Disney Sells Miramax to Filmyard Holdings for $660 Million
Burbank, Calif. – Disney (NYSE: DIS) announced on Friday that it has
sold its Miramax Films unit to Filmyard Holdings, whose principals include Los
Angeles businessmen Ron Tutor and Tom Barrack, along with Colony Capital, for
over $660 million. The deal includes rights in over 700 films, as well as
certain books, development projects and the "Miramax" name.
Miramax
was founded in 1979 by brothers Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who sold it to Disney
in 1993 for $80 million but continued to run the company.
They would eventually
leave in 2005 and form The Weinstein Co.
Over the years, Miramax produced films
including "My Left Foot," "Pulp Fiction" and "Good
Will Hunting."
"Although we are very proud of Miramax’s many
accomplishments, our current strategy for Walt Disney Studios is to focus on
the development of great motion pictures under the Disney, Pixar and Marvel
brands," said Disney president and CEO Robert A. Iger.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/23yd6kt
Kanye West Joins Twitter, Does Silicon Valley Promo Push
New York – One-time Twitter "hater" Kanye West has
joined the service, in the midst of a promotional push for his forthcoming
album that saw him drop into the offices of both that company and Facebook this
week, according to reports. West had previously blogged that "Everything
that Twitter offers, I need less of," and wrote of his eschewing of the
service that, "I ONLY BLOG 5 PER CENT OF WHAT I’M UP TO IN THE FIRST PLACE.
I’M ACTUALLY SLOW DELIVERING CONTENT BECAUSE I’M TOO BUSY ACTUALLY BEING
CREATIVE MOST OF THE TIME."
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2bhv6d2
(Los Angeles Times)
Netflix Payments to Studios Up for Streaming, Down for DVDs
San Francisco – Netflix’s (NASD: NFLX) payments to the movie studios and
TV networks for the rights to stream their content were $116 million for the
first half of 2010, up from $31 million, CNET News.com reported. The company
was able to increase its payments to content providers without raising prices
on subscribers in part through savings in its DVD business. The company spent
$61 million to acquire DVDs in the first half of 2010, down from the $89
million from last year.
Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20012024-261.html
Redbox Kiosks to Rent Blu-ray Titles for $1.50 per Night
Los Angeles – Redbox is now offering Blu-ray titles for
$1.50 a night at a selection of its automated DVD rental kiosks — a premium of
50 cents over the $1 nightly rental fee on standard definition titles,
NewTeeVee reports. The company said it plans to make Blu-ray titles available
from its entire network of kiosks by the fall.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2b4k39y
(NewTeeVee)
YouTube Ups Top Video Upload Length to 15 Minutes
San Bruno, Calif. – Google’s (NASD: GOOG) YouTube has upped the maximum
length of videos uploadable by users to 15 minutes, up from a previous limit of
10 minutes. YouTube had imposed the ten minute limit for years, but said
adoption of its anti-piracy Content ID system by studios, networks and labels
allowed it to increase the video length allotment for users.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/25m9bxy
(YouTube blog)
Best Buy to Resell Clearwire Mobile Internet Service
Washington – Clearwire said on Wednesday that consumer
electronics giant Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) will begin offering the company’s 4G wireless
service in 2011. The WiMax service, which promises wireless speeds comparable
to those of land-based broadband, will be sold under the Best Buy Connect
brand. To date, Clearwire’s service — which launched in parts of DC last month
— only has been resold by investors such as Sprint, Comcast and Time Warner
Cable.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2e87874
Forbes to Shutter True/Slant Freelance Journalism Site
Los Angeles – Forbes will shutter its True/Slant freelance
journalism site this weekend, PaidContent reported. Several contributors have
hinted they are working on a new project that is likely to be hosted on Forbes’
website. Forbes acquired the site from founder Lewis D’Vorkin in May.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2bvllk8
(PaidContent)
Mobile Apps Store GetJar Hits 3 Million Daily Downloads
San Mateo, Calif. – Mobile applications store GetJar
announced on Thursday that it is now serving 3 million downloads per day,
making it second only to Apple’s iTunes in terms of volume. Among the top
downloads at GetJar, which offers applications for Android, BlackBerry, Java,
iPhone, Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms, are mobile apps for YouTube,
Facebook and Yahoo.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/289xv7p
Digital Entertainment Distributor The Orchard Goes Private
New York – The Orchard (NASD: ORCD), a provider of digital entertainment distribution
and marketing services, announced on Thursday that private equity firm
Dimensional Associates has completed its acquisition of the company, which is
now private and will cease trading on the Nasdaq tomorrow.
Under the terms,
Orchard shareholders will receive $2.05 per share.
New York-based The Orchard
went public in 2007 via a reverse merger deal.
Dimensional Associates is also
the corporate parent of the eMusic subscription service.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2fj6ded
