Disney
Netflix's secret weapon: Kids' flicks
June 17, 2013: 1:28 PM ETIts latest deal means that Netflix now has the two biggest animation studios on board, strengthening its position in kids' programming.
FORTUNE -- Ask any parent who is a Netflix subscriber, and there's a good chance they'll tell you that the video-streamer is much stronger on kids' programming than on adult fare. The difference grows a bit starker with Netflix's new deal to run 300 hours of original animated programming from DreamWorks.
The deal will give Netflix (NFLX) exclusive, first-run rights to the programming starting in 2014 with shows based on characters from DreamWorks' (DWA) movies. Already in the works was a TV adaptation of the upcoming feature Turbo in December.
The agreement strengthens Netflix's positions in both kids' shows and original programming -- its biggest successes in the latter category being the series House of Cards and Arrested Development. Netflix last year announced that it had struck a deal with Disney (DIS) to provide theatrical releases from Disney, Pixar, and Marvel starting in 2016. Between that deal and the latest one, Netflix now has the two biggest animation studios in its stable.
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Such deals, along with plans for more original programming, have pushed Netflix shares up by 244% over the past year. Today alone, the stock has risen by more than 7% as of midday.
Michael Pachter, analyst with Wedbush Securities, remains unimpressed. Netflix remains exposed to rising content costs, he notes. And that's true for original programming as for the rights to existing content. He notes that Netflix "does not own the rights to the underlying content, but instead agrees to fund a portion of the development costs in exchange for the rights to exhibit the content on an exclusive basis for a limited period of time. We continue to believe that Netflix's original content deals are costly, and although we believe that they will serve to add subscribers for the company, it is not clear to us that original programming will have a lasting benefit."
Pachter is hardly alone in his assessment. Netflix's highly uncertain prospects have made the company among the most hotly debated among investors, resulting in sometimes-dizzying volatility.
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Hulu's latest hit: Its own soap opera
Just what is Hulu supposed to be? Its squabbling, wishy-washy, half-in-half-out owners keep it from making the kinds of bold moves it needs to thrive.
By Kevin Kelleher, contributor
FORTUNE – These days, it's not enough to host digital TV programs. Companies that stream programs like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu are moving into producing original content to win new subscribers. Lately, Hulu has been doing its rivals one better by living out a MORE
Apr 22, 2013 5:00 AM ETPosted in: Comcast, Digital TV, Disney, Guggenheim, Hulu, Jason Kilar, NBC, Netflix, News Corp., online TV, Peter Chernin, Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo -
Today in Tech: Disney shuts down LucasArts just 154 days later
Also: A look at the future of EA; Computing pioneer Alan Kay interviewed.
Disney shuts down LucasArts just 154 days after acquiring it [TECHCRUNCH]
Beginning today, Disney will continue to license out the LucasArts properties (namely Star Wars), but has ceased the development of all internal projects. Some projects (such as the incredible looking Star Wars 1313) may find new homes with other development houses, but their status is currently up in the air.
Five years and MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer - Apr 4, 2013 3:30 AM ET -
Disney's CEO buys $1M of Apple, leaves $40K on table
Bob Iger bought 1,780 shares at the last hour Monday. He shouldn't have waited.
FORTUNE -- "Talk about timing," writes reader Jim Neal, who spotted an SEC Form 4 filed Tuesday by Disney (DIS) CEO -- and Apple (AAPL) board member -- Bob Iger.
Iger, who exercised 1 million Disney options last week netting nearly $18 million, bought $1 million worth of Apple in the last hour of trading Monday.
The timing issue MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Nov 21, 2012 3:59 PM ET -
Disney's CEO gets his Apple shares
The new board member was granted restricted shares worth $55,000 and change
According to a Form 4 filed with the SEC on Thursday, Disney (DIS) CEO Robert Iger received as part of his new position on Apple's board of directors 142 restricted shares that vest next February.
At Apple's (AAPL) closing price of $388.83 Tuesday, the day the shares were issued, the grant was worth
142 * $388.83 = $55,213.86
That's comparable to MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Nov 18, 2011 8:19 AM ET -
Yahoo's next CEO? Meet the candidates
At this point, the ultimate fate of the beleaguered Internet company is anybody's guess. But here are some of the executives that may get a chance at taking the top spot.
FORTUNE -- It's impossible to guess who might be Carol Bartz's replacement at Yahoo because it's impossible to guess what Yahoo might look like when a replacement is named. It could be a totally different company before a CEO is MORE
Dan Mitchell, contributor - Sep 8, 2011 2:39 PM ETPosted in: Alibaba Group, Amazon, AOL, AT&T, Bloomberg TV, Carol Bartz, Comcast, Disney, Google, Hulu, Jack Ma, Jason Kilar, Jerry Yang, Jonathan Miller, Michael Arrington, Microsoft, MySpace, NBC Universal, News Corp., Peter Chernin, PLanet of the Apes, Ross Levinsohn, Rupert Murdoch, TechCrunch, Tim Armstrong, Tim Morse, Yahoo, Yahoo Japan -
Tech's roving R&D man
Frog Design's Jan Chipchase interviews residents of the world's hot spots so big business doesn't have to.
Jan Chipchase is the Indiana Jones of technology for the developing world. The British-born, Shanghai-based researcher travels the globe, trying to understand how and why the planet's poorest people would use cellphones and other gadgets. Part cultural anthropologist and explorer, and part designer and entrepreneur, Chipchase uses his findings to develop new products and MORE
Jessi Hempel, writer - Nov 29, 2010 3:00 AM ETPosted in: Afghanistan, cellphones, consultants, Dell, developing world, Disney, Frog Design, gadgets, Ghana, Hewlett-Packard, Jan Chipchase, Kenya, Nokia, Uganda, Vodafone -
The best rhetoric in business: cable vs content
When the cable providers and the companies providing the shows fight over fees -- as Cablevision and News Corp currently are -- the viewers lose. But those who enjoy their business bare knuckled definitely win.
As the "Cablevision vs. News Corp." feud escalates, more than three million subscribers remain without Fox programming. Cablevision blames News Corp. for demanding an extortionate increase in retransmission fees; News Corp. argues Cablevision isn't negotiating MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer - Oct 18, 2010 1:26 PM ET -
Today in Tech: News around the Web
A round-up of the companies, deals, and trends that made headlines.
Every day, the Fortune staff spends hours poring over tech stories, posts, and reviews from all over the Web to keep tabs on the companies that matter. We've assembled the weekend's most newsworthy bits below.
Illustrator Randall Monroe's 2010 edition of his "Map of Online Communities." Photo: xkcd"The world doesn't need another platform." -- Google VP of Engineering Andy Rubin on Windows MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer - Oct 11, 2010 6:30 AM ET -
The Carol Bartz departures: Where are Yahoo alums now?
In her 22 month stint as Yahoo CEO, numerous high-level executives have left Bartz behind, sometimes for greener pastures.
Say what you like about Carol Bartz's one-and-a-half-year tenure at Yahoo -- good, bad, or just ho-hum -- but there's no denying that high-level executives keep leaving as the CEO streamlines the troubled tech company and attempts to transform it into a viable competitor against the likes of Google and Facebook.
Last week, MORE
JP Mangalindan, Writer - Oct 7, 2010 10:49 AM ET
