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A French court fined Warner Music Group Chairman and CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. 5 million euro ($6.7 million) on Friday for misleading investors about the Vivendi media conglomerate when he was a top executive there.
The court also convicted former high-flying Vivendi CEO Jean-Marie Messier of misusing company funds and misleading investors and handed him a three-year suspended prison sentence. Get the full story »
General Electric Co., reported better-than-expected earnings, helped by the recovery of its finance arm and a rise in revenue at its industrial units, including a sharp pickup in sales of locomotives.
The world’s biggest maker of electric turbines and jet engines also reported a 12 percent increase in orders, driving its backlog — a key predictor of future sales — to $175 billion. Get the full story »
Tower Ticker | The big surprise in the first edition of “Ebert Presents at the Movies” is that it’s Ignatiy Vishnevetsky who shines brightest.
Yeah. That guy. The one with the name stands to make a name for himself, assuming his cohorts up their game enough to make this public broadcasting bid to bring intelligence to TV talk of current and classic films a success.
Tune in at 8:30 tonight on WTTW-Ch. 11. You’ll see. The first impression is that Vishnevetsky, the largely unknown 24-year-old that Roger Ebert plucked from the Lake Street screening room, comes across far more naturally than any of the others Ebert has recruited to bring new life to the concept that he and the late Gene Siskel introduced in 1975.
Christy Lemire, the Associated Press film critic who shares the balcony set at WTTW with Vishnevetsky, may not be reading from a script all the time, but that’s how it seems when she should sound like she’s simply having a discussion.
From Hollywood studios to Japanese TV makers, powerful business interests are betting 3-D will be the future of entertainment, despite a major drawback: It makes millions of people uncomfortable or sick.
Optometrists say as many as one in four viewers have problems watching 3-D movies and TV, either because 3-D causes tiresome eyestrain or because the viewer has problems perceiving depth in real life. In the worst cases, 3-D makes people queasy, leaves them dizzy or gives them headaches. Get the full story »
U.S. online retailer Amazon.com is to buy the 58 percent of British DVD and games rental firm Lovefilm it does not already own for an undisclosed price, it said on Thursday.
Lovefilm, whose Europe-focused business has a similar model to U.S. video rental firm Netflix Inc., has built a movie rental-by-mail business and has also started streaming digital movies. Get the full story »
Forbes | Playboy is coming to the iPad in the all-together starting in March, according to a tweet from Hugh Hefner.
As Netflix and other video services offer thousands of movies streamed over the Internet, all those choices are creating a dilemma: what to watch next.
A 2-year-old movie recommendation Web site called Clerkdogs is addressing the problem by offering online chats with former video store clerks, film critics and other movie buffs. Get the full story »
Four radio stations in Chicago, including WTMX-FM 101.9 and WDRV-FM 97.1, are getting new owners as part of a $505 million deal between Hubbard Broadcasting Inc. and Bonneville International Corporation.
Bonneville, which is headquartered in Salt Lake City, is selling 17 radio stations to Minneapolis-based Hubbard. Chicago is one of four “strategic markets” that Hubbard is adding to its portfolio with the acquisition, the company said in a press release. The other markets are Washington, D.C., St. Louis and Cincinnati. Get the full story »
Wall Street Journal | Creditor Aurelius Capital Management has amped up its opposition to the Tribune Co.’s Chapter 11 plan, demanding a full accounting of the media holdings of JP Morgan’s media holdings.
Tower Ticker | Bill White, operations director of WBT-AM and FM and WLNK-FM in Charlotte N.C., has been named the new program director at Chicago’s WGN-AM 720, effective Valentine’s Day.
The job at Chicago Tribune parent Tribune Co.’s radio station has been officially vacant since the exit of Kevin Metheny in November with Tom Langmyer, WGN-AM’s vice president and general manager, handling the programming responsibilities since then.
The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday gave Comcast Corp., the country’s largest cable company, the green light to take over NBC Universal, home of the NBC television network.
Four of the commission’s five members voted to let Comcast buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co. for $13.8 billion in cash and assets. Michael Copps, one of the commission’s three Democrats and an opponent of media consolidation, voted against the deal. Get the full story »
Sony Corp. says it will shut down a CD manufacturing plant in the United States by the end of March and its 310 workers will be laid off. Sony spokeswoman Mami Imada said Tuesday the plant closure in New Jersey was due to declining CD sales as more people opt to buy music digitally. Get the full story »
A couple from the Brooklyn borough of New York part of the Playboy network adult reality program "Brooklyn Kinda Love." (AP/Playboy TV)
For generations, Playboy’s image has been “Entertainment for Men.” Now, it’s TV network wants these men to watch their movies and shows with their wives and women friends.
The premium cable network, which celebrates its 30th anniversary next year, is starting “TV for 2,” slightly steamy programming designed for women and men to experience together. The idea was unwrapped over the weekend with the premiere of “Brooklyn Kinda Love,” a reality series made by the producers of HBO’s “Taxicab Confessions.” Get the full story »
Blockbuster Inc. is asking creditors to put up more money to help it exit bankruptcy protection, prompting a debate among bondholders about whether to invest further in the struggling video chain or put it up for sale, people familiar with the matter said.
When Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 protection in September, the company had agreed to turn ownership over to its creditors. But after poor holiday sales and new estimates for a costlier turnaround, the company is asking bondholders for an additional $200 million to $250 million to be used after the chain exits court protection. Get the full story »
