to any other on-demand offerings offered in relatively idiosyncratic form by individual cable companies, and, indeed, individual cable systems.
Right now the industry is fond of its own on-demand tracking service offered by Rentrak, but the Rentrak data are controlled by the cable companies themselves and therefore not viewed as objective by the advertising community. And for most on-demand options, advertising is the sole means of generating revenue for the content suppliers.
Surprisingly, cable’s VOD is gaining steam as an ad vehicle. CBS, which used to charge for its on-demand options, switched to ad-supported VOD.
“It’s probably not the greatest shock in the world that people like things for free, and they’re pretty used to the bargain they’ve had with broadcast television for years, i.e., watch a few ads and you get great programming for free,” said Martin D. Franks, executive vice president for planning, policy and government relations at the CBS Corporation. “That seems to be translating over to the V.O.D. and online worlds.”Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 9:10 AM | Print | Comments (0)
European mobile wireless company 3 Group (or as it’s more popularly and awkwardly called, “3”) has agreed to offer Sling Media’s place-shifting service as part of its mobile service, starting December 1. Two of 3’s new handsets, part of the company’s “X Series” (or as they are more popularly and awkwardly called “X”) advanced broadband services, will come equipped with Sling’s application, which enables users with a Sling Box device to watch their home video services and remotely control their PVRs.
This deal is a first for Sling, which created quite a stir last year when it unveiled the Sling Box, which basically untethers home video service, making it viewable from anywhere in the world. Sling took that concept to another level when it introduced its software that allows viewers to use the functionality on hand-held devices.
As part of its X Series, 3 has also added another pioneer place-shifting service to its menu of advanced mobile broadband options. The company announced a deal with Orb Networks. Orb’s Mycasting allows customers to stream their home music, videos, photos, and TV on their X -Series mobile devices.
While the inclusion of the place-shifting services is news because 3’s deals with Sling and Orb are the first to legitimize and commercialize the idea of accessing home-based content with no geographic restrictions, 3 also unveiled at its X-Services launch a raft of other innovations.
First, 3 will allow users to make Skype calls over the new handsets. 3 has also struck deals with Microsoft and Yahoo to enable its text-messaging services to interoperate with Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! messenger. Yahoo! and Google also have pacts with the carrier to support full Internet searching on the X-Service handsets. Finally, 3 has a deal with eBay to support shopping and bidding on the devices. (A webcast announcing all these deals is available here.)
3, a unit of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., has spent billions building wireless, 3G broadband networks in Italy, Australia, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Hong Kong, Israel and Ireland, which collectively reach 175 million users. Unlike traditional carriers, 3 is selling its package of voice, text and broadband services for a flat monthly rate (no pricing yet on the X-Service options.)
Posted by Cynthia Brumfield at 8:29 AM | Print | Comments (0)
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